BOOKS FROM AZERBAIJANAll Russians Love Birch Trees : A Novel
Description:
An award-winning debut novel about a quirky immigrant’s journey through a multicultural, post-nationalist landscape Set in Frankfurt, All Russians Love Birch Trees follows a young immigrant named Masha. Fluent in five languages and able to get by in several others, Masha lives with her boyfriend, Elias. Her best friends are Muslims struggling to obtain residence permits, and her parents rarely leave the house except to compare gas prices. Masha has nearly completed her studies to become an interpreter, when suddenly Elias is hospitalized after a serious soccer injury and dies, forcing her to question a past that has haunted her for years. Olga Grjasnowa has a unique gift for seeing the funny side of even the most tragic situations. With cool irony, her debut novel tells the story of a headstrong young woman for whom the issue of origin and nationality is immaterial—her Jewish background has taught her she can survive anywhere. Yet Masha isn’t equipped to deal with grief, and this all-too-normal shortcoming gives a particularly bittersweet quality to her adventures.
Reviews:
(4 months ago) |
28 May, 2025
Uninspiring is the first word that came to mind while I was reading this. The main character, Masha, blandly stumbles through life with little emotion. Even the panic attacks she has seem, well, uninspired. The book jacket describes it as ‘cool irony’ but it comes across as just boredom. And the past she has been haunted by for years? It’s never devolved beyond more than one recurring flashback that is only partly divulged and never fully faced.
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