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My Soviet Kitchen
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Memory loss, homo sovieticus, and a wandering phD student. This is Neo-chick lit. with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living.
It’s 1994 and English Ph.D student, Ivy Stone, wakes up in a Moscow flat with a hangover and a vague sense of unease…
Unable to remember what she did last night or why there is a cryptic Post-It note on her fridge, she begins an emotional, alcohol-fuelled journey via an Uzbek wedding, an Estonian sauna, and a Georgian serenade. What dark past haunts her new Russian man? And will she ever find the author of the mystery Post-It note?
Memory loss, homo sovieticus, and a wandering phD student. This is Neo-chick lit. with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living.
It’s 1994 and English Ph.D student, Ivy Stone, wakes up in a Moscow flat with a hangover and a vague sense of unease…
Unable to remember what she did last night or why there is a cryptic Post-It note on her fridge, she begins an emotional, alcohol-fuelled journey via an Uzbek wedding, an Estonian sauna, and a Georgian serenade. What dark past haunts her new Russian man? And will she ever find the author of the mystery Post-It note?
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First published July 8, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 28, 2010
It’s 1994 and English Ph.D student, Ivy Stone, wakes up in a Moscow flat with a hangover and a vague sense of unease… Unable to remember what she did last night or why there is a cryptic Post-It note on her fridge, she begins an emotional, alcohol-fuelled journey via an Uzbek wedding, an Estonian sauna, and a Georgian serenade.
(Blurb taken from GoodReads, as it was easier than writing my own which would run in a similar vein).
When I was approached by RoastBooks, an independent publisher, about My Soviet Kitchen I was quite intrigued. I had a quick look on Amazon, read the press release and I thought it was definitely worth a read as it would not be something I had ever read before. Not to mention the fact that when I read the press release, it stated that as well as receiving the book, you would also receive a companion guide, all neatly presented in a bag as well as a bottle of vodka. I’ve had this confirmed by the publishers that should you purchase the book, that is how it will be presented. As such, I’ll be reviewing both the book and the companion guide!
The blurb on the back of My Soviet Kitchen states that it is “neo chick lit, with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living” and My Soviet Kitchen ticks all of those boxes, despite the fact I have no idea what “neo chick lit” actually is, or means. I know absolutely nothing about Russia, or the USSR as it was known in the 90s which is the time in which the book is set so for me the book was going to be a bit like a history lesson. And, unfortunately, much like the history lessons I had at school, My Soviet Kitchen didn’t really hold my interest. I don’t know if it was the fact that the Russian/USSR setting kind of put me off a bit because although I do enjoy reading about a new country, Russia isn’t exactly somewhere I want to learn about, or somewhere I can imagine myself visiting (with the greatest of respect to the country of course).
I also found Ivy’s footnotes at the bottom of some pages a little irritating because they kind of interrupted the flow of the book and I ended up ignoring them after a while because I didn’t know how to fit them in properly; do I read the as soon as I come across the little number telling me there’s a footnote, or do I wait until I get to the bottom of the page? I don’t know how that works and if the information in the footnotes are indeed relevant, then I don’t see why they weren’t put into the text properly, instead of as a footnote. Then there is my main problem with the book: it jumps around. A lot. One minute Ivy is in her kitchen, replying to a letter, and the next she’s in Uzbekistan at a wedding. I like a little bit more flow when it comes to reading, because choppy kind of books make me rather confused because one minute I’m in one place and then in another minute I’m in somewhere totally different and it’s hard to keep up with a plot like that.
The book was, on a whole, easily well written, don’t get me wrong, I just couldn’t get a grasp on the plot and the entire Russian thing confused me and the book just seemed to be outside of my usual comfort zone and despite a fairly good start, I just found myself getting bored of it really quickly. Because the book is written in a diary style (which is what makes it so easy to read), I also felt I couldn’t get a good enough grip on any of the characters. We knew the bare bones about Ivy and everyone around her but not enough to make her “real” in my mind; I couldn’t imagine her at all and I couldn’t imagine what her life was like in Russia and it disappointed me I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself in the story as I might have liked. I’m fairly sure the book will have many people who adore it, and who can understand it all but it just wasn’t for me.
The last thing I would like to mention is the “Companion Guide”, the little booklet that comes with the book itself. Ivy mentions many different things in the book which you can then refer to in the guide to see what it is. It mainly relates to food and recipes, but there’s other things in there too and I’m sure anybody who loves Russia will adore the book and it’s companion because it is well-presented and the companion book is in full colour with plenty of photographs and what-not. So it might not have been to my taste, but it will certainly be to the taste of many other people!
(Blurb taken from GoodReads, as it was easier than writing my own which would run in a similar vein).
When I was approached by RoastBooks, an independent publisher, about My Soviet Kitchen I was quite intrigued. I had a quick look on Amazon, read the press release and I thought it was definitely worth a read as it would not be something I had ever read before. Not to mention the fact that when I read the press release, it stated that as well as receiving the book, you would also receive a companion guide, all neatly presented in a bag as well as a bottle of vodka. I’ve had this confirmed by the publishers that should you purchase the book, that is how it will be presented. As such, I’ll be reviewing both the book and the companion guide!
The blurb on the back of My Soviet Kitchen states that it is “neo chick lit, with a darker side, a vodka twist and a generous slice of post-Soviet living” and My Soviet Kitchen ticks all of those boxes, despite the fact I have no idea what “neo chick lit” actually is, or means. I know absolutely nothing about Russia, or the USSR as it was known in the 90s which is the time in which the book is set so for me the book was going to be a bit like a history lesson. And, unfortunately, much like the history lessons I had at school, My Soviet Kitchen didn’t really hold my interest. I don’t know if it was the fact that the Russian/USSR setting kind of put me off a bit because although I do enjoy reading about a new country, Russia isn’t exactly somewhere I want to learn about, or somewhere I can imagine myself visiting (with the greatest of respect to the country of course).
I also found Ivy’s footnotes at the bottom of some pages a little irritating because they kind of interrupted the flow of the book and I ended up ignoring them after a while because I didn’t know how to fit them in properly; do I read the as soon as I come across the little number telling me there’s a footnote, or do I wait until I get to the bottom of the page? I don’t know how that works and if the information in the footnotes are indeed relevant, then I don’t see why they weren’t put into the text properly, instead of as a footnote. Then there is my main problem with the book: it jumps around. A lot. One minute Ivy is in her kitchen, replying to a letter, and the next she’s in Uzbekistan at a wedding. I like a little bit more flow when it comes to reading, because choppy kind of books make me rather confused because one minute I’m in one place and then in another minute I’m in somewhere totally different and it’s hard to keep up with a plot like that.
The book was, on a whole, easily well written, don’t get me wrong, I just couldn’t get a grasp on the plot and the entire Russian thing confused me and the book just seemed to be outside of my usual comfort zone and despite a fairly good start, I just found myself getting bored of it really quickly. Because the book is written in a diary style (which is what makes it so easy to read), I also felt I couldn’t get a good enough grip on any of the characters. We knew the bare bones about Ivy and everyone around her but not enough to make her “real” in my mind; I couldn’t imagine her at all and I couldn’t imagine what her life was like in Russia and it disappointed me I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself in the story as I might have liked. I’m fairly sure the book will have many people who adore it, and who can understand it all but it just wasn’t for me.
The last thing I would like to mention is the “Companion Guide”, the little booklet that comes with the book itself. Ivy mentions many different things in the book which you can then refer to in the guide to see what it is. It mainly relates to food and recipes, but there’s other things in there too and I’m sure anybody who loves Russia will adore the book and it’s companion because it is well-presented and the companion book is in full colour with plenty of photographs and what-not. So it might not have been to my taste, but it will certainly be to the taste of many other people!
August 29, 2010
The whole idea behind this book really interested me. I don't know much about Russia and the surrounding countries, but I thought the book sounded intriguing.
However, I'm not sure I enjoyed it that much. I found the plot quite confusing. The whole "Mystery post-it note" thing sounds like it should be the main plot line, but in reality it's more of a side plot, and a very predictable one too. The main plot was more about the main character, Ivy, who is supposed to be a PhD student researching for a project, spending her time getting drunk and gallivanting around the former soviet union with an old, married Russian guy. The plot jumped around a lot too. It felt like one minute Ivy was at a party, next thing she's in a completely different country three days later. This is probably supposed to add the "memory-loss" that Ivy is feeling, but I just found it confusing.
Throughout the book there are lots of footnotes and references to the companion guide, which at first was a bit of a novelty and quite fun, but as the book carried on I just found these footnotes annoying and distracting. A lot of the time they didn't even seem that important or relevant.
Overall I can't say I enjoyed the plot that much, nor liked the characters enough. But if you're interested in reading about the former Soviet Union then you might like the facts that are scattered throughout the book. Also the companion guide that comes with the book had some recipes and things in it which were interesting.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
However, I'm not sure I enjoyed it that much. I found the plot quite confusing. The whole "Mystery post-it note" thing sounds like it should be the main plot line, but in reality it's more of a side plot, and a very predictable one too. The main plot was more about the main character, Ivy, who is supposed to be a PhD student researching for a project, spending her time getting drunk and gallivanting around the former soviet union with an old, married Russian guy. The plot jumped around a lot too. It felt like one minute Ivy was at a party, next thing she's in a completely different country three days later. This is probably supposed to add the "memory-loss" that Ivy is feeling, but I just found it confusing.
Throughout the book there are lots of footnotes and references to the companion guide, which at first was a bit of a novelty and quite fun, but as the book carried on I just found these footnotes annoying and distracting. A lot of the time they didn't even seem that important or relevant.
Overall I can't say I enjoyed the plot that much, nor liked the characters enough. But if you're interested in reading about the former Soviet Union then you might like the facts that are scattered throughout the book. Also the companion guide that comes with the book had some recipes and things in it which were interesting.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 9, 2010
Although I am not sure that we could label this as chick lit I found this novel very interesting, it’s not overly romantic, it’s not that funny, I couldn’t really relate to Ivy Stone and I found her relationship with K.K. as cold as Ivy’s empty sovietic fridge but it’s intriguing, ironic, witty.
Plus I know nothing about Russia , Uzbekistan and Georgia but after reading this I am considering a trip in this mysterious and resourceful land.
Each chapter starts with a catchy title (“They Keep secrets” “Conversation with a maniac” “A slap in the face”…) and a food reference like a russian recipe or just an observation, there are pictures, illustrations , a compendium guide and lots of booze (gosh at some points I experienced a literary induced hangover).
It’s not what I would define a heart-warming novel, it’s not exactly swoon-worthy material but I highly recommend reading this because it’s very peculiar in a good way and you might learn a few things on the way.
Plus I know nothing about Russia , Uzbekistan and Georgia but after reading this I am considering a trip in this mysterious and resourceful land.
Each chapter starts with a catchy title (“They Keep secrets” “Conversation with a maniac” “A slap in the face”…) and a food reference like a russian recipe or just an observation, there are pictures, illustrations , a compendium guide and lots of booze (gosh at some points I experienced a literary induced hangover).
It’s not what I would define a heart-warming novel, it’s not exactly swoon-worthy material but I highly recommend reading this because it’s very peculiar in a good way and you might learn a few things on the way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews