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tmiles's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Galina and her mother had been looking forward to finally escaping the Soviet Union and emigrating to the United States. It's the late 1980s and under Perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev allowed Jews to leave the Soviet Union. But Galina's mother has just died, and she will be making the trip alone. But on leaving the hospital after signing her mother's death certificate, she literally runs into a young Australian, and changes her destination.
This meet-cute is annoying, but don't let it color your appreciation if the rest of the book. Galya is taken under the wing of a Jewish couple in Melbourne, but since she has not idea of what it means to be a Jew, she is not drawn to the community. They help her settle and she begins her new life in a very different place.
Yes, she does call the young man she fell over in Russia, but their path is far from easy. She becomes friends with his family, lovely people with enough secrets to fill a large storage unit, let alone a simple closet. As Galya peruses her career as an illustrator. Will fragments of her Soviet past come to Australia? Of course. Although there are some cute-meet moments, this novel is rooted in a solid family drama that makes "Invented Lives" a solid and satisfying read.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
Galina and her mother had been looking forward to finally escaping the Soviet Union and emigrating to the United States. It's the late 1980s and under Perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev allowed Jews to leave the Soviet Union. But Galina's mother has just died, and she will be making the trip alone. But on leaving the hospital after signing her mother's death certificate, she literally runs into a young Australian, and changes her destination.
This meet-cute is annoying, but don't let it color your appreciation if the rest of the book. Galya is taken under the wing of a Jewish couple in Melbourne, but since she has not idea of what it means to be a Jew, she is not drawn to the community. They help her settle and she begins her new life in a very different place.
Yes, she does call the young man she fell over in Russia, but their path is far from easy. She becomes friends with his family, lovely people with enough secrets to fill a large storage unit, let alone a simple closet. As Galya peruses her career as an illustrator. Will fragments of her Soviet past come to Australia? Of course. Although there are some cute-meet moments, this novel is rooted in a solid family drama that makes "Invented Lives" a solid and satisfying read.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
scribepub's review against another edition
Goldsmith is a masterful storyteller who explores the complex themes of identity and love in her latest novel. Invented Lives deserves a wide audience.
Mark Rubbo, Readings
It is a fabulous book ... It lives on ...What I really loved was the changing seasons of all the characters, their inner beings, their outer beings, their strengths.
Drusilla Modjeska
This is a compassionate and thoughtful depiction of one aspect of multicultural Australia … Invented Lives will appeal to fans to Australian literary fiction for its depiction of rich inner lives, and the conflict between desire and reality.
Louise Omer, Books+Publishing
One of the best books I’ve read in ages. A dizzy pleasure to read a book with such a compelling story … Exquisitely told.
Mem Fox
I liked Invented Lives a lot. It continually held my attention in a way that made me reflect on both my life and the contemporary world. Goldsmith’s writing is extremely assured. The logic of her narrative is impeccable, moving the reader back and forth in a seamless manner. Her characters are authentic (their speech and thoughts are so articulate, perhaps a testament to Goldsmith’s earlier career as a speech pathologist) and her settings very evocative of era and place.
J–Wire, Geoffrey Zygier
In her latest novel, [Andrea Goldsmith] tackles the idea and experience of exile from a surprising perspective.
Jane Sullivan, The Saturday Age
[A] complex and nuanced book … Goldsmith’s novel shows careful research in its evocations of time and place … a thoughtful novel.
Andrew Fuhrmann, The Saturday Paper
Invented Lives is seamless historical fiction with attention to detail. It is a heartfelt and human story of exile, love and self-expression, all hypnotically captured by Goldsmith’s flare as a wordsmith … the work’s greatest feature, what truly sets it apart, is its evocative and emotive character construction. Each character is achingly … Goldsmith’s work is unforgettable, literary and beautiful, and profoundly resonates into modern life.
Mel O’Connor, Echo
Goldsmith writes powerfully about art, love, exile and being true to oneself.
Nicole Abadee, Sydney Morning Herald
Absorbing interior monologues, the convincing details of place and texture, the feel of the weather, all inserted into a larger, meticulously researched historical or ideological background ... The freshest, most impressive quality of Invented Lives is the ease with which Goldsmith quietly rescues narratives of immigration and boy-meets-girl from cliche and convention.
Judith Armstrong, Weekend Australian
Australian novelist Goldsmith offers an intricate and provocative examination of grief and identity wrapped up in a riveting family saga … Goldsmith's writing is enveloping and thought provoking … A beautiful novel that challenges readers with questions that have no simple answers.
Magan Szwarek, Booklist
Goldsmith’s accounts of Galina’s lonely struggles as she tries to find her amputated, landmarkless self in her new setting are wonderfully empathetic and nuanced, and allow for some penetrating comments on Australian attitudes.
Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser
Her fiction shows characters living deeply, and in Invented Lives, her eighth novel, she does this with the level of skill we have come to expect ... Invented Lives is a novel bursting with references to books, writers and real letters with stamps, and features the famous noticeboard at Readings in Carlton. Goldsmith has always been excellent at conjuring place, and this Melbourne sparkles ... Goldsmith understands that a great deal of personal history is laced with tragedy, and accordingly she has managed, once again, to write a unique story that feels universal.
Louise Swinn, Sydney Morning Herald
This is a multi-layered story of a young Russian immigrant who introduces us to a host of Australian characters on her journey from the Soviet Union to Melbourne in the 1980s. True to expectations, the book offers a social and cultural travel guide through the era and its enormous changes. However, it is the Melbourne setting that will resonate with most readers ... A fascinating eye-opener for many readers.
Karina Barrymore, Herald Sun
Although set largely in Australia, the difficulties all emigrants experience could easily be set in New Zealand, making this book salutary for us all.
Felicity Price, Sunday Star Times
An engrossing read that melds genres and nations.
Jill Nicholas, Daily Post
Mark Rubbo, Readings
It is a fabulous book ... It lives on ...What I really loved was the changing seasons of all the characters, their inner beings, their outer beings, their strengths.
Drusilla Modjeska
This is a compassionate and thoughtful depiction of one aspect of multicultural Australia … Invented Lives will appeal to fans to Australian literary fiction for its depiction of rich inner lives, and the conflict between desire and reality.
Louise Omer, Books+Publishing
One of the best books I’ve read in ages. A dizzy pleasure to read a book with such a compelling story … Exquisitely told.
Mem Fox
I liked Invented Lives a lot. It continually held my attention in a way that made me reflect on both my life and the contemporary world. Goldsmith’s writing is extremely assured. The logic of her narrative is impeccable, moving the reader back and forth in a seamless manner. Her characters are authentic (their speech and thoughts are so articulate, perhaps a testament to Goldsmith’s earlier career as a speech pathologist) and her settings very evocative of era and place.
J–Wire, Geoffrey Zygier
In her latest novel, [Andrea Goldsmith] tackles the idea and experience of exile from a surprising perspective.
Jane Sullivan, The Saturday Age
[A] complex and nuanced book … Goldsmith’s novel shows careful research in its evocations of time and place … a thoughtful novel.
Andrew Fuhrmann, The Saturday Paper
Invented Lives is seamless historical fiction with attention to detail. It is a heartfelt and human story of exile, love and self-expression, all hypnotically captured by Goldsmith’s flare as a wordsmith … the work’s greatest feature, what truly sets it apart, is its evocative and emotive character construction. Each character is achingly … Goldsmith’s work is unforgettable, literary and beautiful, and profoundly resonates into modern life.
Mel O’Connor, Echo
Goldsmith writes powerfully about art, love, exile and being true to oneself.
Nicole Abadee, Sydney Morning Herald
Absorbing interior monologues, the convincing details of place and texture, the feel of the weather, all inserted into a larger, meticulously researched historical or ideological background ... The freshest, most impressive quality of Invented Lives is the ease with which Goldsmith quietly rescues narratives of immigration and boy-meets-girl from cliche and convention.
Judith Armstrong, Weekend Australian
Australian novelist Goldsmith offers an intricate and provocative examination of grief and identity wrapped up in a riveting family saga … Goldsmith's writing is enveloping and thought provoking … A beautiful novel that challenges readers with questions that have no simple answers.
Magan Szwarek, Booklist
Goldsmith’s accounts of Galina’s lonely struggles as she tries to find her amputated, landmarkless self in her new setting are wonderfully empathetic and nuanced, and allow for some penetrating comments on Australian attitudes.
Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser
Her fiction shows characters living deeply, and in Invented Lives, her eighth novel, she does this with the level of skill we have come to expect ... Invented Lives is a novel bursting with references to books, writers and real letters with stamps, and features the famous noticeboard at Readings in Carlton. Goldsmith has always been excellent at conjuring place, and this Melbourne sparkles ... Goldsmith understands that a great deal of personal history is laced with tragedy, and accordingly she has managed, once again, to write a unique story that feels universal.
Louise Swinn, Sydney Morning Herald
This is a multi-layered story of a young Russian immigrant who introduces us to a host of Australian characters on her journey from the Soviet Union to Melbourne in the 1980s. True to expectations, the book offers a social and cultural travel guide through the era and its enormous changes. However, it is the Melbourne setting that will resonate with most readers ... A fascinating eye-opener for many readers.
Karina Barrymore, Herald Sun
Although set largely in Australia, the difficulties all emigrants experience could easily be set in New Zealand, making this book salutary for us all.
Felicity Price, Sunday Star Times
An engrossing read that melds genres and nations.
Jill Nicholas, Daily Post
ldcornell's review against another edition
4.0
I am not exactly sure how I can upon this book. I suspect that Jen from Beagle & Wolf suggested it, and there was a used copy. Anyway, it was great.
If you want a novel with every little thread tied up neatly and explicitly at the end, you are likely to be disappointed, but the character development is magnificent.
If you want a novel with every little thread tied up neatly and explicitly at the end, you are likely to be disappointed, but the character development is magnificent.
bookalong's review against another edition
5.0
An enthralling read from start to finish! Goldsmith's storytelling is impressive and moving. Beautifully descriptive, with rich and vivid characters. Showcasing the importance of friendship and love. I had a hard time putting this down!
Taking place in the mid 80's this story follows twenty four year old Galina who has grown up in Soviet Russia. Her and her mother plan to leave for America but after her mother dies she feels compelled to emigrate to Australia instead, where she struggles to handle how much different it is there than where she has come from. She befriends a couple, Leonard and Sylvie and their adult son Andrew. As the story progresses we see Galina's presence alter these characters lives.
•
Thank You to the publisher for sending me this #ARC opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
Taking place in the mid 80's this story follows twenty four year old Galina who has grown up in Soviet Russia. Her and her mother plan to leave for America but after her mother dies she feels compelled to emigrate to Australia instead, where she struggles to handle how much different it is there than where she has come from. She befriends a couple, Leonard and Sylvie and their adult son Andrew. As the story progresses we see Galina's presence alter these characters lives.
•
Thank You to the publisher for sending me this #ARC opinions are my own.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
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