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A review by johannalm
The Patriots by Sana Krasikov
4.0
The Patriots, Sana Krasikov
An epic novel that traces a families struggles and triumphs as several generations navigate 1930s Brooklyn, to Stalinist Russia, to present day Russia under Putin. This is a meticulously researched and fascinating look at what happened to emigres from the US and other countries who chose to go to the Soviet Union after the revolution, idealizing what they believed was being created there. Little did they foresee the brutality of life under a paranoid power hungry dictator.
Florence Fein hates her stilted life in Brooklyn NY in the 1930s. After finding a job at an organization helping the Soviet Government connect to American companies, Florie falls for a visiting Russian engineer. A year later, in 1938, while in her early 20s, Florie heads to Russia. Florie believes the propaganda about the new communist state and wants to be part of this new fantasy communist country. There are many other expats flocking to Moscow and other far flung parts of Russia, but as Stalin starts to close off his country, and as life gets more difficult and freedoms diminish, Florie still finds a way to build a life for herself. Florie falls in love with another expat Brooklynite, Leon, and together they try to weather the storms of privation, anti-Semitism, disappearances, collusion, arrests and imprisonment that plagued Russia before and after WWII.
Interspersed with Florence's story are the stories of her successful engineer son Julian, who has emigrated from Russia to America in the 1970's, and her grandson Lenny. Her grandson has spent most of his adult life trying to make a success of himself in what is now Putin's Russia. As we know, many characteristics of the Soviet Union still linger. There is paranoia at the top, and corruption, extortion and mobsters who have taken over where the secret police and the army once ruled. In 2008, Julian is visiting Russia for work, but also hopes to lure Lenny back to the US. While in Russia Julian also hopes to find out more about why his parents were both taken from him and imprisoned when he was 9. What he finds out about his mother may finally help him understand her.
A family saga full of idealism, sacrifice, loss and ultimately redemption and success, The Patriots is a daunting but engaging and gripping read.
An epic novel that traces a families struggles and triumphs as several generations navigate 1930s Brooklyn, to Stalinist Russia, to present day Russia under Putin. This is a meticulously researched and fascinating look at what happened to emigres from the US and other countries who chose to go to the Soviet Union after the revolution, idealizing what they believed was being created there. Little did they foresee the brutality of life under a paranoid power hungry dictator.
Florence Fein hates her stilted life in Brooklyn NY in the 1930s. After finding a job at an organization helping the Soviet Government connect to American companies, Florie falls for a visiting Russian engineer. A year later, in 1938, while in her early 20s, Florie heads to Russia. Florie believes the propaganda about the new communist state and wants to be part of this new fantasy communist country. There are many other expats flocking to Moscow and other far flung parts of Russia, but as Stalin starts to close off his country, and as life gets more difficult and freedoms diminish, Florie still finds a way to build a life for herself. Florie falls in love with another expat Brooklynite, Leon, and together they try to weather the storms of privation, anti-Semitism, disappearances, collusion, arrests and imprisonment that plagued Russia before and after WWII.
Interspersed with Florence's story are the stories of her successful engineer son Julian, who has emigrated from Russia to America in the 1970's, and her grandson Lenny. Her grandson has spent most of his adult life trying to make a success of himself in what is now Putin's Russia. As we know, many characteristics of the Soviet Union still linger. There is paranoia at the top, and corruption, extortion and mobsters who have taken over where the secret police and the army once ruled. In 2008, Julian is visiting Russia for work, but also hopes to lure Lenny back to the US. While in Russia Julian also hopes to find out more about why his parents were both taken from him and imprisoned when he was 9. What he finds out about his mother may finally help him understand her.
A family saga full of idealism, sacrifice, loss and ultimately redemption and success, The Patriots is a daunting but engaging and gripping read.