Review: WHO AM I?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2014
This is the author's first short story about a little girl endeavoring to understand God's will. She is seeking to decipher what is the point of her existence. Trapped in a poor rundown  Russian village in post World War II, she strives to escape by using her imagination to create the beauty of nature within her mind. The author writes in the first person, the characters are generic and are never given first names.“The people in the village called me a lost soul. I wasn't lost. I was hiding from the harsh world in my imaginary kingdom.”  Women in this small village struggle all day to work the farm; most of the men are habitually drunk. One day the little girl's baby sister dies; she struggles to understand why her mother has taken her only dress for the child's burial. The children sell dried lavender to obtain the only toy available, a ball. When the village children cheat  the storekeeper by filling the bag with rocks to make it heavier, they must  pay the penalty. The little girl sometimes forgets her chores; one day she pretends to be dead. That deceit brings an unexpected result.The author uses alliteration, metaphors and personification freely to paint the landscape and characters. Our little girl's best friend is the wind even though he can be a harsh taskmaster in winter. She enjoys gazing at fields of wheat in the distance and the clouds in the sky. She imagines submarines in the stream. While the language is somewhat flowery, it works beautifully in this emotional tale. There will be a sequel named “Taste of Bread.” I will be eager to read it because I am anxious to find out what happens to this endearing little girl and her family in this poignant tale. Recommended for young adult and adult readers.