Weather of the Heart: A Child's Journey Out of Revolutionary Russia [Hardcover]

Nora Lourie Percival (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

From the perspective of the 21st century, the author looks back with a clear eye to the turbulent days following the Russian Revolution. Nora PercivalÕs research illuminates her personal story, the story so many of us long to hear from grandparents who were unable or unwilling to look back beyond the emigreÕs voyage to another life and another world. Book of the Year Award for Memoir from the High Country Writers organization, 2002.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A poignant journey . . . with a writer who has been blessed with an adventurous life and skill to tell the tale. -- Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Songcatcher

The memory of the indomitable girl linger after one finishes the book . . . -- Katerina Whitley, author of Speaking for Ourselves

About the Author

Nora Percival has lived in the U.S. since she was eight. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Barnard College. Her first husband died before their son was born. A second marriage produced four daughters and she is now the proud grandmother of eleven. She now lives in the North Carolina mountains near two of her daughters and is currently at work on a book based on her life in the Barnard/Columbia literary community of the 1930s.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: High Country Publishers (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971304505
• ISBN-13: 978-0971304505
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,439,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Midwest Book Review, February 2, 2009

By 

Christy Tillery French "reviewer/writer" (Powell, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Weather of the Heart: A Child's Journey Out of Revolutionary Russia (Paperback)

Nora Percival began her life as a pampered, well-loved child in Samara, Russia, on the banks of the Volga River. Her father was a businessman, her mother a talented pianist. Her early years were fun and happy, and Nora was a bubbly, curious child. Soon, though, upheaval overtook her life with the advent of the Russian Revolution. Nora's father, targeted by the Communist regime, escaped to America, leaving behind Nora and her mother, a woman in fragile health who suffered from depression. The two were forced to move in with Nora's grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins in a small apartment, where food and heat were scarce. Everyone, from the wealthy to the poorest, suffered during this time. Starvation was rampant and Nora's family became alarmed when first small domestic animals disappeared, then small children. Nora's father finally managed to get funds to the family, and eventually Nora and her mother sailed to America. But Nora's mother's homesickness sent them back across the ocean, only as far as England, where Nora's mother was hospitalized and Nora ended up first in a work house, then in a hostel for transmigrates, where she anxiously awaited word from her father and longed to be back in America.

What an interesting, wonderful story. Nora is a prodigious child who learns to read at an early age and teaches herself English. Her effervescent personality shines throughout the book, and one feels sorrow for such a young girl forced to live in horrific depravity, while taking on adult responsibilities and caring for her mother, whose depression never lessens. Percival excels at drawing the reader into her story with rich descriptives and prolific insight enmeshed within a period of history that is as fascinating as it is tragic. Historic buffs will appreciate a first-hand look at the events leading up to the Russian Revolution as well as those during and after. Excellent book. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful lady;wonderful story, March 7, 2008

By 

Therese D. Barry (NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Weather of the Heart: A Child's Journey Out of Revolutionary Russia (Paperback)

I happened upon Nora Percival in Valle Crucis, NC where she was signing her books. I feel so lucky to have personnally autographed copies of her books and a photo of me with her. Nora Percival is as captivating in person as she is in her story.
"Weather of the Heart" is wildly educational, exciting and inspiring, a study in optomisism. I literally could not put it down: I carried it from room to room and took it with me if I left the house. When I finished reading the book, I missed Nora the child because I found her so charming; WHAT A GIRL!! What a book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Celebration of Freedom, September 9, 2004

By 

Ruth P. Price "Ruth Price" (Burnsville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Weather of the Heart: A Child's Journey Out of Revolutionary Russia (Paperback)

From beginning to end I was caught in the poignant details of this story. The Russian Revolution is brought to life through the individuals who face poverty, uncertainty, and constant changes in their circumstances. Whether people are poor, middle class, or wealthy, they are thrown together in difficult, often dangerous situations. Nora Percival fills the pages with family members who are at times wise and courageous only to later be petty and weak, each one trying to survive in a world that no longer makes any sense and which never stands still long enough to build new understandings about how to respond. Nora's free spirit in the midst of this chaos is a constant inspiration. As a young child and into her teens she tends to her mother who is depressed and unable to find the energy required by this newly restricted environment. Though her mother often becomes tiresome, Nora continues to persevere, giving of her own strength to keep her mother afloat. When Nora finally comes to America the reader comes with her, feeling Nora's celebration of freedom and a chance for a new life.