As Noites Brancas de São Petersburgo (Colecção Plátano de Maio #3)

"The White Nights of St.Petersburg" by Geoffrey Trease. Londres: Macmillan Children's Books (September 1967) / Vanguard Press (NYC). ASIN: B0000CNLWV '-' [Rússia, Outono de 1916]: Para David Hopkins, jovem americano que viera passar uma temporada em S. Petersburgo com a intenção bastante prática de se familiarizar com a língua russa, a bela cidade sobre o Rio Neva oferecia um aspecto que, sem ser inamistoso, também não seria, para um estrangeiro, tranquilizador. Murmúrios estranhos e inquietantes de graves confrontações sociais, (abafadas pela polícia secreta do Czar), serviam de pano de fundo para o catastrófico andamento da Grande Guerra de 1914 -- que ia de mal a pior! Um desencadear de acontecimentos que veio a proporcionar ao jovem americano, a ocasião única de ser apaixonada testemunha do ruir de um Império, o dos Romanovs... E da eclosão de uma nova ordem social revolucionária, nascida do turbilhão desses dias "que abalaram o Mundo'.'

"The White Nights of St.Petersburg" by Geoffrey Trease -- 'St Petersburg in 1916 was a beautiful, baffling but uneasy city. David, arrived from America to research new business opportunities, is puzzled by the political and social undercurrents. Before his first year is over he is caught in the extraordinary beginning of the Russian Revolution'.'

[Amazon Customer Reviews] Days That Shook The World / 26 Nov. 2002: "This story, for teenagers, is a very good introduction to the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 -- though it's also, in its admirable clarity, a fine refresher for adults too. The story begins with a regular young American boy, David, whose father has sent him to Russia to learn the language as he believes that he can do business in this developing country. David's arrival in this strange city is beautifully described - all the sights and sounds and impressions of St. Petersburg in November. He stays at a boarding house where he becomes friends with the younger residents, including an idealistic leftwing student, a dreamy trainee ballerina and a feisty British nurse. Through them he learns a lot about the current political situation, with the Tsar's regime in trouble because of the war, shortages, people's resentment of the sinister advisor Rasputin, revolutionary groups, etc. But in case the reader is getting too bogged down in detail, the very next day David finds himself in a potentially dangerous encounter with the secret police. Trease manages the balance between the fascinating political story and more conventional 'adventure' episodes very well. His characters are simple but quite convincing, as is David's attraction to one of the girls. It is all very natural - people don't talk as though they're in a historical novel; they, of course, see themselves as modern.
Although David manages to come into contact with people like Rasputin and Lenin, and to spend a lot of time thinking about the political situation, it's not unbelievable: after all, he is there to learn about the country on his father's behalf. It never feels too much like contrivance or awkwardness. Also, several of the characters are openly bored by politics - but they find that the huge events which come about as the year goes on affect them whether they are interested or not. This is a very easy book for bright teenagers to read and interesting for adults too. Years later, the author went on to write another book about Russia, set after Glasnost in the '80s (Shadow Under The Sea), as well as many other historical novels which changed the style in which books of this kind were written'.'

Literatura Estrangeira / Aventura / História / Romance / Infantojuvenil