A review by betweenbookends
Good Citizens Need Not Fear by Maria Reva

3.0

This was an entertaining collection of short stories filled with equal parts tenderness, heartbreak and dry humour. It all centers in and around a cast of colourful characters living in a single crumbling apartment building in Soviet-era Ukraine. The collection felt reminiscent of collections like Snow In May by Kseniya Melnik and Anthony Marra's The Tsar of Love and Techno. However, I did prefer the other two to this one. Marra's collection had more complexity, nuance and depth in its characters and their circumstances, while this read a little more light-hearted and forgettable. Melnik's collection, on the other hand, was more sweeping in its scope as it covers nearly a century under Soviet rule, while this is more insular and domestic in it's setting and storytelling. There were also certain themes that repeated themselves in different stories making it a tad predictable. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this collection and found it entertaining whilst reading. The writing is simple, playful and laced with dark humour. I found Bone Music, Letter of Apology, Lucky Toss and Roach Brooch, particularly memorable in its outlandishness and in the authenticity of its characters. It's one I'd recommend on the whole, but probably not one to rush and buy.