Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour: Memories of Soviet Russia

by Yelena Lembersky, Galina Lembersky

Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour is more ambitious than the average memoir. It's informed by Galina's and her parents' lessons on the value of art and culture and enriched by Al�na's beautifully constructed images and Galina's poetry. - Herb Randall, LA Review of Books

Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour is a heartfelt mother-and-daughter memoir about three generations of women and their fight to leave Soviet Russia. A mother is a dissident, a refusenik, and a prisoner in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) in the 1970s and '80s. Her daughter, eleven years old, is left without a family. A grandmother is in the USA, waiting for her daughter and granddaughter and not knowing if she'll ever see them again. I am fine, the three of them write to each other in their letters.

How can you be fine when you have to fight to survive? When you must be silent? When the place that you love turns against you?

Told from the dual points of view, this memoir shows the reality of life in the Soviet Union, giving an insider's perspective on the roots of Putin's Russia. It is also a coming-of-age story, heartfelt and funny, a testament to the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of art.

Genres: Russia, History

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2022

Reviews

[Gail Kruss]

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and was very moved by it. One doesn't really think about how hard life was for the Russian 'people in the street', especially Jews, in the years of the Soviet Union. This book shows what one mother and daughter went through in their desperate struggle to leave their country and get to the United States. What was even more heartbreaking was the the grandmother was alone in the States waiting for them. So many problems got in their way, preventing them from leaving. This is a beautiful story of survival, determination, and patience, told with simplicity, yet depth, and from two perspectives, the mother and the daughter. Yelena Lembersky uses the English language to her advantage with metaphors that enrich the tale of their struggles with daily life, against frustrating odds. With huge strength of will, determination not to give up, while keeping hope alive, they fulfill their dream of reaching America. This book is a must read.

[Jane Wiewora · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Joy Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yelena Lembersky's "Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour: Memories of Soviet Russia" is a rare and beautiful memoir in two voices -- Yelena's and her mother Galina's. It shines a light on a history that, because of its erasure by the Soviets in the post-World War II era, is not well known to Americans. Yelena's grandfather, the artist Felix Lembersky, chronicled the Babyn Yar massacre in a series of paintings that, because they did not conform to the strictures of Soviet Realism, were not displayed. It became his daughter Galina's mission to bring the paintings to the US. Her efforts intersected with the corruption and oppression of the Soviet regime in a manner that led to her unjust incarceration and to young Yelena's placement in foster care with family friends. The memoir's compelling narratives are told in vivid prose that brings the reader into the immediacy of their experiences. We are left pained, humbled and inspired by their story, and determined to see this important history shared more widely. A must-read.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at one girl’s growing up in the waning years of the Soviet Union. Her snippets compile a life with her mother and grandmother and then the agony of waiting to emigrate. It’s an important reminder of what used to be. Thanks to Cherry Orchard Books and Edelweiss for the advance copy.

[Annebet Pettit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, well-written, helpful to understand the life of a woman my age growing up in Soviet Russia. I teach some Russian lit, so it’s helpful to know how the communist state fizzled and died.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir, set in Leningrad in the early 1980's, is written by a mother and daughter. Both are talented writers, and their story is absorbing. It provides a window into Soviet life. The mother's deceased father was a talented painter, but his paintings could not be exhibited in museums in the U.S.S.R. because he did not paint Soviet realism. The family began to think about emigrating with the artist's body of work. Emigrating was no easy task. In school, the daughter was taught that "emigration is treason," and the book details the prejudice and obstacles, some devastating, to which the family was subjected, and the corruption that permeated Soviet life. I found this book hard to put down.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a memoir of growing up in communist Russia, alternating the perspective of the daughter and the mother. This paints a picture of a grim life with challenges but it’s also filled with love, joy, and unbreakable family bonds.

Later in life, Yelena is finally allowed to learn what it means to be Jewish. “When children are raised with religious practice, it becomes a part of them, as natural as breathing. Learning it as an adult is a steep hill to climb.”

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.0) Leningrad in and out of detention from a Russian Jewish mother and daughter.

Soviet Russia from the inside, a very personal family history. I tore through this. Mother and daughter do what it takes to survive with their safety, family and morality as best they can.

[Mescalitoeyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and sad book that gives insight of the soviet era from a mother and daughter perspective.

[Perlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, beautiful, and haunting.
A story told in two voices with poetry and art.
Life in the Soviet Union as a Jew, from the killing fields of Ukraine to the fall of Communism.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written story about soviet Russia in the 70 and 80's. How the corrupt system kept people in their place, with little chance for advancement and procuring visas. 4.5

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour: Memories of Soviet Russia" is a book about the author's and her family's love for art, and about their struggle to emigrate from Russia. It mainly tells the story of Elena (daughter) and Galia (mother) as Elena grows up and the things they have to do to survive the Communist regime. There is such a great love in her family, and they are always there for one another. The have a plan to emigrate, but only her grandmother is allowed to leave. Her mother is arrested and their visas are taken. A lot of the book is about what happens to her mother while she is in prison and what happens to Elena while she is hoping to see her mother once again. It is heartfelt, moving, and proof to the unbreakable bonds between mothers. Excellent read and good information.

[Annebet Pettit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and an engaging way of telling a story we’re familiar with: that of the horrors of living in a totalitarian world with no trust of friends, even family, and certainly not of the government to provide for human flourishing. I’m using it as one of a choice memoir unit with sophomore students.