A fascinating and well-written account of the author's early life in the Soviet Union. The first 3/4 of the book are more powerful and evocatively written than the last bit, which feels rather rushed. Even so, an extraordinary journey to read about and well worth getting one's hands on. ( )

An interesting and absorbing book about a time and place I know little about. Anatoly Konstantin's father disappeared in 1939, during Stalin's great purges, and it wasn't until the 1980s that the family learned he had been executed. For the next six years Anatoly, his baby brother and their mother lived catch-as-catch can, traveling as far as Kazakhstan to escape Soviet and/or Nazi persecution.

Anatoly's mother is the hero of the book; her fortitude and determination to provide for her family reminds me of Frank McCourt's mom in Angela's Ashes. The book ends in 1946, when Anatoly emigrates to America. I would have liked to see an epilogue with information about his life in the United States and what became of his brother, stepfather and half-sister. ( )