Reviews

I Love Russia by Elena Kostyuchenko

kittyburritoland's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.25

vee_spanks's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

maisela25's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

lorraine19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

The stories in this book were very interesting. Topics from prostitution to disabilities to environment to war are covered. The stories are all very personal and there's a wide variety of people interviewed. 

However, I feel like the formatting was completely distracting and inconsistent. There were also points it was difficult to follow the stories or it seemed like transitions were missing. It's hard to say how much of this was the writer vs the translators though. (Leaning towards it being translation as there are 2 distinct styles and I have previously read articles by this author.) 

Overall, I felt like having the book formatted as short stories or a collection of interviews/articles rather than a novel would have made it much easier to follow. But it does not take away from the importance of topics discussed and the very real, yet dystopian, stories of people living in Russia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Hate crime, Trafficking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sadpear's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

The mix of reportage and memoir provides a window on growing up in the post Soviet era, of how belief is born, shattered and remade. It recalls the oral histories of Svetlana Alexeivich and pays tribute to the thankless, necessary work of Novaya Gazeta. Even for readers who have a strong background in the challenges and problems of modern Russia under Putin this book is devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Alcohol, and War

dina_s's review against another edition

It's interesting, but depressing. Different than what I expected

nikita_barsukov's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and War

cothieck's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense

5.0

noapathy's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Elena Kostyuchenko shares some of her reporting from the past 15 years interspersed with personal essays. She worked for Novaya Gazeta, the last independent newspaper in Russia, recently shut down due to her reporting on the war in Ukraine. She has had to flee the country and doesn't know if she will ever be able to return. Even though I have had many Russian friends, colleagues, and students over the years, and have traveled there for work, the country has always felt like a black box to me. This book offers a heartbreaking peek into that box, and into Kostyuchenko's relentless critique of (and love for) her home country.

twharr's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

3.0