I Was Anastasia: A Novel

“It will be the gift and the curse I bestow upon you. A confession for which you may never forgive me. Are you ready for that? Can you hold this truth in your hand and not crush it like the rest of them?”

The novel’s Prologue is constructed as a direct address from Anna to the reader, laying down the central question that will sustain the book: Anna’s real identity. It introduces the central themes of memory and identity and positions the book as a confession. By calling the truth “gift and curse,” she highlights how the truth can both liberate and destroy.

“She has gotten here, she has survived, by always doing the thing that needs to be done.”

Anna’s reflection, as she has reached a place of relative safety with Jack Manahan and is reaching the end of her protracted court case, suggests that her choices have always been motivated by survival. Lawhon establishes tension and suspense around the events of Anna’s life by telling Anna’s narrative backwards in chronological time. This technique traces the evolution of her sense of self and her decisions.

“He is the recipient of a terrible, divine inheritance and I do not know how to explain that he cannot command this trouble away.”

In Anastasia’s reflection on her brother, the juxtaposition of “terrible” and “divine” reflects the burden of Alexey’s supposed future station as tsar, with  the word “terrible” foreshadowing his doom. This is a parallel to Anna’s masquerade as Anastasia: While it provides her many benefits and new friends, it is also a moral burden.