One More Year by Sana Krasikov

Copy Right: 2008

Publisher and genre: Spiegel and Grau, Fiction

Pages: 229

New author being featured on this blog

Challenges: None

Simple description:

I couldn't find a website for the author (seriously!) so I took the following from Random House's website:

The characters who populate Krasikov's stories are mostly women–some are new to America; some still live in the former Soviet Union, in Georgia or Russia; and some have returned to Russia to find a country they barely recognize and people they no longer understand. Mothers leave children behind; children abandon their parents. Almost all of them look to love to repair their lives, and when love isn't really there, they attempt to make do with relationships that substitute for love.

Why did I read this book?

I don't read a lot of short story books, but this one piqued my interested. I thought it would be interesting.

About the book:

It's always hard for me to describe a book when it's a collection of short stories. I can't very well tell you about each story can I? Basically the majority, of the stories are from a women's point of view. All the women seem to be looking for love somewhere, they might be married, they might be younger and still dating. The women are all of Russian descent. Actually, I think I'm just telling you the same things I posted in the Simple Description area. Oh well….I warned you it was hard for me to describe books like this. My favorite story was Better Half. It's about a 22 year old girl who comes to the states and gets married in order to be able to stay here. Her husband ends up being a bit abusive and she kicks him out and talks to a lawyer about getting a visa without him. Oh, and Debt was another favorite. Debt is about a girl who shows up at her Uncles house with her new husband. He can't figure out why they are visiting him, until he realizes they want to borrow money.

What I liked most:

Well, I thought the book was just ok. I can't really pick out what I liked most about it. I thought the stories were pretty fast reads. Some of the stories I ended up really liking the characters and understanding the situation they were in and how they could feel and react the way they did.

Was there something I didn't like?

I don't think I really "got" all of the stories. In several of them I was confused on where the story was taking place. Some took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Maybe I just wasn't focusing on it enough.

Do I recommend the book?

Even though I didn't like every story or feel like I really "got" it, I think others will like the stories. I think this is the type of book that I can see people really enjoying and learning from. You definitely walk away with a new feeling about what it's like for current immigrants.

Have you reviewed this book on your blog? If so let me know and I'll link it below

Sorry, no reviews yet

Happy Reading…and thanks for stopping by! Kris