 |
As the Soviet Union thaws and teeters on collapse, Nadia and Annika enjoy the reveries of university as best as they can. They exist in a society where "Gorbachev rewrites laws by the hour." Their lives collide and intertwine with a multitude of other characters who are enduring the Soviet Union's inevitable demise. Meanwhile, even though democracy knocks on the Soviet Union's door, threats from government officials, brutal checkpoints, and unspeakable atrocities threaten family ties as the country splinters. Other characters, like Lina and Pascoe, let their love defy all the odds stacked against them as their lives and identities change drastically.
This powerful novel depicts a period of history that has received little coverage in historical fiction. Recent events have led people to think more and more about the Cold War and the Soviet Union's reign and collapse. This book offers an impressive inquiry into the everyday lives affected by the Soviet Union's policies and legacy. This novel, too, is an example of how form can follow function in literature. The sections depicting the characters mirror the Soviet Union's eventual splintering and segmenting that resulted in much of the Baltic and Eastern Europe's present-day borders. This book, too, does a great job of showing the revolutionary and solidarity movements that resulted in the Soviet Union's dissolution. It also effectively shows how involvement in these movements had dire consequences for the individuals brave enough to stand up against a terrible regime. For anyone interested in Soviet history, this novel (like the others in the series) is a must-read.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review