A mountain of crumbs

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Publication Date
2009.
Language
English

Description

Elena Gorokhova grows up in 1960's Leningrad, where she discovers that beauty and passion can be found in unexpected places in Soviet Russia.A Mountain of Crumbs is the moving story of a young Soviet girl's discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her country's profound political deception. Elena, born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, finds her passion in the complexity of the English language -- but in the Soviet Union of the 1960s, such a passion verges on the subversive. Elena's home is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the tsars. Instead, it is a nation humiliated by its first faltering steps after World War II, putting up appearances for the sake of its regime and fighting to retain its pride. In this deeply affecting memoir, Elena re-creates the world that both oppressed and inspired her. She recounts stories passed down to her about the horrors of the Bolshevik Revolution and probes the daily deprivations and small joys of her family's bunkerlike existence. Through Elena's captivating voice, we learn not only the personal story of Russia in the second half of the twentieth century, but also the story of one rebellious citizen whose love of a foreign language finally transports her to a new world.

More Details

ISBN
9781439125670

Discover More

Also in this Series

Checking series information...

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.