Scan barcode
thematinee's review against another edition
4.0
I've long had this quiet desire to visit the culturally-rich (yet WILDLY intimidating) land of Russia. This book stoked that quiet desire immensely.
I'm also really craving borscht now...
I'm also really craving borscht now...
beths0103's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the parts of the book where Von Bremzen talks about her life, but I found the history parts to be a bit dry and difficult to trudge through.
Plus, I didn't entirely buy the whole food premise of the book. It seemed forced into the narrative - probably because she doesn't really talk much in this book about how food writing became her career. What felt most natural was when the author talked about her life in the Soviet Union and how she emigrated to America.
Plus, I didn't entirely buy the whole food premise of the book. It seemed forced into the narrative - probably because she doesn't really talk much in this book about how food writing became her career. What felt most natural was when the author talked about her life in the Soviet Union and how she emigrated to America.
liliya_klein's review against another edition
5.0
So my interest in the Soviet world is a little biased, but I don't think it detracts from the fact that this is a fine book. Well written with new insights that I wouldn't have gotten in a historical book.
"The Queue consists entirely of fragments of ochered’ dialogue, a linguistic vernacular anchored by the long-suffering word stoyat’ (to stand). You stood? Yes, stood. Three hours. Got damaged ones. Wrong size. Here’s what the line wasn’t: a gray inert nowhere. Imagine instead an all-Soviet public square, a hurly-burly where comrades traded gossip and insults, caught up with news left out of the newspapers, got into fistfights, or enacted comradely feats. In the thirties the NKVD had informers in queues to assess public moods, hurrying the intelligence straight to Stalin’s brooding desk. Lines shaped opinions and bred ad hoc communities: citizens from all walks of life standing, united by probably the only truly collective authentic Soviet emotions: yearning and discontent (not to forget the unifying hostility toward war veterans and pregnant women, honored comrades allowed to get goods without a wait)."
"The Queue consists entirely of fragments of ochered’ dialogue, a linguistic vernacular anchored by the long-suffering word stoyat’ (to stand). You stood? Yes, stood. Three hours. Got damaged ones. Wrong size. Here’s what the line wasn’t: a gray inert nowhere. Imagine instead an all-Soviet public square, a hurly-burly where comrades traded gossip and insults, caught up with news left out of the newspapers, got into fistfights, or enacted comradely feats. In the thirties the NKVD had informers in queues to assess public moods, hurrying the intelligence straight to Stalin’s brooding desk. Lines shaped opinions and bred ad hoc communities: citizens from all walks of life standing, united by probably the only truly collective authentic Soviet emotions: yearning and discontent (not to forget the unifying hostility toward war veterans and pregnant women, honored comrades allowed to get goods without a wait)."
moseslh's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic book. Von Bremzen covers every decade of the 20th century with anecdotes from her personal/family history in the context of Soviet history. While the title correctly implies a focus on food, food serves more as a prism through which von Bremzen examines the past rather than as the primary subject itself. I found it a particularly fascinating and human way to understand the Soviet Union and its eventual demise.
appletonkelli's review against another edition
5.0
This book was recommended by an online friend whose opinion I trust. I cannot imagine that I would have ever picked this book on my own.
I'm so glad that I chose this! USSR history is not the most enjoyable of topics, but by telling the family story through the food, and lack thereof, the author gives us a personal view of the sweeping heartache of history and the resolve of individuals to survive.
I'm so glad that I chose this! USSR history is not the most enjoyable of topics, but by telling the family story through the food, and lack thereof, the author gives us a personal view of the sweeping heartache of history and the resolve of individuals to survive.