The House of Special Purpose

By John Boyne ,

Book cover of The House of Special Purpose

Book description

In Russia during the year 1915, at the age of 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for the heart of a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family. He is instantly proclaimed a hero. Before the week is out, his life as the son of…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The House of Special Purpose as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book moved me. This book expertly tells a single story but from each end. One timeline travels back from 1981, as Georgy watches over his dying wife, Zoya. The poignancy of these two old people, still in love, still themselves spoke to me. The other timeline follows him from early childhood through Romanov Russia, as nine-year-old Georgy saves the life of the tsar’s cousin. The relationship grows between the main characters, told back and forth, revealing layers of connection and history between them. The two strands end at the shocking revelation of the ‘special purpose.’ I enjoyed the mystery…

From Rebecca's list on where past and present collide.

If you love The House of Special Purpose...

Ad

Book cover of You Yet Shall Die

You Yet Shall Die by Jennifer Barraclough,

"I'm Nicky. Your little sister." With these words from a stranger, Hilda's quiet existence in a marshland cottage with her rescue cats is turned upside down. She resolves to find out the truth about her parents' marriage, her father's secret life and her mother's untimely death. 

Hilda’s brother Dunstan is…

Want books like The House of Special Purpose?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The House of Special Purpose.

Browse books like The House of Special Purpose

Book cover of The Thirteenth Tale
Book cover of The Time Traveler's Wife
Book cover of The Chalk Man

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,355

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The House of Special Purpose, you might also like...

Book cover of My Real Name Is Hanna

My Real Name Is Hanna by Tara Lynn Masih,

"This novel is a boundary-crosser. Although it is a work of fiction, it is well researched and could pass as a memoir or a work of Holocaust history." —New York Jewish Week (JOFA Journal)

My multi-award-winning book is inspired by the Stermer family and other families who hid underground…

Book cover of Sufferance

Sufferance by Charles Palliser,

This is a novel about choices. How would you have chosen to act during the Second World War if your country had been invaded and occupied by a brutal enemy determined to isolate and murder a whole community?

That’s the situation facing an ordinary family man with two children, a…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Russia, London, and presidential biography?

Russia 395 books
London 886 books