Four-star (more like 4.5-star) review of A
Train to Moscow by Elena Gorakhova
This
was an interesting book. I couldn't help comparing it to Annie Karenina, (spoiler
alert) especially the ending. Then again, it’s Russia and a rather Russian
story. I also thought of Casablanca at the end. A girl, Sasha, grows up in a
tiny Russian hamlet and dreams of becoming an Actress. (The capital A is
appropriate.) Acting and playing a fictional character, for her,
is important as a way to show people reality, but she lives in post-WWII Russia, where
art of any kind is restricted to that which shows the Soviet Union in a good
light. Although she earns a place at a drama school in Moscow and goes on to a
career at a theater in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), she also must deal with
friends and family at home. Her grandmother waits for a son who never came home
from the war but also supports Sasha emotionally. Her mother, a doctor, seems
to struggle with what she believes. And her stern grandfather frowns at her
choice of career and is a die-hard Communist. Her remaining childhood best
friend and sometime lover rises through the ranks of the party. The plot is
tightly woven and the characters well-written.
No comments:
Post a Comment