A former russian prima ballerina tries to sell her jewelry collection and push away the memories the collection brings forward. Daphne kalotays book doesnt fit well into any genre, but is poetic and a book i wanted to immerse myself in. On the surface, it seems it is her way of letting go of the past but instead she is brought back to the story of why she left home and what the jewels mean. Russian winter by daphne kalotay when she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, nina revskaya, once a great star of the bolshoi ballet, believes she has finally drawn a curtain on her past. Daphne kalotay audio books, best sellers, author bio. Read your book anywhere, on any device, through redshelfs cloud based ereader. This novel, about an oppressive soviet russia, a mysterious amber pendant, and the lives. The guardian each character has a petrified secret. Russian winter 2010 set in both modernday boston and post wwii moscow, russian winter tells the story of bolshoi ballerina nina revska as she becomes a member of stalins cultural elite. In present day boston, famous russian ballerina, nina revskaya, who defected from the soviet union at the height of her fame, is preparing to auction off her dazzling jewelry collection, including three beautiful amber pieces set in gold. She has received fellowships from the christopher isherwood foundation, the macdowell colony, and yaddo, and has taught at boston university, skidmore college, grub street.
Russian winter daphne kalotay paperback harpercollins canada. Theres a russian professor anxious to uncover the secret history of an amber necklace in his possesion since birth. Russian winter is much more than mere behindaculturalscene. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read russian winter. Former bolshoi ballerina nina revskaya auctions off her jewelry collection and becomes overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, the friends she left behind amidst stalinist aggression, and the dark secret that brought her to a new life in boston. In russian winter, the beautiful debut novel by critically acclaimed writer daphne kalotay, a famed ballerinas jewelry auction in boston reveals longheld secrets of love and family, friendship and rivalry, harkening back to stalinist russia. We have quite a few blogs participating in the promotion of this beautiful novel i encourage you to stop by the other sites on the tour. Russian winter by daphne kalotay penguin books new zealand. The interlocking plotsthe present alternates with revskayas youthbuild to harrowing betrayals, showing how soviet russia was. Author of novels russian winter and and sight reading and the fiction collection calamity and other stories. Russian winter by daphne kalotay in the middle of the 20th century, when communist russia and indeed all of eastern europe held out bleak hope for its people where lines were long, comforts few, and the weather and buildings seemed to be unrelentingly gray there was a shining light and beauty in the bolshoi ballet, and nina revskaya was. A mysterious jewel holds the key to a lifechanging secret, in this breathtaking tale of love and art, betrayal and redemption. Daphne kalotay is the author of calamity and other stories, published by doubleday in 2005 to much critical acclaim. Russian winter by daphne kalotay united for libraries.
Russian winter book omaha public library bibliocommons. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Digital notes and study tools builtin study tools include highlights, study. She has an ma from boston universitys creative writing program and a phd in modern and contemporary literature. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Daphne kalotay grew up in new jersey, where her parents had relocated from ontario. Set in stalinera russia and modern day boston,daphne kalotays first novel, is a magnificent tale of love, loss, betrayal. Set in stalinera russia and modern day boston, daphne kalotay s first novel, is a magnificent tale of love, loss, betrayal. Praise for russian winter an elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modern day boston and postwar russia through a profound love story.
Apr 28, 2011 welcome to the next stop in the tlc book tour of daphne kalotay s russian winter. The reader glimpses life in the soviet union under stalin. Russian winter by daphne kalotay is an epic historical and contemporary read spanning continents as well as years. The central protagonist, nina revskaya a ballerina and her motherinlaw the former aristocrat are both modeled on relatives of mine. Together these unlikely partners begin to unravel a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, setting in motion a series of. Kalotay makes a powerful debut with a novel about a sovietera prima ballerina, now retired and living in boston, who confronts her past as she puts up for auction the jewelry she took with her when s.
Daphne kalotay is the author of the critically acclaimed collection calamity and other stories, which was shortlisted for the 2005 story prize. She attended vassar college, majoring in psychology, before moving to boston to attend boston universitys graduate program in fiction writing. Jan 05, 2012 russian winter by daphne kalotay is an epic historical and contemporary read spanning continents as well as years. Russian winter by daphne kalotay was a very absorbing book, and it is just the kind of book that i like. Summary a mysterious jewel holds the key to a lifechanging secret, in this breathtaking tale of. In russian winter, daphne kalotay has done a beautiful job of creating vivid and i have been thinking about this book for days, trying to put my reading experience into words. Russian winter by daphne kalotay with former ballerina nina deciding to auction of her incredible jewelry collection for charity. Remy, a gifted violinist, is married to composer nicholas elko, who was once the love of. Russian winter by daphne kalotay book club discussion. Graceful, moving and unexpected matthew pearl, author ofthe dante club a tender and moving debut novel candis magazine an impressive debut intelligent, moving, and flitting easily between the artistic salons of.
An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modernday boston and postwar russia through a profound love story. When hazel and remy happen upon each other on a warm boston spring day, their worlds immediately begin to spin. An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modernday boston and. Kalotays sense of place the physical geography as well as emotional landscape is as savvy and sharp as her portrait of the friendship between these two women. Russian winter is one of those novels you simply savor up to and beyond the last words on the page. In this somewhat melodramatic debut novel, nina revskaya, a prima. The book alternates between the present and the past. Daphne kalotay is the author of the awardwinning novel russian winter, which has been published in twenty languages, and the fiction collection calamity and other stories. The book s biggest strength is kalotay s depiction of stalinera mistrust. Former bolshoi ballerina nina revskaya auctions off her jewelry c. She was a prominent russian ballerina and she is living in boston.
Apr 05, 2011 this novel by daphne kalotay is well written and also very well researched. In presentday boston, nina revskaya, once a great star of the russian ballet, has decided to auction her jewellery collection. Russian winter by daphne kalotay and kathleen gati. Read your book anywhere, on any device, through redshelfs cloud. The life in stalins soviet union, even for privileged persons, like famous ballerinas, acclaimed writers or musicians, was incredibly drab, cramped in one room apartments, communal baths or kitchens, with a permanent fear of being reported for some unsoviet behaviour. She has received fellowships from the christopher isherwood foundation, the macdowell colony, and yaddo, and has taught at boston university, skidmore college, grub street, and middlebury college. Lyrical and evocative, sight reading by daphne kalotay is an intense, literary love story. It starts in the present with an older nina who is in a wheelchair. When she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, nina revskaya, once a great star of the bolshoi ballet, believes she has finally drawn a curtain on her past. She is known for her novels, russian winter harper, 2010 and sight reading harper, 20, and her collection of short stories, calamity and other stories doubleday, 2005, which was short listed for the 2005 story prize. Daphne kalotay captivates in a soaring debut novel. Were any of these diverse characters modeled after anyone specific. This novel by daphne kalotay is well written and also very well researched.
Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Matthew pearl, new york times bestselling author of th. A true literary pageturner, russian winter also offers a heartfelt tribute to those whose lives were lost behind the iron curtain, and the legacies they left for us to discover. People in the public eye had to watch what they wrote, spoke and bought.
Daphne s 2019 year in books take a look at daphne s year in books. Sweeping transgenerational novel, shortstory writer kalotays calamity and other stories, 2005 first, of the soviet era and its discontents. Praise for russian winter an elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modern day boston and postwar. Though i thought the plotting and character development in russian winter felt obvious, i had no problem finishing the book. A mysterious jewel holds the key to a lifechanging secret, in this breathtaking tale of love and art, betrayal and. Daphne kalotays novel russian winter is a masterfully crafted novel of loss and redemption, set in an unusual historical time period and interweaving two connected stories. At all times they were encouraged to think about stalin.
Russian winter includes a cast of fascinating characters. Welcome to the next stop in the tlc book tour of daphne kalotays russian winter. Daphne kalotay is a novelist and short story writer who lives in somerville, massachusetts. Daphne attended vassar college, majoring in psychology, before moving to boston to attend boston universitys graduate program in fiction writing. Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our pro connect email alert.
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