betweenbookends's review
4.0
A solid collection. :)
Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeqJXUanO0q/
Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeqJXUanO0q/
baklavopita's review
4.0
Short stories interconnected. I thought maybe there would be too much going on for me to see this book as a cohesive unit, but I was wrong. The stories give a good sense of place. The stories were consistently good, and the characters emerged quickly. I'd love to read a novel by this writer.
sadie_reads_again's review
3.0
This is a collection of short stories, linked by the fact that they are either set in, or the character comes from, a town called Magadan. Magadan is a very isolated town in the north east of Siberian Russia, known for being where Stalin had his labour camps, the Gulags. Some characters are in Magadan by choice, others are there as they can't leave or simply decided to stay after being in the camps. The stories span the decades of the latter part of the 20th century, and some are also linked by characters popping up across them. I love a linked short story collection, so I adored this aspect.
On the whole, I felt like every story in this collection started very strongly. I was fascinated by the insight that they gave me into life behind the iron curtain, and life after the curtain had been drawn back. Particularly in terms of the role of art, the lack of availability of food and goods (and the lengths people had to go to obtain certain items), or in how party affiliations shaped people's opportunities. Melnik also draws her characters very well, and I was invested in their stories.
However, I felt some of the stories seemed to either peter out or end quite abruptly. I don't always need a resolution in a short story, but there was sometimes a sense of a story running out of steam or just cutting out, and even if that character appeared in a later story there wasn't a continuation from how we'd met them previously.
Despite that, I did enjoy this collection. It has that bleak coldness that matches the setting, but underneath it is full of human life...much as I imagine Magadan to be.
On the whole, I felt like every story in this collection started very strongly. I was fascinated by the insight that they gave me into life behind the iron curtain, and life after the curtain had been drawn back. Particularly in terms of the role of art, the lack of availability of food and goods (and the lengths people had to go to obtain certain items), or in how party affiliations shaped people's opportunities. Melnik also draws her characters very well, and I was invested in their stories.
However, I felt some of the stories seemed to either peter out or end quite abruptly. I don't always need a resolution in a short story, but there was sometimes a sense of a story running out of steam or just cutting out, and even if that character appeared in a later story there wasn't a continuation from how we'd met them previously.
Despite that, I did enjoy this collection. It has that bleak coldness that matches the setting, but underneath it is full of human life...much as I imagine Magadan to be.
howellchantelle's review
2.0
This was my first Shelterbox Book Club book and it certainly opened my eyes to another life worlds away from the privilege of my own which is one of the reasons I loved the idea of the club!
Whilst I learned a lot, not a great deal happened in the stories although I do think that that was the point. It's a lovely little collection though and I'm glad I read it.
3.5
Whilst I learned a lot, not a great deal happened in the stories although I do think that that was the point. It's a lovely little collection though and I'm glad I read it.
3.5
angelcwrites's review
5.0
Tell Me More: Distance is a familiar motif to anyone who has left the country of their birth. But whatever distance leaves in shadow, it also brings new perspectives to light. Kseniya Melnik writes of her birthplace, Magadan, with perspective and a fresh new gravity in these nine short stories.
It’s hard to write about a place that lives in memories. In Melnik’s hands, Magadan is a vibrant place with unique characteristics and characters. Each piece of the setting seems to complement its respective story, and the lilting, rhythmic dialogue is at once humourous and sharp. “Kuruchina” is especially powerful, serving as a dual commentary on the challenges of immigration and being a woman. The stark cultural differences are potent enough to drive the story, and it was easy for me to relate to Katya, as different as we are.
The characters are memorable, so much so that I’ll remember them on the train in to work and still smile or laugh. Among my favourites are Tanya of “Love, Italian Style, or in Line for Bananas” and Olya of “Strawberry Lipstick.” There’s a hardiness to the female characters in these stories, born of practicality and sensibility in the middle of political and economic unrest. Still, there are hints of their idealism and need to dream of something more. Melnik draws links between them through several stories: Olya’s daughter Marina is in “Closed Fractures” and her daughter is the center of “Summer Medicine,” which brings us back to Olya herself. The connections provide a sense of history and solidarity for these women, and their stories tend to be the strongest in the collection.
My favourite stories:
“Love, Italian Style, or in Line for Bananas”
“The Witch”
“Kuruchina”
“Our Upstairs Neighbor”
The Final Say: Just reading one story is impossible in this collection from Kseniya Melnik–-Snow in May will draw you closer, like the first flakes in October draw us to the window to wonder.
It’s hard to write about a place that lives in memories. In Melnik’s hands, Magadan is a vibrant place with unique characteristics and characters. Each piece of the setting seems to complement its respective story, and the lilting, rhythmic dialogue is at once humourous and sharp. “Kuruchina” is especially powerful, serving as a dual commentary on the challenges of immigration and being a woman. The stark cultural differences are potent enough to drive the story, and it was easy for me to relate to Katya, as different as we are.
The characters are memorable, so much so that I’ll remember them on the train in to work and still smile or laugh. Among my favourites are Tanya of “Love, Italian Style, or in Line for Bananas” and Olya of “Strawberry Lipstick.” There’s a hardiness to the female characters in these stories, born of practicality and sensibility in the middle of political and economic unrest. Still, there are hints of their idealism and need to dream of something more. Melnik draws links between them through several stories: Olya’s daughter Marina is in “Closed Fractures” and her daughter is the center of “Summer Medicine,” which brings us back to Olya herself. The connections provide a sense of history and solidarity for these women, and their stories tend to be the strongest in the collection.
My favourite stories:
“Love, Italian Style, or in Line for Bananas”
“The Witch”
“Kuruchina”
“Our Upstairs Neighbor”
The Final Say: Just reading one story is impossible in this collection from Kseniya Melnik–-Snow in May will draw you closer, like the first flakes in October draw us to the window to wonder.
bookellys's review
1.0
Snow In May is the current read for ShelterBox Book Club, and my first since signing up. Unfortunately, as you can tell by the solitary star, I really did not enjoy this book!
I’m not a big fan of short stories so perhaps this is one that was never destined to win me over, but most of the stories just left me feeling ‘meh’, or summed up by this emoji
I’m not a big fan of short stories so perhaps this is one that was never destined to win me over, but most of the stories just left me feeling ‘meh’, or summed up by this emoji
johannalm's review
4.0
Snow in May, Kseniya Melnick
A lovely collection of semi-intertwined stories by a young Russian-American writer. The stories take place in a town in east Russia called Magadan, which was the drop off point for all of the people Stalin sent to the Galug. After Stalin, when people were released from the camps, many settled there to begin their lives again. The stories offer an interesting look at a very particular time and place that we know little about, but that is quite interesting. Enjoyed this.
A lovely collection of semi-intertwined stories by a young Russian-American writer. The stories take place in a town in east Russia called Magadan, which was the drop off point for all of the people Stalin sent to the Galug. After Stalin, when people were released from the camps, many settled there to begin their lives again. The stories offer an interesting look at a very particular time and place that we know little about, but that is quite interesting. Enjoyed this.