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The Light of Seven Days a novel
Dina would be dancing lead roles with the famous Kirov ballet, but growing antisemitism interferes with her career, forcing her to flee to Philadelphia, which seems like her best chance until she finds out that success in her new life is very different than she expected.
Living with her Babby after her parents’ death, 10-year-old Dinah Ash is invited to train at Leningrad’s legendary Vaganova Ballet School. In the world of elite dance, she works hard, falls in love, and weathers the Soviet Union’s ubiquitous antisemitism, but despite an impressive talent, she quickly learns that dancers of her “profile” don’t make prima ballerinas.
Love of Leningrad, ballet, friends, family, and books sustain Dinah until history intervenes. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, the rise of perestroika, and a re-emergence of Nazism leave her vulnerable and exposed. Realizing escape is her only option, she applies for refugee status in America.
Dinah’s adjustment to life in the US is a test as much of her identity as of her perseverance. Is who she is something Dinah can forge on her own? Or is identity imposed by upbringing, public opinion, and the myths of our cultures? As Dinah struggles with the questions of religion, race, and worth, her choices and the people she encounters will determine whether the dream of a better life can survive the weight of the past.
Living with her Babby after her parents’ death, 10-year-old Dinah Ash is invited to train at Leningrad’s legendary Vaganova Ballet School. In the world of elite dance, she works hard, falls in love, and weathers the Soviet Union’s ubiquitous antisemitism, but despite an impressive talent, she quickly learns that dancers of her “profile” don’t make prima ballerinas.
Love of Leningrad, ballet, friends, family, and books sustain Dinah until history intervenes. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, the rise of perestroika, and a re-emergence of Nazism leave her vulnerable and exposed. Realizing escape is her only option, she applies for refugee status in America.
Dinah’s adjustment to life in the US is a test as much of her identity as of her perseverance. Is who she is something Dinah can forge on her own? Or is identity imposed by upbringing, public opinion, and the myths of our cultures? As Dinah struggles with the questions of religion, race, and worth, her choices and the people she encounters will determine whether the dream of a better life can survive the weight of the past.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 17, 2024
Very compelling book about a Jewish ballet dancer from Russia. The book follows her as a young girl in Russia to her emigration to the United States. We watch her adapt to being an American as well as defining what being Jewish means to her.
December 11, 2024
personal and meaningful
I really liked this book and made me think about life in Russia vs the US. The book was sad but yet still hopeful that people can overcome adversity
I really liked this book and made me think about life in Russia vs the US. The book was sad but yet still hopeful that people can overcome adversity
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews