The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. The title of this book is a mountain of crumbs and it was written by elena gorokhova. Here she writes that her mother was a mirror image of my motherland. Elena gorokhovas writing gorgeous and evocative is enriched by her connection to two languages, russian and english.
This incredibly powerful book grabs you by the gut. Sian thomas reads from elena gorokhova s memoir of growing up behind the iron curtain in the 1960s. Russian tattoo is a gripping story, elena gorokhova is a clearvoiced and human narrator, and her life is captivating without becoming incomprehensible. Elena gorokhova has travelled a long way since she left russia for america in 1980 as a disillusioned young woman.
A mountain of crumbs by elena gorokhova penguin books. Elena gorokhova grows up in 1960s leningrad where she. A mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a young soviet girls discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her countrys profound political deception. A mountain of crumbs by elena gorokhova, 9781439125687, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Feb 07, 2010 a mountain of crumbs which takes its title from a game gorokhovas grandmother invented during a famine in the 1920s could be taught as a master class in memoir writing. Elena gorokhova grows up in 1960s leningrad where she discovers that beauty and passion can be found in unexpected places in soviet russia. Jan 20, 2010 elena gorokhova metaphorically defines life in the soviet union in her book title, a mountain of crumbs, recalling when her grandmother appeased her crying child by convincing him he was better off with a pile of bread crumbs than one slice of bread because he could select one piece at a time.
Youll experience the laughter, sorrow, joy, regret, love and hurt of a real life. Elena gorokhovas transformative moment as a writer came in 2004 when she enrolled in frank mccourts memoir class at the southampton writers conference. Her second book russian tattoo picks up where the first left off and is every bit as good as the first volume. Elena s country is no longer the majestic russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its power and its pride. Elena gorokhovas a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. Author interview elena gorokhova, author of a mountain. Elena gorokhova grows up in 1960s leningrad, where she discovers that beauty and passion can be found in unexpected places in soviet russia. A mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a young soviet girls discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her. A mountain of crumbs is a straightforward account of russia in the postwar decades, one that takes the reader confidently through the slow sinking of the soviet ship. Elena gorokhovas a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the.
Sian thomas reads from elena gorokhovas memoir of growing up behind the iron curtain in the 1960s. A mountain of crumbs, by elena gorokhova the new york times. Jan 12, 2010 elena gorokhova grows up in 1960s leningrad, where she discovers that beauty and passion can be found in unexpected places in soviet russia. Elenas country is no longer the majestic russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its power and its pride. Elena gorokhovas mountain of crumbs describes life in. A mountain of crumbs is an exquisitely wrought, tender memoir of growing up in the soviet union.
Before she met gorokhovas father in 1950, she had been married twice, first to a. Elena gorokhovas mountain of crumbs describes life in the. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. A mountain of crumbs is a book by elena gorokhova linguist first published in 2010. Russian tattoo book by elena gorokhova official publisher. Aug 19, 2010 elena gorokhova has written the russian equivalent of angelas ashes, an intimate story of growing up into young womanhood told with equal grace and humor billy collins, former us poet laureate a mountain of crumbs is an exquisitely wrought, tender memoir of growing up in the soviet union. Critically acclaimed author elena gorokhova discusses a. The books title was from gorokhovas grandmother, who told her young children not to complain about lack of food and crumbled their black bread and sugar cubes into a whole mountain. Elena gorokhovas a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by elenas country is no longer the majestic russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its power and its pride.
A mountain of crumbs elena gorokhova the captive reader. Kapka kassabova is charmed by a memoir of life in soviet russia. I had read elena gorokhova s first book, a mountain of crumbs, a few years ago and i really enjoyed her downtoearth account of life in communist russia which ended with her escape to the usa to join her green card husband. Gorokhova accomplishes this through a moving exposition of her difficult relationships with her mother and her americanborn daughter, sasha. Jan, 2010 the title of elena gorokhovas new memoir, a mountain of crumbs, about growing up in the soviet union in the 1960s and 70s, comes from a game her grandmother invented to hide that she. Elenas country is no longer the majestic russia of literature or the tsars, but a.
The books title comes from gorokhovas maternal grandmother, the daughter of a factory owner from ivanovo, a provincial town in central russia. Author interview elena gorokhova, author of a mountain of. Readers of gorokhovas wonderful first memoir, a mountain of crumbs, know that elena herself was a lively, rebellious daughter. Aug 06, 2010 a mountain of crumbs by elena gorokhova. A mountain of crumbs ebook by elena gorokhova 97814395587.
Elena gorokhova has written the russian equivalent of angelas ashes, an intimate story of growing up into young womanhood told with equal grace and humor billy collins, former us poet laureate a mountain of crumbs is an exquisitely wrought. Memoirist elena gorokhovas debut work, a mountain of crumbs, about life in the former soviet union and emigrating to the united states, has been praised by many people, one of them being former. Home gorokhova writes about her life with a novelists gift. A mountain of crumbs which takes its title from a game gorokhovas grandmother invented during a famine in the 1920s could be taught as a. The narrator recreates the world that both oppressed and inspired her. A mountain of crumbs book by elena gorokhova official. A mountain of crumbs by elena gorokhova used very good. In her first year of medical school she was taught by the novel brigade method. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read a mountain of crumbs.
All episodes of elena gorokhova a mountain of crumbs. Bbc radio 4 book of the week, elena gorokhova a mountain. The title of elena gorokhovas new memoir, a mountain of crumbs, about growing up in the soviet union in the 1960s and 70s, comes from a game her grandmother invented to hide that she. The book is a memoir of the authors early life in saint petersburg then. Gorokhova writes about her life with a novelists gift for threading motives around the heart of a story, following its plot with a light touch and unwavering honesty. A mountain of crumbs by elena gorokhova is a good but certainly not great memoir of gorkhovas life growing up in st. Elena gorokhovas a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives. Elena s country is no longer the majestic russia of literature or the tsars, but a nation struggling to retain its. Elena gorokhova is the author of a mountain of crumbs 3. For the previous 10 or 15 years she had occasionally writtenand publishedfictionalized bits and pieces about her childhood and youth in leningrad during the brezhnev era. Elena gorokhova official site for the author of russian.
A mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a young soviet girls discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her countrys profound political deception elena, born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, finds her passion in the complexity of the english language but in the soviet union of the 1960s, such a passion verges on the subversive. You could read a whole book on galina and her husbands alone. Elena gorokhova metaphorically defines life in the soviet union in her book title, a mountain of crumbs, recalling when her grandmother appeased her crying child by convincing him he was better off with a pile of bread crumbs than one slice. Elena gorokhova s a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. A mountain of crumbs elena gorokhovas a mountain of crumbs is the moving story of a soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. A mountain of crumbs is the story of a young soviet girls discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her countrys profound, brazen lies.
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