From Publishers Weekly
A Soviet emigre novelist now living in Washington, D.C., Aksyonov (The Burn, etc.) describes here alienation from and gradual acceptance of his adopted homeland. The self-described "critically thinking Soviet" tosses off a perceptive potpourri that is mildly witty and affecting but also disjointed and underdeveloped: on Russian anti- and pro-American sentiment; jazz; the benefits of Washington over New York; American Slavists; Soviet blacks; Russian Americans; American bureaucracy; an aunt who raised him after his parents were arrested in Stalin's purges (his mother survived). Frothy musings on American naivete and provincialism, literary hackwork, high rents and cockroaches, credit cards, homosexuals, etc., are less than original. Sandwiched between the chapters of nonfiction, and also chronicling the emigre experience, are somewhat experimental and curious "Sketches for a Novel to Be" to be named after the jazz song "Melancholy Baby"; these sketches, says the author, "may be considered commercial messages." Portions of this book previously appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Washington Post.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Exiled Russian writer Aksyonov has written an exhilarating book about his emigration and coming to terms with American life. The author's remarkably perceptive chronicle shows an extraordinary grasp of the American character that only an outsider could possess. Taught to hate America, Aksyonov reveals the secret idolatry his generation of "Critically Thinking Soviets" held for that country. The book's title nostalgically recalls a popular American jazz tune from Aksyonov's youth. In search of the American character, Aksyonov humorously recounts his attempts to master America's wondrous gadgetry, his experience with customer service representatives, and even his uncomfortable encounters with U.S. immigration officialswho ironically remind him of Soviet apparatchiks. A warm, funny, and wise tribute to America, highly recommended. Alphonse Vinh, Yale Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
