Review: Not Just a Lovely Coming of Age Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2013
I could simply call this a lovely coming of age story, but that wouldn't nearly express the depth of Julia Gousseva's fine "Moscow Dreams".  Set in Russia during the early `90s, while the U.S. thrilled to the idea of the Communistic Soviet Union morphing quickly into another fellow capitalistic country, teenagers on both sides of the ocean continued on with their lives--dating, experimenting with makeup, dreaming of good colleges, and giving in to their potent hormones.  But as we witness Marina with her teenage interests and angst, we are also privy to the changes happening in Russia; some good, some not so good.  For instance, after Gorbachev `disappears,' we see Yeltsin urging people not to give up hope--democracy is here forever, but then we learn how now, although there is a far greater variety of food available in the markets, the prices have doubled. Her grandmother, Babushka, talks about the great freedom of religion now; on the other hand, we see, like in the U.S., the lure of being a wealthy businessman far outweighs the former great respect for career scientists and educators. And all through our ride alongside Marina, Gousseva's vivid, beautiful descriptions of Leningrad, the Black Sea and its shoreline, and the older parts of Moscow, bursting with history is wonderful, as we ultimately understand how Marina, as much as she cherishes her new freedoms, recognizes how the old, repressive state at least had some continuity, whereas now, there is none. A highly recommended read, indeed!S. R. Mallery, author