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dayseraph's review against another edition
4.0
It's the story of a post-Soviet Russian, half-black, Jewish girl who has been abandoned by her father and lives in a town called Asbestos 2 with her pretentious mother. Eventually she goes to America as a mail-order bride to look for her father. What's not to love?
affyfe's review against another edition
4.0
I think I lied this book more than I realized after immediately finishing it. Although I wasn't crazy about where the story was heading I always found it enjoyable to read. I think its partly because of the great characters that are so different and well depicted. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it!
dontpanic42's review against another edition
4.0
This is a strong debut from an author who shows herself to be, above all, an excellent storyteller. It is at its heart the story of a woman--Sasha Goldberg, a teenage, dark-skinned, Russian Jew raised in a forgotten and eroding Soviet town called Asbestos 2--trying to find a place for herself in the world. Some might call it a coming-of-age piece, taking place as it does in Sasha's late teens, but I think it is more aptly described as an immigrant's story, one of seeking a home.
What makes this such an effective story about immigration is its depiction of so many facets of the immigration picture. We see Sasha's father, Victor, disappear to America when Sasha is only a little girl, and he is not heard from again--indeed, Sasha's mother pretends as if he never existed. We also learn later of Victor's refusal to speak Russian when at home in America, his desire to avoid the whole Russian community of New York. The book also covers mail-order brides and overzealous philanthropists who have made the immigration of Russian Jews a pet project but for all of the wrong reasons. We see Sasha's mother refuse the opportunity to go to America, and we meet women who must leave their children behind to immigrate in search of better lives and better opportunities for those children in the future. We deal with racism, degrees of assimilation, and cultural clashes (like when Sasha's American boyfriend ignorantly presents her with a Lenin pin as a piece of Soviet kitsch.
In short, we get it all; and it's done with a great balance, tone, and voice throughout. Of course, what makes any story powerful is the strength of the characters involved, and the characters in this book certainly grab the reader's attention. There is a full range of loveable and detestable characters that I won't even get into, but Ulinich's development of those characters is mostly very well done, and the characters are, for the most part, accessible to the reader and interesting to meet.
I do question somewhat the author's portrayal of motherhood; it seems that nowhere in the book are there any but the most dysfunctional mother-child relationships, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more range. I felt the same way when it came to the author's depiction of most marriages in the book. I was left feeling that the author had simply had deeply injurious experiences of her own with both subjects--motherhood and marriage--and the inevitable dysfunction of these relationships distracted me rather than interested me. They seemed not to reflect the real world but rather some limited and very negative experience of the author. That may just be me, but I thought while the author was good at creating characters, she was not always great at developing the relationships between charcters. That is the only niggling piece that distracts from what is overall a very nicely done story and worth the read.
What makes this such an effective story about immigration is its depiction of so many facets of the immigration picture. We see Sasha's father, Victor, disappear to America when Sasha is only a little girl, and he is not heard from again--indeed, Sasha's mother pretends as if he never existed. We also learn later of Victor's refusal to speak Russian when at home in America, his desire to avoid the whole Russian community of New York. The book also covers mail-order brides and overzealous philanthropists who have made the immigration of Russian Jews a pet project but for all of the wrong reasons. We see Sasha's mother refuse the opportunity to go to America, and we meet women who must leave their children behind to immigrate in search of better lives and better opportunities for those children in the future. We deal with racism, degrees of assimilation, and cultural clashes (like when Sasha's American boyfriend ignorantly presents her with a Lenin pin as a piece of Soviet kitsch.
In short, we get it all; and it's done with a great balance, tone, and voice throughout. Of course, what makes any story powerful is the strength of the characters involved, and the characters in this book certainly grab the reader's attention. There is a full range of loveable and detestable characters that I won't even get into, but Ulinich's development of those characters is mostly very well done, and the characters are, for the most part, accessible to the reader and interesting to meet.
I do question somewhat the author's portrayal of motherhood; it seems that nowhere in the book are there any but the most dysfunctional mother-child relationships, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more range. I felt the same way when it came to the author's depiction of most marriages in the book. I was left feeling that the author had simply had deeply injurious experiences of her own with both subjects--motherhood and marriage--and the inevitable dysfunction of these relationships distracted me rather than interested me. They seemed not to reflect the real world but rather some limited and very negative experience of the author. That may just be me, but I thought while the author was good at creating characters, she was not always great at developing the relationships between charcters. That is the only niggling piece that distracts from what is overall a very nicely done story and worth the read.
jansyn_liberty's review against another edition
4.0
Besides a section of about 50 pages that I had to skip in the middle because it was so boring, the beginning and the conclusion of the book are fantastic. It was a digestible view of soviet Russia and an interesting perspective on immigration. I enjoyed it overall.
ashoesmaker's review against another edition
4.0
The story was a bit haphazard and disjointed, but then again, it's reflective of how life often is. I enjoyed the protagonist - Sasha - her unique stories (her beginnings in Serbia, her brief encounter as a mother, her mail-order bride escape to the states, and her round-a-bout way of finding her father, true love, and friendship). My favorite takeaway from this novel however is the beautiful way Anya Ulinich describes everything - from the world to emotions. Her descriptions are richly written, and are the type of descriptions I am envious of as a writer. I recommend this one if you are interested in learning about Russian culture and/or fictional memoirs about the immigrant experience in the states.
zoylicious's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
yanulya's review against another edition
2.0
Well, I always think i have a weakness for books about Russian immigrants, Russian-Americans, or other Eastern Europeans in America. However, i've noticed a trend lately among contemporary novels written by Young Russian Immigrants or Young Americans of Russian Descent. The trend consists of books that try so hard to be satirical, lovingly mocking both Russian and American culture, while also trying to hard to be _current_ and capture minute details of contemporary pop culture so perfectly, that they end up... well... shall i say... _slight_?
What i mean is, they get caught up in the irony and the details and what is lost in return is any sense of depth, heft, beauty, artful storytelling, or the ability to move the reader. This is actually pretty sad, because i actually _like_ the mockery, the satire, but not at the expense of overall quality of the novel itself. Unfortunately, it is rare that i see the perfect combination of the humor and the depth. So far, Jonathan Safran Foer has come the closest. Anya Ulinich's Petropolis, which i had such high hopes for and was perhaps a little too excited to read, falls short.
The writing is not terrible, in fact, in places it is quite comical, and in others it is rather poignant, for fleeting moments, but overall, it felt like it was trying a little too hard to be funny and ironic, a little too hard to be contemporary and hip, and not hard enough to present the whole package well. Overall i found the tone inconsistent - the first half delights in ironic names and details (e.g. the main character's hometown "Asbestos 2"), while the second half is just sad and serious. My suspension of disbelief was often broken by unrealistic-seeming dialogue or emotional descriptions, as well as the presence of some of my literary pet-peeves (seemingly unnecessary descriptions of things like masturbation and getting high. perhaps i'm just a literary prude).
This book reminded me a bit of "The Russian Debutante's Handbook" - funny at first, promising a light and entertaining read, but then becoming less funny, the character becoming less sympathetic or interesting, and the story becoming less believable, as it went on.
I do think i'm making the book sound worse than it is. There were certainly parts that were fun to read, and i do admit i delighted in some of the details that only one raised surrounded by both Russian and American culture could fully delight in. Some of the details she captures about Russian parents were entirely spot on (resulting in several of those moments when i thought "OH! its not just MY crazy parents who say that!"). If Goodreads had "half" ratings, i'd have given this book 2 1/2 stars rather than 2. But, i think my overall disappointment, and the feeling that there was potential for so much more, keeps it from a 3.
Part of my problem may be what i call "cormac mccarthy syndrome." Once you've read writing like his, which can sometimes only be described as "painfully beautiful," it becomes close to impossible for any, especially contemporary, author to compare.
Now i'm on to finally read The Road to make up for this. Let's hope it doesnt disappoint.
What i mean is, they get caught up in the irony and the details and what is lost in return is any sense of depth, heft, beauty, artful storytelling, or the ability to move the reader. This is actually pretty sad, because i actually _like_ the mockery, the satire, but not at the expense of overall quality of the novel itself. Unfortunately, it is rare that i see the perfect combination of the humor and the depth. So far, Jonathan Safran Foer has come the closest. Anya Ulinich's Petropolis, which i had such high hopes for and was perhaps a little too excited to read, falls short.
The writing is not terrible, in fact, in places it is quite comical, and in others it is rather poignant, for fleeting moments, but overall, it felt like it was trying a little too hard to be funny and ironic, a little too hard to be contemporary and hip, and not hard enough to present the whole package well. Overall i found the tone inconsistent - the first half delights in ironic names and details (e.g. the main character's hometown "Asbestos 2"), while the second half is just sad and serious. My suspension of disbelief was often broken by unrealistic-seeming dialogue or emotional descriptions, as well as the presence of some of my literary pet-peeves (seemingly unnecessary descriptions of things like masturbation and getting high. perhaps i'm just a literary prude).
This book reminded me a bit of "The Russian Debutante's Handbook" - funny at first, promising a light and entertaining read, but then becoming less funny, the character becoming less sympathetic or interesting, and the story becoming less believable, as it went on.
I do think i'm making the book sound worse than it is. There were certainly parts that were fun to read, and i do admit i delighted in some of the details that only one raised surrounded by both Russian and American culture could fully delight in. Some of the details she captures about Russian parents were entirely spot on (resulting in several of those moments when i thought "OH! its not just MY crazy parents who say that!"). If Goodreads had "half" ratings, i'd have given this book 2 1/2 stars rather than 2. But, i think my overall disappointment, and the feeling that there was potential for so much more, keeps it from a 3.
Part of my problem may be what i call "cormac mccarthy syndrome." Once you've read writing like his, which can sometimes only be described as "painfully beautiful," it becomes close to impossible for any, especially contemporary, author to compare.
Now i'm on to finally read The Road to make up for this. Let's hope it doesnt disappoint.
artist_lace's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up because the story’s plot follows a Siberian Mail-Order Bride to America and this theme sounded intriguing to me. The story was really so much more than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the protagonist, Sasha, was a artist and that so much of the story takes places in her hometown of Asbestos 2. I love to read about other cultures and societies, and when art is a central theme in a novel I’m usually hooked.
Sasha is a bit of a clumsy heroine, but it’s easy to understand where she’s coming from in most aspects of her life, especially through her culture shock in coming to live in America. The story is a little all over the place, but I think it works in this book, because it mirrors Sasha’s life. Sasha has a heart of gold, and while this is definitely a fun read, it can also be a bit depressing at times, like life itself.
Sasha is a bit of a clumsy heroine, but it’s easy to understand where she’s coming from in most aspects of her life, especially through her culture shock in coming to live in America. The story is a little all over the place, but I think it works in this book, because it mirrors Sasha’s life. Sasha has a heart of gold, and while this is definitely a fun read, it can also be a bit depressing at times, like life itself.