The House of Special Purpose – John Boyne
At its core, “The House of Special Purpose” is about a man shaped by history and defined by love, loss and one big secret.
Georgy Jachmenev is a teenager from a rural Russian village when he’s pulled into the orbit of the Romanovs, first by chance and then by duty. What follows is a story that spans 65 years, moving between revolutionary Russia, postwar Paris and Thatcher-era London as Georgy reflects on the life he built with his wife Zoya, a woman with her own haunting past.
If that sounds like a lot — it is. This one took a minute to settle into. The early chapters are dense, with lots of names and shifting timelines, but once the structure clicked, it paid off thanks to John Boyne’s exceptional character work.
Alternating between that pivotal period in the final years of Imperial Russia and their life decades later, what unfolds is part love story, part political drama and part exploration of grief and identity.
You figure out who Zoya is pretty early, but that doesn’t make the story less compelling. If anything, watching how she carries that identity in private — how it still shapes her relationships, her fears and sense of self — is reason alone to read this novel.
She’s lost nearly everything: her family, her home, her child, and eventually, her health. Even though we know from the start that she survived those early traumas, Boyne makes you feel the toll, and you can’t help but feel exhausted and unbearably sad along with her.
Georgy is a classic Boyne narrator — stoic, decent and occasionally a little too good to be true. He somehow ends up in the room for most of the major events of the fall of the Romanovs: Rasputin’s death, the Tsar’s abdication, the family’s final days at the Ipatiev House.
It’s a stretch, sure, but Boyne sticks close enough to historical detail that it mostly works. Georgy’s presence is less about believability and more about giving the reader an insider perspective. The book doesn’t romanticize monarchy, but it does capture what it’s like to live in its shadow.
I listened to this on audio, and while Stefan Rudnicki’s narration is solid, it took a little effort to adjust. His Russian-accented English fits Georgy well, but other character voices blur together. Slowing down the speed helped a lot, especially in the early chapters when the timeline and characters were still snapping into place.
As is classic Boyne, there are some beautifully quiet moments: a woman on the street who recognizes Zoya, a priest offering her spiritual closure and Georgy’s loyalty until the end.
The title refers to the Ipatiev House, where the Romanovs were executed, but by the end of the novel, it feels more symbolic. Georgy and Zoya choose to keep living in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. Survival — and the quiet act of preserving a legacy, hidden or not — became its own kind of purpose.
It’s not a page-turner, but it’s also not slow. Once you settle into the structure, it moves surprisingly quickly, and the payoff is worth it. If you like your historical fiction character-driven and a little tragic, this one’s worth your time.
Rating (story): 4/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Format: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: July 24 – July 30, 2025
Multi-tasking: Okay. Definitely better to wait a few chapters, or you’ll miss the setup and introduction of most major characters. After that, it’s easy to follow along with activities that allow you to still focus.
