Annie the Book reviewed American Ending by Mary Kay Zuravleff
American Ending, by Mary Kay Zuravleff
3 stars
Two epiphanies bookend American Ending, by Mary Kay Zuravleff. Near the beginning of the novel, protagonist Yelena realizes that her mother sometimes changes the endings of the Russian tales she relates to her children. The original Russian endings bother Yelena, because they’re so depressing and unjust. She much prefers the happier American endings. This realization echoes the stark differences she sees between her Russian-born family and community members and the American-born ones. At the end of the book, Yelena is somewhat surprised to realize how much control she has over the story of her life. She can either see her life as having a Russian ending or an American one; it all depends on whether she can hold on to hope or give up when circumstances threaten defeat...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the …
Two epiphanies bookend American Ending, by Mary Kay Zuravleff. Near the beginning of the novel, protagonist Yelena realizes that her mother sometimes changes the endings of the Russian tales she relates to her children. The original Russian endings bother Yelena, because they’re so depressing and unjust. She much prefers the happier American endings. This realization echoes the stark differences she sees between her Russian-born family and community members and the American-born ones. At the end of the book, Yelena is somewhat surprised to realize how much control she has over the story of her life. She can either see her life as having a Russian ending or an American one; it all depends on whether she can hold on to hope or give up when circumstances threaten defeat...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss, for review consideration.