One More Year is Sana Krasikov’s extraordinary debut collection, illuminating the lives of immigrants from across the terrain of a col...
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Nov 09, 2008
Imogen
rated it: 
Dude. This is the most Iowa Writers' Workshop book I have ever read, and when I was a little baby creative writing litfic zine self-publishing undergrad baby, I read a lot of Iowa Writers' Workshop books.
It's like, Jesus, I know that that place produces different kinds of writers, but if you wanted to boil what they do down into one book, this would be it. Seemingly innocuous observations that are actually full of meaning, if you really totally think about it? Check. A window into c More...
It's like, Jesus, I know that that place produces different kinds of writers, but if you wanted to boil what they do down into one book, this would be it. Seemingly innocuous observations that are actually full of meaning, if you really totally think about it? Check. A window into c More...
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Jan 11, 2009
Elevate Difference
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Sana Krasikov, in her first published collection, brings a filling and current group of short stories, and in them, creates honest characters whose interactions cannot be forgotten. Dramatic and awful at times, desperate and sparse, the stories move through time as each day does. Eagerly, you turn the page, hoping for the best, but you see it doesn't always happen.
As a graduate of the reknown Iowa Writers' Workshop, Krasikov sounds like Raymond Carver at times: despairing and hopeless More...
As a graduate of the reknown Iowa Writers' Workshop, Krasikov sounds like Raymond Carver at times: despairing and hopeless More...
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Jun 19, 2009
I had not planned on reading this collection of stories -I received a free hardback copy courtesy of the New York Public Library Young Lions Committee (I am not a member; I was invited to one of their events) and left it buried under the nine gazillion other books on my floor until I decided to read it a couple of days ago and was not at all disappointed. The stories focus on Russian/Georgian/Jewish immigrants in New York/the tri-state area (read: Westchester), and though I resent most authors
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Nov 17, 2008
Robert
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Stark stories of assimilation and identity that ask if we can ever be anything other than who we are. By this I mean that one's culture in inextricably tied to one's sense of self. When one's culture is stripped away, whether by choice or not, one begins to lose one's identity leaving a void into which myriad issues accumulate.
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Sep 01, 2010
Kate
rated it: 
This is another hybrid book, this time from the Russian perspective. It is well written and interesting to read, but it did not keep me engaged. It is a difficult struggle to integrate into any society and Krasikov certainly brought a viewpoint often over looked. Some of the stories are of people who are planning to go back to their native land once they have earned enough money--always one more year; some are about individuals who are desperately trying to stay in America; one story is about a
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Jan 11, 2012
Lisa
rated it:
How often do you read a book and think "Why haven't I heard about this book before?" This is exactly what I thought all the way through this book. I enjoyed it immensely!
At the end of each short story, I wanted more. I wanted to know "What happens next?" and had the RATS! feeling that happens when you have to let go of a character at the story's end.
I'm going to order her first novel as soon as I get home. The back flap says that Sana Krasikov was More...
At the end of each short story, I wanted more. I wanted to know "What happens next?" and had the RATS! feeling that happens when you have to let go of a character at the story's end.
I'm going to order her first novel as soon as I get home. The back flap says that Sana Krasikov was More...
Jul 26, 2011
I’ve always enjoyed reading short stories, but it’s not often that I come across a writer who has the ability to hold my attention with every story.
Sana Krasikov’s One More Year comprises stories either with Russian/Ukranian characters and their relationship to each other and to assimilating in America.
While the characters seemed almost unrelentingly depressing, I still found myself looking forward to the next story. I found that I was not reading for the character developmen More...
Sana Krasikov’s One More Year comprises stories either with Russian/Ukranian characters and their relationship to each other and to assimilating in America.
While the characters seemed almost unrelentingly depressing, I still found myself looking forward to the next story. I found that I was not reading for the character developmen More...
Sep 23, 2009
Literary Feline
rated it: 
Short stories come in all different styles. Some are character studies; others have more of a vignette feel to them, that slice of life view; and then there are short stories that are more plot driven, with a clear beginning, middle and end. Sana Krasikov manages to capture all three in her collection, One More Year. Her characters are richly drawn and fully developed. Their stories are complex and I feel as if, for the instance of each story, I am walking in their shoes. One More Year is made
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Aug 06, 2011
Lena
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Being that I'm very similar in background and age to the author herself, Sana Krasikov, I found the book interesting in that a lot of my own life snippets were repeated in the stories. Lots of little things were exactly the same, so it's nice to see it happening somewhere outside of my own home and experience. However, her wording was very confusing. The timeline in stories wasn't very steady and she jumped around a little bit between actions, further confusing the plots of all the little storie
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Nov 04, 2009
source: FT review (oct09) by john thornhill.
review excerpt: book of eight short stories, focuses mainly on the disconnected lives of émigrés as they try to establish coherent identities for themselves in the US. She is an author of wry, and at times dazzling, talent. But despite their promise and charm, her early stories fail to crystallise. It is only in her final two tales, “The Repatriates” and “There Will Be No Fourth Rome”, when her subjects return to Moscow, that the book burst More...
review excerpt: book of eight short stories, focuses mainly on the disconnected lives of émigrés as they try to establish coherent identities for themselves in the US. She is an author of wry, and at times dazzling, talent. But despite their promise and charm, her early stories fail to crystallise. It is only in her final two tales, “The Repatriates” and “There Will Be No Fourth Rome”, when her subjects return to Moscow, that the book burst More...
Jul 16, 2008
Donura
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DATE: 7-16-08
TITLE: One More Year
AUTHOR: Krasikov, Sana
PUBLISHER: Spiegel & Grau
COPYRIGHT: 2008
RATING: 5 out of 5
I must preface my review with the fact that I rarely read short stories collections because I always seem to be left wanting more. I think the last collection I read and really enjoyed was The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.
This book was meant for me to read. The day I received it I was so drawn that More...
Dec 13, 2008
Alea
rated it:
One More Year is a collection of short stories that explore the lives of people from the former Soviet Union. Some have immigrated to the United States and others still live or have returned to Russia. The collection explores all sorts of relationships, from care takers, to husband and wife, to uncle and niece. Many different parts of life are captures as snapshots.
Some of my favorite stories include Asal, about a relationship not normally talked about, Better Half about a young cou More...
Some of my favorite stories include Asal, about a relationship not normally talked about, Better Half about a young cou More...
Dec 26, 2008
kira
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Short stories. Krasikov has been widely compared to Jhumpa Lahiri -- and I think that's mainly because they both write about the experiences of immigrants (in Krasikov's case, Russian and Georgian) to the U.S. A pleasure to read. I am looking forward to reading Sana Krasikov's forthcoming novel, as most of her stories left me wanting to know more about the characters. I would like to see her take the time to go delve more deeply in the themes she touches on in this collection.
Jun 14, 2009
Kirsten
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I like the voice in these stories--compassionate, tough-minded, cosmopolitan--and she has a light touch I admired.
"In the metro I was met by the usual ocean of dour faces. My God, I thought, these people have chandeliers in their subways. They have sculpted arches and mosaics. Their stations look better than the halls of some universities! Couldn't they at least be delighted about *that*? It was as if everyone in Moscow was suffering from exactly the same toothache. And soon eno More...
"In the metro I was met by the usual ocean of dour faces. My God, I thought, these people have chandeliers in their subways. They have sculpted arches and mosaics. Their stations look better than the halls of some universities! Couldn't they at least be delighted about *that*? It was as if everyone in Moscow was suffering from exactly the same toothache. And soon eno More...
Jul 01, 2009
Marisa
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This book is a collection of short stories about immigrants from various countries in the US. It is really well-written, and the characters are very vivid and well developed, I really enjoyed reading it. I was hoping for a little bit of connection between the characters in the various stories, but there is none. That is the only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars :)
Dec 05, 2008
J.A.
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Two of the stories in this collection have been featured in The New Yorker, so I was excited when I saw a review copy of One More Year by Sana Krasikov arrive in the mail. These tales of Russian and Georgian immigrants hoping for better lives through love in its myriad muddied forms are honest and unflinching. Arranged marriages, affairs, and acceptance are commonplace as Krasikov accurately portrays the challenges of women who seek refuge in the attention and arms of all types of men, from th
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Sep 25, 2011
Elena
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Chechovian in its detached detail, and deeply touching stories about the lives of Russian immigrants in the US that make one reflect upon human nature in general and suffer fro nostalgia if you happen to come from the former Soviet Union
Jun 08, 2009
Chris
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Krasikov quite successfully captures the modern-day Russian emigré existence (I assume). Her stories portray characters of all ages, dispositions, and locations, struggling to make connections with each other and their homeland. Only rarely does Krasikov's youth seep through.
Jun 15, 2009
Judy
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A wonderful collection of short stories about immigrants from the former Soviet Union who are three-dimensional and live in two time zones. Krasikov is a wonderful writer who mines details that turn out to be gold nuggets.
Jul 25, 2010
Marissa
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Very well-written short stories, mostly about Russian immigrants. I enjoyed the good character development and interesting plots covering everything from caregiving to friendships to marriages.
Mar 15, 2009
Ginger
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The best contemporary book I've read by an Iowa Workshop writer. The stories actually get richer and more haunting as the book progresses.
Mar 04, 2009
Kat
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I read the first two stories, not bad but v. sad, both about lives of Georgian-Russian immigrants in the US.
Dec 19, 2008
Laura
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A lot of short stories about Russian immigrants. Not a good selection if you are looking for a complete story. The stories all leave you a little undone.
May 26, 2009
Margie
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Tales of Russian immigrants full of pride, angst, anxiety and all the other emotions that know no cultural bounds.
Jul 29, 2011
Daisy
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What a discovery. These are beautifully written stories with honest, potent descriptions of loneliness and love and place. There's one story, "Debt," whose absent characters are almost more powerful than the ones who are present. This collection has mostly to do with immigrants from Russia or Georgia, some successful transplants and some not. Mine was a library copy and something I wish I owned.
The first of many lines I wanted to write down: It was hard to tell if he was More...
The first of many lines I wanted to write down: It was hard to tell if he was More...
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Nov 19, 2011
Melanie
rated it:
it was okay, some stories definitely better than others. I didn't like it nearly as much as Jhumpa Lahiri's short story collections, which I HIGHLY recommend!
Apr 28, 2009
Allyson
rated it:
short stories and a little depressing. She has a different perspective for sure.
