Petropolis

by Anya Ulinich

book data

320 ratings, 3.72 average rating, 85 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		17%
4		46%
3		26%
2		7%
1		1%

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published

February 15th 2007 by Viking Adult

binding

Hardcover, 336 pages

isbn

0670038199 (isbn13: 9780670038190)

description

Sasha Goldberg is the ultimate outsider: she’s a chubby, biracial Jewish girl from the Siberian town of Asbestos 2. Her father takes off for the Uni...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 544)

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01/08/08

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in January, 2008

(My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of novels that use international travel as the core of their story; and one of the reasons I like such books, as is the case with a lot of other fans of the genre, is that it gives a smart author a great opportunity to examine the various cultures that exist around the world, the...more (My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of novels that use international travel as the core of their story; and one of the reasons I like such books, as is the case with a lot of other fans of the genre, is that it gives a smart author a great opportunity to examine the various cultures that exist around the world, the various sets of societal norms and traditions that exist from place to place and that profoundly make us who we are. What does it say about us, then, when we choose to pack up and move out of the environment in which we grew up, to move halfway across the world into a culture we barely understand? How does that inform you and make you a better citizen of that new place, and how does that clash with the normalization process and make you a worser citizen? And, especially important in the case of those to emigrate to America, can you really make such a move and retain 100 percent of what your "old self" was? Must you take on some of the bad traits that exist about Americans when you choose to live here, when you choose to take advantage of the benefits of being an American?

And pow, out of left field it seems, we have out now one of the better books I've ever read on the subject, the supremely funny and horrifying Petropolis, by Russian-American smartypants immigrant Anya Ulinich. It is not just a detailed look at what most travel novels are about, which is the specific culture our hero is leaving behind (small-town Siberia in this case), but also a laser-precise look at America as well -- from desolate Arizona to the working-class neighborhoods of Chicago, to the Jewish retirement communities of low-rent Brooklyn -- told with a vicious realism that only someone from another country can even see, much less get away with. It will make you laugh uproariously, and it will make you weep uncontrollably; not only a bleak look at what exactly "survival" means to so many people around the world, but also how a person can manage to maintain a sense of fun and awe about the world at the same time. And surprisingly enough, it's more American as well than a lot of books written by native-born Americans; a book full of sophisticated humor concerning the American culture and spirit, jokes that you have to have lived in America your whole life to even get.

More specifically, it's the story of Sasha Goldberg, an overweight, clumsy, black Russian Jew (yeah, I know), living in...(less)

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01/18/08

yana rated it:

Read in February, 2008

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...more
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 and less believable, 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 disapoint.(less)

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12/19/07

Melanie marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

"Anya Ulinich's Petropolis is a coming-of-age story, a novel about outsiderness, about being a Jew and an immigrant, a Lost Girl trying to find the father who left when she was a child. That Ulinich steers clear of sentimentality may seem like a minor miracle. It's the real trick of Petropolis, and she pulls it off by sending her heroine—an awkward, intelligent teenager from Siberia who becomes a mail-order bride—on a comic odyssey through a United States populated almost entirely by de...more

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07/31/08

Melanie Burdick rated it:

Read in August, 2008

This is a sad and hilarious tale of a girl (Sasha) growing up in post-communist Russia. It is bleak, and heart-breaking and sweet and funny. The name of Sasha's hometown (Asbestos 2) sums up the entire tone of the book -- ridiculous and tragic. The story examines identity and questions what features come together to create identity -- our parents, our physicality, our geography, our relationships . . . and how exactly does limits of power and freedom affect one's relationships? An interesting re...more

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02/14/09

Dan rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Another solid read from the Jewish Russian American set (I really enjoyed Gary Stengyhart's (sp?) "Absurdistan.") Ulinich, in her first novel, can't quite match his prose or absurdity, but, nonetheless, writes a quality debut (and probably should be seen for herself, not only in the light of Stengyhart). The plot is compelling: you want to know what will happen to Sasha. Also, Ulinich's emotional conflict is believable and moving. The details and descriptions are great: she is a talent...more

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07/11/08

Manussawee rated it:

bookshelves: recently-read

Read in July, 2008

Dark and funny. This book is about life; not all terrible, but not all rosy. The main character, Sasha Goldberg, was a black, Jewish Russian. She grew up in a small town Siberia called Abestos 2. Her decisions in life took her to different situations that I could completely relate to. Growing up with a mom who worked all the time to put food on the table and did her best to give you the best opportunities; seeking a father who you long to be close to but yet leave you with disappointments a...more

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06/25/08

Ellen rated it:

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Ellen by: Bryant Park Project

I have trouble deciding what I think of this book. I struggled with it all the way through. I did not like the main character, Sasha. I didn’t like her mother, Mrs. Goldberg. The only character I liked from the moment I met him was Viktor Goldberg, Sasha’s dad. Then Viktor leaves, leaving me alone with Sasha and Mrs. Goldberg. Then after a while, Jake enters, and I find another character I can relate to. By the end of the book my favorite character was Jake.

I like seeing A...more

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06/10/08

Michael rated it:

Read in June, 2008

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.

Wha...more 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.(less)

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05/13/08

Ukrainer rated it:

Read in May, 2008

A few days ago, a friend instant messaged me from Ukraine. I was terrified. I often email in the language—when I can take the time to check my grammar and spelling—but have never before engaged in a real-time written conversation.

Not only was I trying to remember vocabulary and declensions, but I was also dealing with typing in an entirely different alphabet. My deficiencies were mortifying, and I was sure my friend thought I was a complete moron.

At the same time, I w...more

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01/24/08

Susan rated it:

Read in October, 2007

I can't believe this book was written by a first time author, and one whose mother tongue is not English! Petropolis is very entertaining and heart-wrenching at times. It's the story of a young girl in Russia who comes to the US at a cost that most of us wouldn't even think about. She's a mail order bride, living in Arizona with a husband who likes her because in her profile she states that she likes to clean. He's secretive and creepy, so she eventually leaves him and moves across country. Beco...more

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08/14/07

Kylee rated it:

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: My gramms, sis, dogs and cats and art school dropout

I finished this book a couple months back, so my review will be a little fuzzy. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. There, I said it. This is one of the most beautifully written, insightful RECENT works of fiction that I've had the pleasure to read in such a long time. Written from the perspective of a 'biracial, Jewish, socially maladjusted "child of the intelligentsia' from the Siberian town Asbestos 2", this books does an amazing job of capturing the awkwardness of youth, the struggle to su...more

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08/04/07

Julian rated it:

bookshelves: regular-fiction

Read in September, 2007

I've had such awful luck with random books picked up off the shelf based on whim, but this book surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It's the story of a biracial Jewish girl who grows up in Siberia, attends a very surreal Socialist art school, escapes as a mail-order bride to America, and winds up traveling across the U.S. in search of her father, who abandoned her family when she was a pre-teen. This makes it sound like a road trip book, but it isn't.

Although at times minorl...more

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03/22/09

Maureen rated it:

bookshelves: seabiscuits-book-club

Read in March, 2009

This book was an easy read about a young girl finding her way through life. Growing up in an impoverished area in Siberia, she encounters many obstacles but continues to move on trying to make a better life for herself. She actually had many things going for her, but the usual rebellious teenage behavior steps in and takes over. I don't usually read books centered in Russia, so I found the geographical aspects interesting as well. I don't want to give anything away, but I was happy with the ...more

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07/07/07

Maya rated it:

Read in July, 2007

the first 20 pages were a little hard to get through because the author's style is a little odd. but it's getting better and better!

...

so i finished this book and i really liked it! i was right, it just gets better and better! i could really relate to the immigrant experience that this girl had even though what she went through was, on the surface, totally different than what i'm going through. but the author (who is obviously an immigrant, too) really hit some key feelin...more

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04/22/09

Beverly rated it:

bookshelves: 2007, immigrants, literary

Read in March, 2007

Energetic and touching coming of age story about a Russian-Jewish girl of African ancestry struggling to find her place in the world. Funny and charming with a sure touch of atmosphere and character. Reveals a lot about the craziness of post-soviet Russian and the contrast of America (crazy in a different way). Written in English by a Russian native.

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02/24/09

Valerie rated it:

Read in February, 2009

Very unusual. Rather grim (though I found the grimness fascinating) story about unattractive people (personality-wise and physically) in unattractive places - esp. Soviet designed Siberia. The heroine wasn't esp. sympathetic either, though I'm sure that's intentional. Excellent use of architecture for the setting of tone.

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04/29/08

Eva rated it:

I wrote a review of Petropolis elsewhere. This is part of it:

I don't know if I can get recommend Petropolis. This isn't to say that it wasn't a good book, but for a book written in English by an author approximately as American as I am, the text is littered with contextless Russian words. This is all well and good if you are Vladimir Nabokov writing Ada, or Ardor, but Vladimir Nabokov is dead, Annochka - stop it. Still, Petropolis is charming. Aside from that sprinkling of une...more

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05/05/09

Elina rated it:

Read in April, 2009

The first book I've read in months (non-academic related, that is!). It's light and quick, very funny and features a half-Jewish, half African/half-Russian daughter living out in Siberia who decides to take the mail-order bride route to suburban America. Entertainment and honest observations ensue.

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04/27/09

David rated it:

bookshelves: to-read

Read in March, 2009

I only read a dozen pages of this at a friend's place recently during a trip to SF, but it starts nicely. As an added bonus, I went to college with the author during the '90s, and she's a cool chica who lived the whole Russian-immigrant-to-America thing... She's also a pretty cool chica. Way to go, Anya!

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04/16/09

Shannon rated it:

An intense story of a girl growing up in the town of Asbestos 2 in Siberia and her journey to America seeking her father and a better life. Written with humor and blunt honesty, I was both shocked, appalled, and entertained by this story. I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it!

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