A review by debbiecuddy
Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn

4.0

The structure of this novella, flash-fiction, was new to me and I didn't know what to expect. It turns out that I was more than pleasantly surprised. Told in short chapters, many of which could stand alone as short stories, this book tells a powerful and heart wrenching story of life in Romania during the Ceausescu regime. I couldn't put this book down and ended up reading it in two sittings. I felt so engaged with Alina's story that there were times that my heart was pounding with fear for her. I enjoyed the author's use of magical realism and Romanian folklore, it seemed to relieve the tension of living under such oppression. The characters were interesting, especially Aunt Teresa...I'd love to read more about her! The ending was a surprise to me and would be great for a book group discussion.