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Monday, September 9, 2013

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Any book that has ballet in it is a winner for me, and Russian Winter had a lot.  Nina is a Soviet girl who tested successfully into the Bolshoi training school with her best friend Vera in Soviet Russia.  Nina grows up to be a successful ballet dancer, using ballet as a distraction and total focus which keeps her mind away from politics and the increasing number of arrests by the government in which people simply disappear.

Flash forward to present day Boston, in which an aged Nina donates several pieces of expensive jewelry to an auction house to raise money for the Boston Ballet.  In doing so, memories of Nina's time as a Bolshoi ballerina, her husband, her eventual defection, all flood back to her.  Surprisingly, a matching piece of jewelry is donated by a Russian professor who was given the necklace by a family member.

In a period of betrayals, Nina doubts things she sees and experiences she has, which eventually makes her turn her back on everyone she knows and thinks she trusts.  As an old woman, Nina reflects back on these feelings and finally learns the truth about her loved ones.

There's not much about this book that I didn't like.  The characters were well-developed, Nina was likable, the ballet descriptions were accurate and exciting, the story flowed at a great pace.  Soviet Russia is always interesting, even in a morbid, terrifying way.  My one complaint was the ending was a bit vague.  Well thought out, but perhaps not well executed.  Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book.