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Starred review from January 3, 2022
Gorcheva-Newberry’s stunning debut novel (after the collection What Isn’t Remembered) follows two girls as they navigate the hardships of growing up in communist Russia. Anya Raneva’s and Milka Putova’s childhoods in the early 1980s are deeply impacted by the Cold War. They play war (and sex) games with limbless dolls, belittle their parents’ concerns about the toilet paper shortage and rationing, and dream about running away from Moscow and eloping in Paris. They reference Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard repeatedly, in heated discussions with their other friends about social class, inequality, and change. (The play becomes something of a manifesto for Anya and her peers, even if they don’t relate specifically to its antiquated characters.) As the story progresses, the author builds a complicated and intense friendship between the independently minded Anya and Milka, who question tradition during a time when Russians tended to build close families in order to survive (“Could a woman be happy without a man? Could she be respected if she had no children? Could she ever be as free as a man?”). They spend their early teenage years longing for more freedom, but at 16, when the iron curtain falls, a cascading tragedy involving a pregnancy swiftly follows, and their dreams of seeing the world together and studying at a prestigious university turn bitter. Gorcheva-Newberry pulls off a tragic and nostalgic love letter to a much-tried generation. This is a winner. Agent: Jacqueline Ko, Wylie Agency.
Starred review from September 1, 2022
Inspired by Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, Gorcheva-Newberry's (What Isn't Remembered) magnificent saga showcases 1980s Russian life, history, and politics from the viewpoints of feisty, smart teenagers Anya and Milka. Their dissimilar homes and parents reflect the differences in Russian life. Anya's parents and grandmother are loving and prosperous, with both a dacha and an apple orchard. Milka's family is much less stable, and thus she spends time with Anya's family instead. The friends' sexual awakening is realistically depicted and often amusing. Anya's boyfriend is an intelligent reformer, while Milka's is a traditional Communist. Conversations and depictions of the city, countryside, and food are captivating. Eventually, Anya studies, marries, and settles in America, returning to the dacha 20 years later to save her family's lands from developers. Narrator Julia Emelin's accent enhances the text while making distinctions between characters, notably Anya's sage grandmother, and delightfully irreverent Milka. Emelin's engaging narration will draw listeners into the action. Read by Gorcheva-Newberry, the author's note reveals that the story is highly autobiographical. VERDICT This riveting saga, full of nostalgia, tumult, and bittersweet coming-of-age, will not disappoint.--Susan G. Baird
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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