This is one of those books that made me feel better for having read it. I'd never thought about people's idealism drawing them (back) to the Soviet Union and while this book doesn't pretend to be a historical reference, the context of the story opened my eyes to a part of history that I was completely unaware of. The little that I did know about would be in store for these characters only added to the intrigue. The author succeeds in telling the immigrant story from the perspectives of the entir More...

This is a novel about a Canadian family, originally from Russia, which returns to the Soviet Union--yes returns. This happened more times than people realize, when the depression was hitting hard. Communism was so respected that in 1932 Will Durant, a writer and journalist, could not get an article about the Ukrainian famine published in Harper's or The Atlantic, because those eminent publications worried about alienating readers.

Now here I have to pause to tell you about the author of this nove More...

Great book. I could not put it down and read it straight thru on the flight back from New York. One of the best I have read this year.

Another piece of history that I had never heard of. A family of Russian Jewish immigrants to Canada returns to Russia in the 1930's (apparently there was a group of immigrants who returned). The story is told by a surviving family member. The war and the Russian state is definitely part of the story, but the real story is about the family - about leaving and being left and being part of a family. The story is okay, but Tregebov's writing is exquisite.

Very compelling ending. This book made me very glad my grandmother left Russia during the Revolution--and never wanted to return.