Our faculty had an interesting discussion about Russian Winter last week. All enjoyed it very much, some were disappointed in the end (no spoiler) just thought it ended too abruptly. Characters were well drawn and there was an interesting mix of types, all unique and human. One gets a real sense of the lack of privacy and constant prying of Soviet eyes on its citizens in the era of the late 40's and early 50's. Nina, Paulina and Vera also take us into the grueling and competitive world of the Bolshoi Ballet of the time. There is history, love, romance, suspense, betrayal and descriptions of a variety of precious jewels that ultimately make it to the Boston auction house. What value do these gems hold for the owners and why are they selling them??

Russian Winter

Unknown to most Americans, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin caused the great famine of the early 1930's resulting in the death of millions of his own people. By "liquidating the Kulaks as a class" Stalin may have eliminated the more prosperous and conservative farmers in the Ukraine, and it led to the establishment of collective farms and chaos in the countryside. The loss of over twenty million Soviet citizens during the "Great Patriotic War" combined with the massive physical destruction of the nation formed the backdrop for one of the finest depictions of the cultural life of the Russian people I have yet come across in historical fiction.   Nina's frustrating refusal to let down her guard is remarkably true to life as she and millions of her countrymen experienced life in their homeland where a simple uttered comment could lead to a long prison sentence. And Grigori's reluctance to share the truth about a "family connection" when referring to his own amber piece is simply more evidence that those raised in the Soviet Union had to be careful not to do or say anything that might bring the authorities to your home.  Russian Winter's superb blending of Nina's life in post-war Russia and her excruciatingly painful existence in modern-day Boston held my attention from the opening scene where we are introduced to Drew Brooks and Nina Revskaya to the final,and hopeful meeting at the auction house.  Though Grigori left the Soviet Union at age eleven, he would remain a nomad; first in Norway, then in France, and finally, at age sixteen, in New Jersey. Like many orphans, he longed to discover his biological heritage without upsetting his adoptive parents who regarded him as a jewel, a gift from above. his secretiveness led him to keep people from getting too close to him. He felt he could not even share personal concerns with the one man whom he considered his closest friend and colleague, Zoltan, the great Hungarian poet.   Drew is a fully formed, three dimensional character about whom we glean a great deal. Is her life story not compulsively interesting in a manner that evokes the finest of Woody Allen's female characters? And she is a person, like Grigori, of great gravitas leading a full, rich life, but feeling the influence of her beloved grandmother Riita, who she believed to be the only person who really understood her as a person.  I may be in the minority, but Russian Winter, in my opinion, is one of the finest works of historical fiction I have read in the past decade or so.

Books like Russian Winter

Russian Winter

Cross-category suggestions