An ambitious first novel, this is an odd but engaging tale told with the black humor typical of Russian literature. Sasha Goldberg, a black, Jewish Russian girl (!) from the town of Asbestos 2(!!) goes in search of the father that abandoned her and her self-possessed mother when she was a small child. The long road takes her from the weird post-Soviet Russia to being a mail-order bride in Arizona to being the pet Soviet refusenik of a wealthy philanthropic couple in Chicago. It is a sprawling piece of work that never loses a certain tension but can also provide a good laugh and a hard look at how people cope.
Showing posts with label asbestos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asbestos. Show all posts
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Petropolis by Anya Ulinich
An ambitious first novel, this is an odd but engaging tale told with the black humor typical of Russian literature. Sasha Goldberg, a black, Jewish Russian girl (!) from the town of Asbestos 2(!!) goes in search of the father that abandoned her and her self-possessed mother when she was a small child. The long road takes her from the weird post-Soviet Russia to being a mail-order bride in Arizona to being the pet Soviet refusenik of a wealthy philanthropic couple in Chicago. It is a sprawling piece of work that never loses a certain tension but can also provide a good laugh and a hard look at how people cope.
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