In the midst of a busy semester I have stumbled upon an incredible book, Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay. It tells the story of ballerina Nina Revskaya, once the star of the Bolshoi Theater, now confined to a wheelchair. Nina is getting on in years and has chosen to have her famous jewelry collection auctioned off in order to raise money for the Boston Ballet. A seemingly innocent and generous gesture, it proves to be another attempt by Nina to finally bury an old secret. Her efforts are thwarted by the curiosity of auction house associate Drew Brooks and the persistence of mysterious professor of Russian, Grigori Solodin, leading to a stunning revelation and a touching act of remorse.
Daphne Kalotay's Russian Winter is magnificent. She accurately paints the almost fanatical dedication of a Soviet prima ballerina as well as the harshness of Soviet life. As an immigrant from the former Soviet Union reading the book made me think of my grandparents and great grandparents who lived in the same time period as Nina. I wondered what would they have done and it made me take a closer look at how their Soviet experiences may have shaped the people they are today. And as a dance lover I admire her dedication to a very taxing form of art. I also loved the way Daphne Kalotay was able to weave the story of Drew and Grigori so seamlessly into Nina's narrative. Grigori's story in particular kept me guessing almost till the end, in fact I was at first way off in my analysis of his back story, but was able to get onto the right track towards the end although I did not figure it out until the "grand reveal".
In conclusion, I loved everyone minute of the journey that Russian Winter took me on. It is one of those books where you can really form a connection with the characters and really get into the plot. I highly recommend it to everyone and especially to my fellow ballet lovers.
Daphne Kalotay's Russian Winter is magnificent. She accurately paints the almost fanatical dedication of a Soviet prima ballerina as well as the harshness of Soviet life. As an immigrant from the former Soviet Union reading the book made me think of my grandparents and great grandparents who lived in the same time period as Nina. I wondered what would they have done and it made me take a closer look at how their Soviet experiences may have shaped the people they are today. And as a dance lover I admire her dedication to a very taxing form of art. I also loved the way Daphne Kalotay was able to weave the story of Drew and Grigori so seamlessly into Nina's narrative. Grigori's story in particular kept me guessing almost till the end, in fact I was at first way off in my analysis of his back story, but was able to get onto the right track towards the end although I did not figure it out until the "grand reveal".
In conclusion, I loved everyone minute of the journey that Russian Winter took me on. It is one of those books where you can really form a connection with the characters and really get into the plot. I highly recommend it to everyone and especially to my fellow ballet lovers.
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| Courtesy of Daphne Kalotay |
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