Petropolis
Anya Ulinich
Is the Russian emigre novel shaping up to be the latest literary trend?
On the heels of Marina Lewycka’s well-received A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian and the recent Two Caravans, comes Petropolis.
The protagonist of this highly readable debut novel is the biracial, Jewish and prickly Sasha Goldberg and we witness her coming of age as she makes multiple escapes over the years.
The first from her dead-end Russian hometown, the second from the life of a mail-order bride in Arizona, and the third from de facto house arrest by her wealthy benefactress.
At the same time, Anya Ulinich, herself a Russian emigre, has more on her mind than the adventures of her spunky heroine.
The title of the book refers to the poem of the same name by Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, which was about “the death of a great city”, Petrograd, during the Russian Revolution.
The city in question in the novel is the tragic Siberian town of Asbestos 2, its disintegration an icy accusatory finger directed at the ills of the Soviet system.
Given that Ulinich immigrated to the United States when she was 17, the book is no doubt an impressive achievement. Still, there are moments of studiedness in the phrasing which hint at the fact that English is actually her second language.
It also has to be said that Ulinich is not one for loose ends. You are even given an update on Sasha’s boyfriend when she was 14 through an encounter several years later.
But despite the penchant for resolutions, Sasha herself remains oddly elusive and you never fully get a grasp on her.
A pity really since you know she’s led a fascinating life and it would have been nice to know her better.
If you like this, read: The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2000, $23.10 without GST at zakoola.com)
Among the shimmering strands that make up this gorgeous tapestry of a book are marvellous escapes, epic love, comic books and questions about identity and self-worth.
(ST)