Alina AdamsBesprekingen

The story of Daria who marries Edward Gordon in 1931; they end up in Siberia and the tragedies they suffered as a Soviet Jew under Stalin. It follows Daria's granddaughters Natasha and Zoe up through 2019 in NYC. Interesting how they listened to their elders even when they didn't want to. Good read!

I was interested in this one because of its focus on an obscure and almost unbelievable episode, the disastrous history of the ill-fated Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan.

The author has done her research, as demonstrated by the helpful postscript in which her references are cited. Though it still remains a bit vague how much personal connection she has with the history involved, there is no doubt an involvement of some kind, and she does not conceal her background in the Russian-Jewish immigrant community of California. There is an extensive period of history covered, from the 1930s up to the perestroika era, and all of this is competent, with many sidelights, no doubt from family memories, that illuminate the twisting pathways of double-talk, surveillance and persecution involved in navigating survival in the Soviet Union.

There were several warning signs, for me. The first was the cover blurb announcing that the writer is a "New York Times bestselling author". For me, sufficient in itself to persuade me to stay away. More alarming still was the "also by" list of her previous works, which includes such titles as "The Fictitious Marquis", "When a Man Loves a Woman", and "On Thin Ice: A Figure Skating Mystery". My hope was that this one, due to the subject matter and presumably the personal connection, was one the author would treat with the gravity it merited. I am not, might I add, a reader of romances, which is a considerable understatement. I avoid them like the plague. In principle, though, I am willing to admit that a romantic novel might be serious and well-written; which I was hoping might be the case here. It was not.

Well, maybe it is not so much a want of seriousness as of skill Much of the writing is, sadly, tepid, bland, awkward, stale and astonishingly tin-eared. Then again, I have so successfully avoided the bestseller lists that possibly I have not been prepared for just how bad bestseller-oriented writing can be. In a climactic emotional scene involving the major love interests, we get the following (p. 461): "He scootched his chair closer to Regina’s, peeled her hands away from her face". Altogether, the final pages are, to my taste, insufferably soppy and treacly. There is what I would generously interepret as, perhaps, an inside joke, or a tip of the novelist's hat to the market for her works, where we are told that "Lena [the leading character] was an avid reader of what Vadik deemed 'nonsense literature.' Sidney Sheldong [sic], Judith Krantz, Jacqueline Susann" (p 437). Indeed.

Oh my gosh, every threadbare cliché from trashy romances. "He allowed Regina to peel off his shirt and finally run her hands over every centimeter of glowing skin". (p. 249) Which happens not long after said glowing-skinned hero is described "raising Regina’s chin with his hand, forcing her to look at him in a way she hadn’t since that day when he’d smeared her face with balm, triggering previously unknown sensations in Regina" (p. 245).

The characters are big on learning, and being taught, immense Life Lessons. Our heroine, within a space of three pages (p. 287-289) is described as catapulting, barreling, zig-zaggging, and plopping into one of her numerous Major Decisions, a "mammoth of a decision", the outcome of which, we discover not much farther on, has been "driving her anxiety through the roof" (p. 298)

Or (a recurring whinge): " You don’t love me. If you loved me, you would do what I asked" (p. 382)

Well, it is easy to skewer this kind of thing. Unfortunately, the writing detracts from a work that does deal with an intense and dramatic period of history, during which a clash of ideologies and world views was being played out in major crises and brutal wars that involved untold numbers of deaths and tragedies. Timely, as well, for sure. Not long ago I read a news report in which Russian officials were, behind the scenes, referring to Putin's desperate mass of new, untrained conscripts as "ground meat". The echoes are here, in the bloody Russan campaign against the Nazis: "Unofficially, they called it 'the Rzhev meat grinder,' as a conveyor of bodies was fed into the maw of a forest swamp between Rzhev and Bely". (p. 264)

I was moved to follow some of the references to Birobidzhan, of which I confess to having been largely ignorant beforehand. Wikipedia was enlightening and led me to:

https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2020/09/go-east-young-jew-go-east/

The author's references are also an excellent starting point. Who knew that the Jewish Autonomous Region is still there on the maps and still has a Yiddish column in its newspapers ? That you can find, to this day, in Google Maps, running through one of its town, on the Sino-Russian border, a main street with the name "Ulitsa Sholom-Aleykhema" ? Who knew that the Canadian-born (a Manitoba native) Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson was involved with the promotion of Jewish emigration to Birobidzhan ? In all, a fascinating if flawed work.

A very interesting book about a Jewish woman, Regina, who moves from Moscow to the Jewish Autonomous Region and her adventures and trauma throughout the war. I had never heard of the JAR before, so this book definitely piqued my interest based on the description. Regina is a strong willed character and often difficult to like. The first half of the book was incredibly slow, but the second half made up for it. The storyline in the 1980s was also quite interesting and kept my interest with it's characters and complicated situations they had to navigate. Overall an enjoyable read that has me wanting to learn more about the JAR

I wish I could have read this whole book. I think it would have been a great story. I had several issues with getting this book. It was an ebook and I had trouble receiving. Once I finally got the book to download and started reading the next thing it had expired. It was taking me longer to read, as I discovered that I do not really enjoy reading by ebook method. I guess I better stick to an actual book.

Many thanks to Library Thing for my free ebook.

There are so many different perspectives on Jewish World War II history, it's almost impossible to know them all. And that's why I keep reading. I had never heard of the Russian Autonomous Region created by Stalin in 1934 as a Jewish safe haven, Birobidzhan. The story is meticulously revealed by Regina Solomonova to her daughter Lena after Lena's father has passed. Regina was very young when she left Moscow for Birobidzhan and such a strong person. Lena had never known much about her mother and didn't feel as close to her as to her father. This will change as Lena and the reader learn more and more.

The author has written a story of determination and amazing resilience before and during the German invasion, with all that it entailed. This is one I would recommend for its uniqueness and originality.

I have read a lot of WWII fiction over the years and it always amazes me to read and learn something about this war that I had never heard of or read about it. In 1928, the Russian government set up the Jewish Autonomous Region in east Siberia. The area was officially established and began populating with Jewish people from all over Russia. In the 1940s there were almost 50,000 people living in this largely agricultural area. Despite the fact that this was set up by the government, the people were treated badly and not given enough tools to properly farm the area. In the rest of Russia at the time this area was settled, Stalin was establishing his communist regime and life was difficult for most people. Anyone who disagreed with the Stalin regime was jailed or killed.

Regina is 18 years old and lives in Moscow with her parents. She's been spending time with a group opposed to the Stalin regime and when her neighbor is taken in for questioning, she knows that she'll be arrested soon. She packs a few items and leaves Moscow to travel to the Jewish region. There she hopes to find someone that she had met in Moscow and establish herself in the area. When she arrives, she find out that the person she was looking for had been arrested and someone else was in charge of the government. She goes to work on a collective farm and works to get her ideas used to help the farm be more profitable. During this time. the war with Germany is getting closer. The man she loves is sent to the Russian front to fight the Germans and she decides to follow him with their infant child. This story is told by Regina to her daughter Lena who found a trove of letters in her father's office after his death that he sent over the years to try to locate someone from the Jewish area of Russia. She knew nothing about her parents' past and was shocked when her mother finally shared the story. Once she has heard the story, she has to make several decisions that could affect her life and her marriage.
The timeline in this well researched novel is centered around the present day, Regina's time in Russia and the time she spends in a concentration camp. It was an interesting and unsettling account of the harsh life that Jewish people in Russia faced during these time periods. It's a book about family and love, courage and resiliency with a strong female character who never gives up.

As Lena's father says his last words, he unleashes a secret that her mother has kept for Lena's entire life. As Lena's mother, Regina tells of her past, Lena learns about her mother's traumatic past. As a young woman, Regina was afraid that she would be the next target of Stalin's Terror Purge. Regina decides that it would be safest for her to escape to the Jewish Autonomous Region, Birobidzhan only to find a struggling community led by fear. Regina finds good in Aaron Kramer, who dares to speak up and share his ideas. When Aaron is punished with an enlistment in the Red Army, Regina follows him as a field nurse. When she is informed that Aaron has been captured, Regina makes her way on foot with her newborn daughter to the prisoner of war camp where he is being held. Now, Lena and Regina desperately try to find the man that Regina still loves.

My Mother's Secret is an inspiring story of hope, choices, courage and taking chances. I didn't know anything about the Jewish Autonomous Region, so this was a particularly enlightening story. I was constantly amazed by Regina's ability to keep going in the face of fear and tragedy. The part of the story that took place inside Birobidzhan was disheartening, yet expertly researched. I could feel the desperation and despair, yet the need to work together and persevere. While this section moved a bit slowly for me, it was important to learn about the experiences there and was an integral part of Regina's growth and decision making process. I was continually impressed with Regina as she found the courage to follow Aaron into war and continuously had the conviction within herself to keep going, even when the choices were heartbreaking. In the end, I was glad that hearing Regina's story led Lena to understand more about her mother and her decisions in raising her as well as examine her own choices in life.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer. It is a romance (not a genre that I read much) wrapped in historical fiction, but I kept reading and enjoyed the story. There was enough historical content (much horrifying) to keep me interested. The main character, Regina, frustrated me with the risks she took, especially with her baby, but these risks drove the story. I'm fairly familiar with Soviet and Jewish history but hadn't heard of the Jewish Autonomous Region, so am happy to be more aware now. The JAR was another of many sad stories of a state manipulating people with an ideology that needed coercion and violence to create a "utopia." The characters were well-developed, and the plot moved along. I'd recommend the book.½

This sweeping story spans the time from the early Soviet Union to modern day. The heroine, Regina, is living in Moscow when she decides she must leave her family and friends and travel to a distant area of the east where an autonomous region has been set aside for Jews to populate .Her life there is difficult, to say the least. Between the hard labor, the ever present politics and the group meetings, living there is anything but a utopia. At this point in the book, I had to wonder if the author was being satirical. We in the West are so unfamiliar with the dogma of Communism that it was hard to take the story at face value. The story advances when Regina leaves the settlement to follow her lover during WWII. The images of war and prison camps was more familiar to me and so the story was now more realistic.
I don't believe it was the author's intention, but the narrative shed a great light on the current situation in Ukraine and Russia's war of agression. History has a tendency to repeat itself, sadly.

My Mother's Secret by Alina Adams is a novel that will carry you to places you may not have known about as well as show how strength can take many forms.

I found the story itself to be moving and, most important, I was invested in the characters. One of the things that, for me, made this special was how it made me consider the things people will do to each other. From how groups will treat other groups to how individuals will treat other individuals. Trust can be hard to find, and even harder to regain.

The other thing that I appreciate about the book is what turned out to be a history/geography lesson. The JAO is desolate and, even during its peak the Jewish population was not in the majority. I vaguely recall having heard of it but knew nothing about it. I love novels that make me want to look up history.

I would recommend this to readers who like historical fiction, but the story is so much more than that. It is a story about people, what love can make people do, and how we will do what we can for those we love. So the readership should extend well beyond just those with an interest in historical fiction.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.½

After her friend and neighbor is arrested, Regina flees from her home in Moscow to Birobidzhan, the Jewish autonomous region located between Russia and China. She expects to find a Jewish paradise, where the community works together for the greater good. Instead, she finds tired and hungry people, doing everything they can to survive in the harsh and unforgiving land. There she meets Aaron, someone who fights against the communal mind think is slowly starving its citizens. The second timeline follows Lena, immediately after her father passes away. Lena's mother Regina begins to tell Lena her story, uncovering a secret hidden for decades.

The timelines seemed to work really well together. The characters were well developed and multi-dimensional. I knew nothing about the Jewish Autonomous Region before reading this book and found it fascinating. The plot moved along nicely. Overall, highly recommended.

This was a really enjoyable novel, and I found it difficult to put down until it was complete. The story chronicles the lives of Regina and her daughter Lena through war, love, and heartache. While I expected the book to be historical fiction, it actually was more of a romance. The story touches on a facet of history with which I was not previously acquainted. Sometimes the characters' dialogues were weighed down with a dizzying amount of historical details, but overall, I appreciated learning about the background behind the story. I expected more information about Jewish religion and culture during the 20th century, but this wasn't not the focus of this book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions in this review are my own.

A slow-moving fact based first half novel. The second half picks up speed and becomes so much more interesting. The author has chosen a subject that is incredibly interesting, A novel of love and war. Atrocities and kindness. Courage. Thank you to Librarything.com and Historythroughfiction Publishing for a copy of this book.

This story skips around between the 1980s, 1930s and 1940s. I really enjoyed learning the stories of Lena and Regina in this way and it was very well done. I have read a it about the soviets in WWII but knew nothing about the Jewish Autonomous Region. I am inspired to go learn more about the promises that were made and the realities that were faced and what ultimately happened to those that settled there.

Upon her loving dad’s death, 40-year-old Lena discovers that he was not her father and she demands answers from her distant, unfeeling mother, Regina. We then delve into Young Regina’s love story as she runs away to a soviet commune that is proclaimed to be the new Jewish homeland, only to find that everything she has been told is a lie, having friendships is dangerous, and love could be fatal. She finds herself a leader in this confusing place and having to engage is constant political manipulation in order to keep her place. She wants to know if she is a person who makes good decisions when the definition of “good” changes depending on who you talk to.

My Mother's Secret was my first glimpse into life in a communist society. I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I found it very frustrating, and yet still a real page turner. While trying to navigate her way in a twisted community, Regina lies and manipulates those around her, but at the same time, she is just surviving. She is very different from me and I struggled to find a way to identify with her as a character; but really, in the end, we’re both searching for acceptance and a better life, so I appreciated her by the end.

I didn’t think I would say this, but now that I’ve finished it, I’m ready for another communist story and I think I’ll finally read Animal Farm.

I really enjoyed this book, but I do also really appreciate true holocaust stories.

I found it well written and different to other true holocaust books that I’ve read due to being based in the USSR.
The story gripped me for the extent and made me think about a viewpoint from the war that I hadn't thought about before.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was engaging and well-written. Definitely has an adventure/romance feel. It seems the author did her research on the Jewish Autonomous Region in the USSR pre/during WWII time. However, if you are hoping for more about the religious part of being Jewish in the USSR, it isn't there. It is more about the cultural and ethnic identity and how they fit into the communist USSR of the time.

We start out more modern day with a mother and daughter in a hospital saying goodbye to the father/husband. From there it jumps into the mothers past and eventually back to the present. There is drama and romance and a bit of history. I liked learning a bit about WWII from a different perspective. Things come full circle and people grow but not drastically.

This book felt more like a bunch of mini adventures crammed into one story line. It read fluently enough but was somewhat surprised when it was more of a romance than a historical fiction, overall I don’t LIVE for this book but I’m also not mad that I read it.

I was picked for an Early Review of My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region, by Alina Adams. As one who enjoys historical fiction, the title appealed to me. I thought it would be more history than fiction. Unfortunately, while there was some history, it was primarily a love story. After reading Ms. Adams’ biography after I finished, I can understand. She was influenced as a writer by soap operas. And this novel is quite a soap opera. I would say one of epic proportions. It takes the heroine from one end of Russia to the other. She undergoes all kinds of adventures and hardships for the love of her life. And it has a happy ending.

. Each month the Jewish Book Council recommends one fiction and one non-fiction book for book clubs. The Nesting Dolls was their book club pick for May. Adams takes her readers on a multigenerational path through the fascinating history of Communist Russia and Russian immigration to the United States. She deftly portrays generations of women weaving their coming of age stories about love, sacrifice, family, and ultimately survival. This fascinating story spans nearly a century, from 1930’s Siberia to contemporary Brighton Beach. Described as a page turning epic of generations of women in one Russian Jewish family – each striving to break free of fate and history, each yearning for love and personal fulfillment.

The Nesting Dolls, Alina Adams, author; Nancy Peterson, narrator
This is a book about several generations of a family that started out in Russia and eventually traveled, due to circumstance and politics, from Odessa to Siberia and then to America. Russia was not a good place to be, especially for Jews. When Russia made a pact with Germans, it grew worse. The effect of anti-Semitism on this family took a tremendous toll, even without having experienced the direct result of the barbaric treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, they had already been shoved into cattle cars and arrested on false charges with no way to fight them. They were carted off to Siberia and, unlike WWII, those abuses still exist in Russia for some of its citizens, regardless of their religion. Sometimes, being saved by the bell was the difference between life and death, and still is. Bribery and deception are the way of life there. Just like in Germany, people were encouraged to inform on each other. It was an effective weapon to use against Jews. The informers were everywhere, and often, the information was false, but that did not matter, arrests and punishments took place anyway. Siberia was a cruel place with little resources and prisoners had no escape. Often, they were worked to death and practically starved. They were given few tools to help them survive. This family featured in this book, learned that they could endure far more than they ever thought they could, they could overcome far more obstacles than they thought possible so long as they were brave and courageous, willing to fight for what they thought was right and were able to get away with it. As the book advises, sometimes life gives us what we need instead of what we want.
This Russian family is followed for generations beginning in the 1930’s and continuing to 2019. When it begins, the families seem content, but soon, the politics and anti-Semitism so prevalent, began to invade their lives. If they were accused of being subversive, they were arrested. There were no second chances, there was no recourse. The accusation, not the proof, was enough. An angry word, a wayward glance, a friendly conversation could condemn a family to life in Siberia, after which all of their neighbors would come and loot their belongings with the approval of each other. Children turned against parents, parents against children, friends against friends as everyone tried to survive in this corrupt totalitarian, socialist society.
Daria and Edward Gordon fell in love. It was a romance engineered by Daria’s mother who instructed her on how to capture Edward’s heart. Edward was a concert pianist of some renown, and they thought his fame would protect them from accusations and reprisals. However, jealousy reigned. When someone objected to an overheard conversation between Daria and her mother, who spoke German, They were denounced and carted away to Siberia with no explanation. Edward had been raised in relative comfort to protect his precious hands. In Siberia, this was no longer to be. Although he complained rarely, he deteriorated. After one of their children succumbed to pneumonia, Daria grew desperate to save him and her surviving child. Daria did what she had to do to save her family. Edward and her daughter were allowed to return home, but she had to remain there. Her daily life becomes somewhat tolerable. Then she too, is allowed to leave, now with an additional child. In Odessa, things are worse than before. Her father-in-law looks down on her. Her husband is a shadow of himself, giving piano lessons and being humiliated daily. When events conspire to take her to America, the story goes in another direction.
Several generations of Daria’s family are explored in Brighton Beach, New York, a place that has come to be known as Little Odessa because the Russians that settled there made it their own. The novel illuminates the struggles and the shame, the humiliation and the taunting that the Russian Jews had to endure. It illustrates the different ways that their Russian culture altered their behavior and their expectations. In Russia, cheating, bartering, even stealing from one another was often acceptable behavior in order to survive. In America, it was not the way of life, but it often continued that way in Brighton Beach.
The book is lacking in that it pays little attention to the events occurring in the outside world at that time, as if these people were practically insulated from all but their lives in Little Odessa. The characters were not as well developed as one might hope and the skipping of generations of family members covered, left gaps in the story which caused some confusion. The ending seemed to give way to the need to be politically correct, and perhaps not factually correct in the way it described the relationship between Gideon and Zoe. Although Americanized in many ways, the Russians seemed not to have advanced much culturally. The loose morals of women, the abuse of them as well, illegitimate children, a weakness in the men, and a headstrong quality in the women seemed to be major themes. Race was also subtly introduced, but seemed to have no purpose other than to include the author’s political leanings.
As an aside, I remember the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, before it became part of Little Odessa. All of the beachgoers strolled it and enjoyed the offerings of the vendors from frozen custard to Nathan’s frankfurters, a few blocks away. Blankets used to be spread under the boardwalk for clandestine kisses. Brighton Beach was so much fun. Little Odessa was carved out of Brighton Beach by Russian Immigrants, and it was no longer as much of a draw for many people because they created their own system of life, replicating Russia. They even had their own police force at one time, I believe. Visiting the area is now a tourist attraction, although one has to navigate it carefully. Under the boardwalk was filled in with sand to make it safer. Cops patrol it. Times have changed everywhere. The restaurants are fun, the Russian language is commonplace, but why do people seek to create the very kind of life they abandoned and escaped from to come here? It confounds me.

This was a very interesting read following three generations of women in a family. Daria who survived the war, and a camp. Natasha who had better opportunities and not the war hanging over her head, but was not allowed to advance her studies or school as she wanted because she was Jewish. Her career and life has been decided for her, so she gets involved with a group that takes her down a dangerous path. Zoe is in current day US and still struggling with acceptance and fitting in having Jewish heritage, meanwhile trying to understand her families values, fears and past hardships.

Daria marries a wealthy man, and life seems good during the 1930’s, that is until war breaks out and Stalin’s repressive Soviet state. Anyone will turn in anyone to gain an upper hand and to get any suspicion off of themselves. Even a son, turns in his own mother. The family gets snitched on, and they soon find themselves being sent off to a camp. Daria does everything she can to keep her daughter and husband alive, although each day gets harder and harder.

In the end, she has to make a heart-wrenching decision that she hopes her family will understand. This decision gets them out of the camp and back to putting their lives back together and she will meet them as soon as she can get herself out as well.

Natasha is a very smart woman and wants to get into university to proceed into a career in mathematics, but Jews still are being limited to what they can and cannot do. Whether they like it or want to believe it, their careers really are dictated by others and there is nothing they can do about it. Feeling frustrated and anger at the system and how easily decision for her are made, she gets tangled up with a group trying to break the system and prove that prejudices are still happening.

Natasha, like her mother also has to make a decision that she does not really agree with, but is the best decision in the end for her, the baby and her family. This involves them migrated to the US, but through a means of lies that only she and Boris know. Although her parents are hesitant to leave everything behind, they get approval and come to the US. The country of opportunity.

Zoe, current day has always struggled with fitting in. She is Jewish, knows her family came from Russia and often there are various languages spoken and agreements or disagreements on decisions within her life, how to live and what to do or not do in the US. Her parents and grandparents still harbor fears that were long instilled in them from Russia.

She finally meets someone that understands her background of being different from others, and starts to understand her families past, hardships and why they have done what they have done, and made decisions they did. Zoe is also finding herself, and where she belongs.

I really enjoyed this novel, and it was eye opening to read about Russia during the war, and through the 1970’s. I did not know how much was still controlled and dictated by others, and it still seemed as if not much had changed since the war.

Following three generations of Russian women, this historical novel has romance for sure but there is a lot more to the story as it follows Daria who marries a renowned piano player in Odessa Russia. Deported to a labor camp as enemies of the state in the 1930’s. Her daughter, Natasha, determined to leave her depressing life teaching in Odessa in the 1970’s gets involved with a resistance group. And in 2019, Natasha’s granddaughter in Brighton Beach wants to plan a 45th wedding anniversary for her grandparents. There’s so much more depth and strong characters in this book and the women struggle between love and realities. I was caught up in the moving storyline.

Spanning the decades from the eve of WWII to the present, The Nesting Dolls weaves the poignant tale of three generations of Soviet Jews. Having learned that the author's parents were Soviet emigres in the 1970s, I now understand why her work feels so authentic.

From the harsh realities of the Siberian Labor Camps where Daria must make heartrending choices, to 1970's Russia where idealistic Natasha's involvement with dissidents results in a life alerting escape to the United States, to the modern day streets of Brighton Beach where Zoe tries to navigate the feeling of being out of place in both the old world and the new, the reader is given a glimpse into a world where the strength of the human spirit is tested and prevails. Through the stories of several indomitable women, Ms. Adams has created a novel rich in history that is sure to stay with you long after you turn (or click) the last page. Highly recommended.

Bex is a figure skating researcher with the 24/7 network. She's been helping cover the world championship in San Francisco when the Italian judge ends up electrocuted in the refrigeration room of the rink after a controversial win of the Russian skater over the beloved American. Bex's boss, Type-A producer Gil Cahill assigns her to find out who killed the judge. Bex's self-deprecating humor makes her a very human character, not some super sleuth. The author's inside view on the figure skating world adds an extra dimension to this mystery series.