Viv Groskop

An epic for our times

Sana Krasikov has written an outstanding family saga, spanning the Cold War era to the emergence of the new Russia

issue 25 March 2017

Trailing rave US reviews, fan letters from Yann Martel and Khaled Hosseini and a reputation as ‘Doctor Zhivago for the 21st century’, comes this outstanding historical saga from debut novelist Sana Krasikov. It’s a dazzling and addictive piece of work from an author born in the Soviet Republic of Georgia whose family emigrated to New York when she was eight. Not only is this novel accomplished and packed with believable detail and entertaining dialogue, it also feels curiously relevant, tip-toeing around the complicated relationship between the United States and Russia during and after the Cold War.

Raised in 1930s Brooklyn, Florence Fein escapes a stifling existence with a seemingly glamorous job entertaining Soviet dignitaries on business trips to the US. Her new comrades seem full of life and self-belief. So when she falls in love with one of them, it’s not much of a stretch for her to consider a new life in Moscow.

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