“A soaring debut novel. An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modern-day Boston and postwar Russia through a profound love story. Graceful, moving, and unexpected.” —Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club
In Russian Winter, a famed ballerina’s jewelry auction in Boston reveals long-held secrets of love and family, friendship and rivalry, harkening back to Stalinist Russia. Called “tender, passionate, and moving” by Jenna Blum, the New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us, Russian Winter is a perfect choice for fans of the novels of Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), and Ian McEwan (Atonement).
When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape to the West.
Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina's jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story—setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.
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"I really liked this book, though it slowed down in the middle. Kalotay makes life in post-WW II Moscow and the grueling life of a ballet dancer come to life. But what a bleak and insecure life it was. Nina the prima ballerina managed to defect to the West but never managed to find much happiness there. She left behind much sadness, tragedy, heartbreak and misunderstanding. As a Boston auction house prepares an auction of Nina's impressive collection of jewelry, Nina's past comes into focus. It takes a small group of people in Boston to gradually work out the details of Nina's life in the USSR and help Nina put her past to rest. As the auction curator, Drew's life changes. Russian scholar Grigori Solodin is changed as well and he can begin to move beyond his past too. The jumps between modern-day Boston and the Stalin era in Moscow were sometimes too abrupt, but worked overall."
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Jennifer (4 out of 5 stars)