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cheryl1213's review against another edition
2.0
Odd. That's definitely the word for this book. Slava, an immigrant trying hard not to be pulled in the "all-but-home" community. After his grandmother dies, he gets entwined in an unforeseeable way - he "ghost writes" claim forms that are sent to the German reparations programs. During this time, Salva is also desperate to become a printed author, particularly in the New Yorker, and engaged in an undefinable relationship.
I just wasn't drawn to this book. At times, the language certainly felt lovely but even then, I couldn't come to care. And that tends to be the death knell for my enjoyment.
Two stars (of5).
As always, thanks to Harper for the advance copy and sorry it took so long.
I just wasn't drawn to this book. At times, the language certainly felt lovely but even then, I couldn't come to care. And that tends to be the death knell for my enjoyment.
Two stars (of5).
As always, thanks to Harper for the advance copy and sorry it took so long.
mike_abelson's review against another edition
4.0
I found the beginning to be a bit clunky (both the prose and the story), but it gradually finds its groove. By the end, I found it difficult to put down. Powerful ending. I will look forward to reading his next book.
a_lamb18's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bjackrian's review against another edition
1.0
Meh. This seems like a book with a lot of potential, but absolutely could not get in to the writing style. It felt stilted, artificial, and pretentious. Also had a really hard time caring about any of the characters. It was a struggle to finish.
manek_m's review against another edition
4.0
Brooklyn Jew forging holocaust claims for survivors who don't qualify. Loved it.
abookishtype's review against another edition
3.0
Around the time of his grandmother’s death, Slava Gelman’s grandparents received a letter from an agency in Germany that is paying reparations to people who were incarcerated in concentration camps, ghettos, and forced labor battalions. The whole family knows that Mrs. Gelman lived in the Minsk Ghetto, but they don’t know much more than that. She never spoke of it. But her husband, Yevgeny, decides that Slava can write back to this agency claiming that he (Yevgeny) was in the ghetto. Yevgeny suffered, too, he argues, and the Germans were responsible. This is where Boris Fishman’s ethically sticky novel, A Replacement Life, begins. Unfortunately for Slava, things get even more complicated after this...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
nigelbrown's review against another edition
1.0
“ Finally, it was time. Beau took a long sip of his seltzer. An overstimulated sun beat at the office windows just another aspiring contributor. Across the street, the scaffolding had just vanished from a beaux arts office building, and it stood there not knowing what to do, an old dame amid the sharp-elbowed steel jostling all around it.”
I have no idea what he is trying to say or how Fishman thinks verbose nonsense like this adds anything to the story, I mean, what the f*^% is an overstimulated sun? (Yes, I know what he’s trying to say) This is pretentious beyond words. Do I come across as angry? I do? Good, because I’m bloody furious that the author has wasted my time and Harper Collins and One wasted money printing this crud.
It is extremely rare, as I absolutely detest not finishing a book, and I can see many people have enjoyed this novel, but this seems to me to be the style of writing that demands respect, but is in fact, nothing more than a naked Emperor.
I have no idea what he is trying to say or how Fishman thinks verbose nonsense like this adds anything to the story, I mean, what the f*^% is an overstimulated sun? (Yes, I know what he’s trying to say) This is pretentious beyond words. Do I come across as angry? I do? Good, because I’m bloody furious that the author has wasted my time and Harper Collins and One wasted money printing this crud.
It is extremely rare, as I absolutely detest not finishing a book, and I can see many people have enjoyed this novel, but this seems to me to be the style of writing that demands respect, but is in fact, nothing more than a naked Emperor.
gweiswasser's review against another edition
3.0
Full review at: http://everydayiwritethebookblog.com/2014/09/replacement-life-boris-fishman/
Boris Fishman’s debut novel, A Replacement Life, is about a young Russian emigre named Slava who is stuck between two worlds. Slava’s grandparents live in Brooklyn, where they still speak Russian and hang out with people from the Old Country. His parents have moved to New Jersey. Slava, meanwhile, lives in Manhattan and slaves away as an overworked researcher at an august magazine that sounds a lot like The New Yorker. He refuses to return to Brooklyn, and doesn’t call or visit his family often, in an attempt to escape his Soviet roots and become an American. But when Slava’s grandmother dies unexpectedly, he is forced to cross the river and mourn with his family.
After Slava’s grandmother’s funeral, his grandfather takes him aside and asks him to take part in a scheme: He’d like Slava to submit a claim on his behalf to the German government for newly-apportioned reparations for Holocaust survivors. But Grandfather doesn’t qualify for reparations, because he was in Uzbekistan during the war, far from the concentration camps and shtetls. It is Slava’s late Grandmother who is the rightful beneficiary of the funds. So Slava must decide: should he reconstruct his late grandmother’s Holocaust experience – one that she refused to talk to him about – and craft it into an application for Grandfather?
Slava gets sucked back into his Soviet family – and his grandparents’ immigrant community – and is finally allowed to be the writer that he is aspiring to be. For after Grandfather reads the application Slava has created for him, he sells his grandson’s writing services to everyone he knows. Before long, Slava is spending his nights in the outer boroughs meeting with Grandfather’s friends, hearing their stories, and then creating applications for reparations to which they are not technically entitled.
Ultimately, this is a story about loyalty, truth, and belonging. To whom does Slava owe loyalty – his scheming but loving grandfather, or the ethics of journalism? The Russian immigrants suffered terribly on their paths to America; was it wrong for them to seek reparations from the country who had indirectly caused their suffering? With whom does Slava belong – his American colleague-girlfriend from the Upper West Side – or the heavily made up Vera, granddaughter of his grandfather’s longtime rival?
Fishman has created a memorable cast of characters in Slava, his family, and the Jewish immigrants he tries to help. A Replacement Life is wry and funny, and Fishman’s writing is crisp. I listened to Fishman read from his book earlier this summer, and I could hear him narrating it in my mind as I read. His book is infused with humor and empathy, but it is also dark and sad at the same time. Bittersweet, perhaps.
There were a few times in the book when I had trouble following the action or identifying who was being referred to, which I chalk up to Fishman’s preference for understated, spare narration. Fishman expects his readers to keep up with him, which is sometimes hard to do. But in the end, A Replacement Life is an exhilarating ride, and one I won’t soon forget.
Boris Fishman’s debut novel, A Replacement Life, is about a young Russian emigre named Slava who is stuck between two worlds. Slava’s grandparents live in Brooklyn, where they still speak Russian and hang out with people from the Old Country. His parents have moved to New Jersey. Slava, meanwhile, lives in Manhattan and slaves away as an overworked researcher at an august magazine that sounds a lot like The New Yorker. He refuses to return to Brooklyn, and doesn’t call or visit his family often, in an attempt to escape his Soviet roots and become an American. But when Slava’s grandmother dies unexpectedly, he is forced to cross the river and mourn with his family.
After Slava’s grandmother’s funeral, his grandfather takes him aside and asks him to take part in a scheme: He’d like Slava to submit a claim on his behalf to the German government for newly-apportioned reparations for Holocaust survivors. But Grandfather doesn’t qualify for reparations, because he was in Uzbekistan during the war, far from the concentration camps and shtetls. It is Slava’s late Grandmother who is the rightful beneficiary of the funds. So Slava must decide: should he reconstruct his late grandmother’s Holocaust experience – one that she refused to talk to him about – and craft it into an application for Grandfather?
Slava gets sucked back into his Soviet family – and his grandparents’ immigrant community – and is finally allowed to be the writer that he is aspiring to be. For after Grandfather reads the application Slava has created for him, he sells his grandson’s writing services to everyone he knows. Before long, Slava is spending his nights in the outer boroughs meeting with Grandfather’s friends, hearing their stories, and then creating applications for reparations to which they are not technically entitled.
Ultimately, this is a story about loyalty, truth, and belonging. To whom does Slava owe loyalty – his scheming but loving grandfather, or the ethics of journalism? The Russian immigrants suffered terribly on their paths to America; was it wrong for them to seek reparations from the country who had indirectly caused their suffering? With whom does Slava belong – his American colleague-girlfriend from the Upper West Side – or the heavily made up Vera, granddaughter of his grandfather’s longtime rival?
Fishman has created a memorable cast of characters in Slava, his family, and the Jewish immigrants he tries to help. A Replacement Life is wry and funny, and Fishman’s writing is crisp. I listened to Fishman read from his book earlier this summer, and I could hear him narrating it in my mind as I read. His book is infused with humor and empathy, but it is also dark and sad at the same time. Bittersweet, perhaps.
There were a few times in the book when I had trouble following the action or identifying who was being referred to, which I chalk up to Fishman’s preference for understated, spare narration. Fishman expects his readers to keep up with him, which is sometimes hard to do. But in the end, A Replacement Life is an exhilarating ride, and one I won’t soon forget.
reviewsmayvary's review against another edition
4.0
This started off a little slow... Or maybe it just took me a minute to get into it. By a couple of chapters, I was all in.