Had high hopes for this one. It started out good; kept my interest, then it just fizzled out. A great sweeping backdrop of the Ukraine -"Little Russia" for the Jewish people at the turn of the century. Ms. Sherman definitely did her research. Most of the book tells the story of Berta. She hates her poor rural life, and wants to go back to her experience of living with her rich relatives in Moscow. For me it had all the right ingredients for a great historical fiction read, but fell flat. I think because of the author's writing technique of telling the story in such a detached way. Often a very exciting tense scene would unfold, described in great detail, and then just abruptly end. The next scene would be several months later, and the reader has to find out, several paragraphs later what happened, though not in great detail. Some chapters go into great detail about a certain minor character and then only a scant sketch of what happened to them later. I hate that kind of story telling. A good book is a good story, a good story does not leave big gaps to then piece the bare details later. The book takes place over many, many years, and all the characters go through hell because of persecution and war. Yet,I did not connect with any of the characters, and was not drawn into their sorrow. Even the last scene, supposed to be so touching, felt contrived to be sentimental and symbolic. However, since I did not get drawn into the characters themselves, I felt no real emotion when it was over. I think she is a good writer, it was plotted well, and had good setting details, but just too detached when it came to the characters themselves. To be honest, I believe that there are two stories being told in this novel. The first story is about a woman named Berta and her family living in this incredibly sad time in Little Russia's history (Ukraine). The second story is what's going on in the country itself during the first 20 years of the 20th century. The reason I say there are two stories is purely because I enjoyed the second one, not so much the first.I found the relationships between the characters choppy and even our main character not well developed. At the end of the novel I just could careless about the characters, however, I found the time period fascinating and learned quite a bit of new things.I apologize if this review is vague, I'm having a hard time writing down how I feel about this novel. Let's suffice it to say I thought it was an enlightening read, and maybe I would have liked it better if it was a nonfiction read rather than a novel?
What do You think about Little Russian (2012)?
Read this while traveling in Russia, on a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
—Mysty
Dumb book. I never finished it, way too slow moving for me. Blah.
—ryan101
really good, sat on the edge throughout the book
—ZivaDavid
