marlo_c's review against another edition
4.0
Well done to Yelchin for giving us a glimpse into Stalin's communistic USSR. It's chilling. It was a machine of indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and control that led to the death of millions and a pattern of thinking that we still cannot shake in our world. Cleverly told through the eyes of a child, this book subtly and not-so-subtly reveals the horror of a terrible worldview. Does it end sadly? Yes. But so does communism. I read this aloud to my 11 year-old and highly recommend others do the same.
iffer's review against another edition
2.0
The good:
-The idea of a children's book set in the Soviet Union
-Great pencil drawings by the author from interesting perspectives
-Possible educational/discussion tool for readers young and old about conformity, bullying, fear and right vs. wrong
-I'm glad that Yelchin made this novel to "expose and confront that fear [passed on from generation to generation"
The bad:
-I didn't feel anything while I was reading this book, which baffles me since the subject matter itself is not only interesting, but moving.
-Irritating that the illustration interrupted the prose, sometimes seeming to have a purpose and sometimes just because of a poor layout.
As you can see, it seems like there are more positives than negatives, but the first negative is a huge negative. The book is ambitious, even if it is a bit unclear who the intended audience is supposed to be, but it falls short because it doesn't have any emotional impact. It doesn't make the reader feel any of the pain, confusion and fear from interesting, varied perspectives; it merely describes them, if that.
-The idea of a children's book set in the Soviet Union
-Great pencil drawings by the author from interesting perspectives
-Possible educational/discussion tool for readers young and old about conformity, bullying, fear and right vs. wrong
-I'm glad that Yelchin made this novel to "expose and confront that fear [passed on from generation to generation"
The bad:
-I didn't feel anything while I was reading this book, which baffles me since the subject matter itself is not only interesting, but moving.
-Irritating that the illustration interrupted the prose, sometimes seeming to have a purpose and sometimes just because of a poor layout.
As you can see, it seems like there are more positives than negatives, but the first negative is a huge negative. The book is ambitious, even if it is a bit unclear who the intended audience is supposed to be, but it falls short because it doesn't have any emotional impact. It doesn't make the reader feel any of the pain, confusion and fear from interesting, varied perspectives; it merely describes them, if that.
awildfawn's review against another edition
3.0
من از اشاره‌ی ریز و استعاریش به «دماغ» نیکولای گوگول خوشم اومد.
کتاب خیلی هارشیه. به خصوص با توجه به اینکه برای کودک نوشته شده. در حد خودش هم خیلی با جزییات فضاسازی میکنه.
چیزی که در طول خوندن کتاب بهش فکر میکردم این بود که هیچوقت تاحالا کتاب غیر ایديولوژیک در مورد کمونیسم نخوندم که حاوی رضایت نویسنده باشه.
کتاب خیلی هارشیه. به خصوص با توجه به اینکه برای کودک نوشته شده. در حد خودش هم خیلی با جزییات فضاسازی میکنه.
چیزی که در طول خوندن کتاب بهش فکر میکردم این بود که هیچوقت تاحالا کتاب غیر ایديولوژیک در مورد کمونیسم نخوندم که حاوی رضایت نویسنده باشه.
jrobinw's review against another edition
4.0
This is an excellent book to read with one's child and have a talk about what an autocrat or dictator looks like. It might be a good way to have a talk about current events in a compare and contrast sense as well.
nicolelynnreads's review against another edition
4.0
This review previously appeared on my blog, PopCrunchBoom Books
I'm excited to be bringing you my thoughts on a "middle-grade" read today! This book was another read I had for class last semester, but I'm so happy I chose this one: Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. As I've been mentioning to almost everyone, I'm trying to explore/read more of this age-range. I've picked up a few books on my own through BookOutlet.com, have read some already for class, and explored my local library's shelves. I'm truly excited to delve into these books and read more outside of YA. If you have any recommendations, feel free to leave them below in the comments! For my quick thoughts on Breaking Stalin's Nose, please continue reading below!
Breaking Stalin's Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, follows 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik. Sasha has only known one way of life, one mindset. He's been preparing to become a Soviet Young Pioneer--showing his devotion to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Part and Communism--for most of his life. Now it's finally time to be sworn into the Young Pioneers, but suddenly things start going awry. Over a short few days, Sasha's world is turned upside down. Soon he beings to question his loyalty, the actions asked of him, and who he can really call an ally.
Yelchin does a wonderful job of bringing to life a story not usually told. It was really great to get this point of view of life for a boy living under Stalin and Communism. Yelchin provides great insight into the brainwashing and mindset of most of the people living under Stalin's rule as well as the huge amount of fear permeating the community. Readers see how easy it was for community members to believe in this way of life when it was something they were born into. Opposite that, readers also see how people tried to fight back to the communist rule. Telling the story from a 10-year-old's point of view really made this environment accessible.
Sasha, while somewhat of a stock character in that he was helping portray a lot of children living in communism, was still a wonderful character. Yelchin successfully develops Sasha's character and I loved seeing him grow into his own by the end of the novel. Sasha has to deal with a lot over a very short time period. He stumbles at first, but by the end of the novel he has learned to trust his instincts more. Yelchin does such a great job of creating Sasha and building the storyline together.
Furthermore, Yelchin does a great job providing secondary characters that present various points of view for those living in a communist country. Sasha encounters a lot of different characters whom he viewed in one way at the beginning of the novel. Readers get to see as Sasha's views of most of these characters change as he changes.
Finally, Yelchin's illustrations really add to the overall novel. Having the life-life, yet cartoon-styled pencil drawings brings the reader in and allows for more accessibility of the content being presented. My only real problem with novel was that I felt like it ended somewhat abruptly. Others that I spoke to in class about the book felt otherwise, but I think I just wanted more. I wanted to keep reading and I wanted to see how else Sasha planned to navigate life with his new mindset. While I do believe that this novel presents its message in full, I think I liked the novel so much I just wanted more. So, that's why the ending felt a little abrupt for me. Overall, I definitely would recommend this book to middle grade readers, especially if he/she/they were into historical fiction. I'd also recommend this book to be alongside any history lessons on the time period/topic.
I'm excited to be bringing you my thoughts on a "middle-grade" read today! This book was another read I had for class last semester, but I'm so happy I chose this one: Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. As I've been mentioning to almost everyone, I'm trying to explore/read more of this age-range. I've picked up a few books on my own through BookOutlet.com, have read some already for class, and explored my local library's shelves. I'm truly excited to delve into these books and read more outside of YA. If you have any recommendations, feel free to leave them below in the comments! For my quick thoughts on Breaking Stalin's Nose, please continue reading below!
Breaking Stalin's Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, follows 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik. Sasha has only known one way of life, one mindset. He's been preparing to become a Soviet Young Pioneer--showing his devotion to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Part and Communism--for most of his life. Now it's finally time to be sworn into the Young Pioneers, but suddenly things start going awry. Over a short few days, Sasha's world is turned upside down. Soon he beings to question his loyalty, the actions asked of him, and who he can really call an ally.
Yelchin does a wonderful job of bringing to life a story not usually told. It was really great to get this point of view of life for a boy living under Stalin and Communism. Yelchin provides great insight into the brainwashing and mindset of most of the people living under Stalin's rule as well as the huge amount of fear permeating the community. Readers see how easy it was for community members to believe in this way of life when it was something they were born into. Opposite that, readers also see how people tried to fight back to the communist rule. Telling the story from a 10-year-old's point of view really made this environment accessible.
Sasha, while somewhat of a stock character in that he was helping portray a lot of children living in communism, was still a wonderful character. Yelchin successfully develops Sasha's character and I loved seeing him grow into his own by the end of the novel. Sasha has to deal with a lot over a very short time period. He stumbles at first, but by the end of the novel he has learned to trust his instincts more. Yelchin does such a great job of creating Sasha and building the storyline together.
Furthermore, Yelchin does a great job providing secondary characters that present various points of view for those living in a communist country. Sasha encounters a lot of different characters whom he viewed in one way at the beginning of the novel. Readers get to see as Sasha's views of most of these characters change as he changes.
Finally, Yelchin's illustrations really add to the overall novel. Having the life-life, yet cartoon-styled pencil drawings brings the reader in and allows for more accessibility of the content being presented. My only real problem with novel was that I felt like it ended somewhat abruptly. Others that I spoke to in class about the book felt otherwise, but I think I just wanted more. I wanted to keep reading and I wanted to see how else Sasha planned to navigate life with his new mindset. While I do believe that this novel presents its message in full, I think I liked the novel so much I just wanted more. So, that's why the ending felt a little abrupt for me. Overall, I definitely would recommend this book to middle grade readers, especially if he/she/they were into historical fiction. I'd also recommend this book to be alongside any history lessons on the time period/topic.
book_nut's review against another edition
3.0
Huh. Not sure what to think.
2021: it associates communism with authoritarianism, which is true for the USSR, but unjustly biases readers toward capitalism. I dislike that, though the story is okay. The narrator was good though.
2021: it associates communism with authoritarianism, which is true for the USSR, but unjustly biases readers toward capitalism. I dislike that, though the story is okay. The narrator was good though.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
My ten-year old son was assigned this for summer reading and being a bit of a sucker for novel's set in Stalin's time I read it too. It was certainly written at a ten-year old level but managed to show but not tell how someone could be completely awed by Stalin but then fall out of it, in this case when the boy's father--a secret policeman--is himself taken away. The writing and pictures work well together and mixing in some references to Gogol's The Nose--which the students are reading in the book and which ends up taking a life of its own when one of them accidentally breaks of the nose of a Stalin statue--works really well. Highly recommended, especially to younger readers, as a work of literature and also as a way to learn how a slice of history affected ordinary families.
desirosie's review against another edition
I don’t quite know what to think of this book. Being intimately familiar with the era and subject matter, I’m not able to step back.
1. I’m glad a book on this topic for a younger audience exists.
2. I have no idea how young readers would react to it and what they would think about it. Would it seem so absurd to not be real?
1. I’m glad a book on this topic for a younger audience exists.
2. I have no idea how young readers would react to it and what they would think about it. Would it seem so absurd to not be real?