Scan barcode
____emily____'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Confinement, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse
waybeyondblue's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Transphobia, Cancer, and Suicide attempt
clarereadstheworld's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Soviet Milk is an exploration of how the relationship between a mother and a daughter is impacted by the Soviet rule. Another beautiful translated work from @peirenepress.
This is the second book I've read recently about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, and seeing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia makes reading these novels that much more unsettling. In Soviet Milk, a mother and daughter try desperately to succeed in leading happy lives despite the oppressive government, which dosen't allow for so much as an out of line thought.
I found the narrative a little hard to get into. The narrative voice switches between the mother and the daughter, but it wasn't initially clear who the section was focused on, and at first I found the short segments a little hard to grasp. However, I'm very glad I persevered, because once I got into it, the narrative opened up into a wonderful story of oppression and rebellion, of despair and hope, of suffering and love. The development of the characters was beautiful and tragic, but always spectacularly written.
The theme of Milk runs throughout the book and is a metaphor not just for a mother's love, but also a love of the mother land. Ikstena really captured the feeling of living under a dictatorial regime, where the walls have ears, and anyone could turn in anyone for doing anything even remotely suspicious.
The novel briefly mentions people holding hands for freedom. Upon doing some research after reading I discovered this was referring to the Baltic Way, when in August 1989, people in the Baltic states joined hands forming a human chain as a form of peaceful protest against the Soviet occupation. The chain connected the three Baltic capitals – Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn, around 690km! It was a truly beautiful and moving moment in history.
This is the second book I've read recently about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, and seeing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia makes reading these novels that much more unsettling. In Soviet Milk, a mother and daughter try desperately to succeed in leading happy lives despite the oppressive government, which dosen't allow for so much as an out of line thought.
I found the narrative a little hard to get into. The narrative voice switches between the mother and the daughter, but it wasn't initially clear who the section was focused on, and at first I found the short segments a little hard to grasp. However, I'm very glad I persevered, because once I got into it, the narrative opened up into a wonderful story of oppression and rebellion, of despair and hope, of suffering and love. The development of the characters was beautiful and tragic, but always spectacularly written.
The theme of Milk runs throughout the book and is a metaphor not just for a mother's love, but also a love of the mother land. Ikstena really captured the feeling of living under a dictatorial regime, where the walls have ears, and anyone could turn in anyone for doing anything even remotely suspicious.
The novel briefly mentions people holding hands for freedom. Upon doing some research after reading I discovered this was referring to the Baltic Way, when in August 1989, people in the Baltic states joined hands forming a human chain as a form of peaceful protest against the Soviet occupation. The chain connected the three Baltic capitals – Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn, around 690km! It was a truly beautiful and moving moment in history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
More...