Lorin Saunders

Sasha: an Historical Novel Lorin Saunders

Sasha is a deep love story and a great tragedy. It is an historical novel that takes place in the early stages of Communist totalitarian rule in Russia, mostly between 1917 and 1933. The story centers around the life of a modestly-successful peasant farming family and how they lived through those tragic times. It speaks of a time when the Bolsheviks watered the land with the blood and tears of their countrymen and women. It was a time when it is said that, "The lakes filled and the rivers ran from the tears of the people." Sasha is a story that could be told of millions of people who lived out their lives during the Bolsheviks reign of terror. The reader will experience the importance of faith in the lives of people, and what happens when an unrestrained godless tyranny rules a country. The story clearly portrays the tragedy of restricting the innate propensity in humanity for achievement and reward, and how denying this vestige of purpose is one of the greatest travesties against the dignity of men and women that a nation can inflect upon its citizens. Sasha is also about the importance of friendships. It is a story of a period in history that a Russian historian, who lived through and participated in those tragic years, has said, "It is a sin to forget this, a great sin." Sasha remembers this period in a way the reader will never forget. It speaks a warning to the West, and to our own lives if we do not learn from the lessons of history.