Last weekend I started my fifth Danielle Steel novel, Zoya. This book is from the late 1980s and its Steel’s 23rd novel. At the time of writing this post, I was a little over 75 pages into the book. I was lucky enough to come across a first edition hardcover of this book that was in stellar condition. (Library book sales for the win!!) I have some interesting first impressions that I thought I’d share.
This book appears to be divided in a few “parts” based on the location of where the story is taking place, which so far in my Danielle Steel journey, is atypical. I recently finished the first part of the book which was set in Russia. The next part is labeled Paris.
As I’ve stated before, this book is from a much earlier point in Danielle’s career and the writing style is very different. Frankly, it was unexpected. So far, the repetitiveness isn’t present. The novel also seems to be moving at a slower pace with more details provided. It doesn’t seem like Steel is rushing to finish the story or get to the next main plot point to keep the story moving forward. Instead she is giving the reader time to sit with the characters, get to know them, understand their feelings, and most importantly, make her readers feel like they are there alongside the characters. This isn’t something she does very often in her later stories.
This book is much longer than her more recent novels. The edition I am using has almost 450 pages and it’s a full-size trade hardcover. I would imagine that this story is well over 100,000 words, possibly even closer to 150,000. For context, most of her stories since 2015 are probably around 50K-60K (based on page count only). By having a longer book, the plot and characters can be moved developed.
Just like when I read the other handful of novels, I have a pad and pen next to my reading station, ready for me to write notes. I haven written down some notes, but typically by this point in the story I have a couple of pages of notes. Most of the time, these notes are negative. That isn’t the case with this one. I barely have one page of notes and none of them are inherently negative. It’s more notes about the plot and keeping characters straight. I think that alone speaks to Steel’s merits as a storyteller with this book.
I’m quite excited to see where this story goes. I am already attached to Zoya (the main character) and feel for her pain that she’s already suffered so early in the book. And let me tell you, it’s quite a lot. I won’t spoil anything just yet, but my final review will surely give away most plot details. (Again, the book is older than I am, so are they really spoilers?)
I am reading this story a bit slower than other Danielle Steel novels. Honestly, I’m reading this one at the same time as another, non-Danielle Steel book. I go back and forth between the two of them each day. You can expect the full review of Zoya sometime after Mother’s Day.
Until next time…. ~ RJ
Shelves of Steel 