51 pages • 1 hour read
The Secrets We Kept
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Lara Prescott’s debut novel, The Secrets We Kept, revolves around the publication of Russian writer Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago. Behind the Iron Curtain, Pasternak’s novel is seen as a threat to the Soviet State. Outside the Soviet Union, it is seen as not just an epic love story but also a device to influence Soviet citizens and destabilize the government. Prescott’s historical-fiction novel, published in 2019, concerns three women: Olga Ivinskaya, Pasternak’s real-life lover and unofficial literary agent, and two CIA agents who discover that working for the “Agency” requires keeping more than just State secrets.
This guide refers to the 2019 Alfred A. Knopf (Penguin Random House) edition.
Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of sexual assault and rape. It also contains depictions of suicidal ideation.
Plot Summary
In 1949, Olga Ivinskaya is arrested for her involvement with the writer Boris Pasternak. Because she is the famous author’s mistress and is pregnant with his child, the KGB agents who interrogate her assume she knows about his anti-Soviet ideologies and press her to write a letter detailing those issues as well as what she knows about his unfinished novel.
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