Reviews

The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight, by Gina Ochsner

jenniferavignon's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gwenbuchanan's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Antisemitism, and Rape

smarvelous's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

weaver's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mavenbooks's review against another edition

3.0

It started off nicely at first, and I was interested to see what would happen, especially to Tanya, Olga, and Yuri. The other characters were more abrasive, and didn't seem to offer as much, but I continued.

Unfortunately, the book sort of started to drag, and it just didn't feel like the story was strong enough. Towards the very end, the writing was rather tedious, with lots of pseudo-philosophical conversations that were just meaningless filler.

maimy_santiago99's review against another edition

3.0

I got this as an ARC from Goodreads.com An interesting debut novel. somewhat rambly. I love the matter of fact acceptance that Mircha is still hanging around after his death, found the ending to be a bit pat and too easy (two characters just go away off stage, never to be seen again) and while I enjoyed it, I won't be pressing it upon friends insisting they read it. Good, not great.

sophronisba's review against another edition

4.0

Really more like 3 1/2 stars. There were some really nicely written passages, and I liked the milieu. On the other hand, it made my eyes glaze over more than once, and some of the characters never quite came alive for me.

abookishaffair's review

4.0

I won this book through Goodreads and was anxious to get started on reading it. This book tells the story of several residents in a very run down apartment building before the fall of the Soviet Union (exact time is never really stated). The residents of the apartment building deal with the ills of Soviet Russia (and the strange appearance of the sort of zombie ghost of a former resident).

I was intrigued by the characters in the story. They were all very interesting but I almost wish that Ochsner would have focused on less characters so that you got to know a few of the more interesting characters a little more (Tanya and Yuri especially).

michaelnlibrarian's review against another edition

1.0

I just assumed the author of a book with this title and story would be Russian, but she went to Russia and observed things and then produced this. (According to an interview - http://bookmunch.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/the-russian-dreambook-of-colour-flight-a-qa-with-gina-ochsner/). The book's premise is amusing but the characters I found annoying - it seemed more like an American's idea of Russians than Russians.

I am again reminded that even if someone is a award winning fiction writer a particular book may not work for you, the reader. I stopped after fifty pages. Enough!

booksatlunch's review against another edition

4.0

This was a nice read. I thought the premise was really interesting, and the characters were fleshed out really well. However, there were some moments where I was confused with what exactly was going on, as some of the characters and instances are a little - uhm- out of the ordinary, for lack of better terms. However, I think as long as you take a slow but steady pace the book is a great read.