The Wake

History can be drab, but not when it’s in the hands of Robert Alexander, author of The Kitchen Boy. Through the eyes of a servant, Alexander paints the final days of the Romanov family before their secret murders that lead to the Russian revolution. Alexander humanizes the facts to create an enthralling book that addresses the mysterious nature of Nicholas and Alexandra’s fall from power. As a local writer, Alexander lives in Minneapolis and has spent nearly 30 years traveling and studying in Russia. He will be reading and discussing The Kitchen Boy as well as his other book, Rasputin’s Daughter, at the University of Minnesota Bookstore on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. In light of his appearance, Alexander agreed to sit down with The Wake and discuss historical fiction, among other things.

The Wake: What attracted you to writing about historical figures and events?
Alexander: Well, I was a Russian language major and I also had a double major in creative writing. I sort of got interested in the story of Nicholas and Alexandra in high school and it’s just something that stuck with me—just the extreme of the human condition and the tragedies that they endured. I like historical fiction because of the way it personalizes and dramatizes the factual events.

The Wake: Why did you choose to write about the fall of the Russian monarchy?
Alexander: Well, as a Russian language major I studied at Leningrad University and so on. I think that there have been plenty of famous people to have fallen from high places. Charles I to Marie Antoinette, even to O.J. Simpson and Martha Stewart, but what’s really different about Nicholas and Alexandra is that they had fallen from every high and they fell very very deep. In other words, they did not get a public trial and they did not have a public execution. So really, in essence, they were liquidated. It’s just such a tragic turn of world events and the value of the human soul when that great country fell that far. How about that? Do you buy it?

The Wake: It sounds pretty convincing. Well, on top of that it makes for a great story.
Alexander: I mean it’s just so utterly unbelievable. They fell from the throne; they were sent to Siberia; they were secretly executed; their bodies were secretly hidden from 1918 to 1991. It really embodies so much of what we’re trying to understand about the human condition, the human experience. It’s endemic. The Russian revolution is so … I don’t know what the word is that I want to say. It reflects the questions so deeply and so harshly.

The Wake: What are the problems or difficulties associated with historical fiction?
Alexander: First of all, you need to write a book that has a sense of pace and a sense of tension and a sense of plot. I think that’s the backbone or the bottom line for any good book. You know we all love to stay up and read a good book late at night. You know the books that we’re crazy about are the ones that keep us turning the pages. So you want to make sure that when you’re doing historical fiction that you find a story and lay your history on top of that. The second thing that you have to be very careful of is not to over do it on the research. On the one hand, you want to write a story. My goal is to write a story like an eyewitness account. I want to do it with all the veracity and authenticity of an eyewitness. But you don’t want to be bogged down by that either. At a certain point you have to take the leap into fiction and too much research, too many facts, too many little details can sink a story, as well as make it seem real.

The Wake: In your opinion, what is the draw of historical fiction compared to mainstream fictions?
Alexander: I love reading as a form of entertainment. I love reading because it takes me somewhere else. What has worked for me and why people have adopted The Kitchen Boy is it’s a chance to be both entertained and informed. It’s not like just eating popcorn. There’s a little sustenance to it too.

The Wake: Do you have any advice for young writers just beginning their careers?
Alexander: I would just sit down and do it. Success is going to come to those who work the hardest. I mean that’s what I believe. And then don’t forget your reader because to be published you need to be read. It’s not just about how great you are. A book isn’t successful for me until it’s successful for the reader.

The Wake: What are you reading now?
Alexander: The newspaper. When I am writing I really have a hard time reading. Getting a book going in my head is like going into a movie. When that movie is going I don’t want to interrupt it. I’ve got to be a terrible reader because I have so many deadlines. But I am reading a lot of research about the Romanovs. There’s a new book by Boris Akunin. I want to read the Kite Runner.