May 29, 2009
Lately, there have been a lot of books that have prominently featured anti-heroes. Some of them work (Ovenman, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao), some of them are somewhere in the middle (You Don’t Love Me Yet, Tree of Smoke) and some have left me cold (Absurdistan, Home Land). I’m always a little wary when I see the words “anti-hero” or “coming-of-age” in a book description, and if the book happens to be compared to Absurdistan or Home Land, I’m even more cautious. But it turns out I was absolutely thrilled with Anya Ulinich’s Petropolis. Yes, it is a coming-of-age story. Yes, the protagonist can be unlikable at times. And sure, it bears a passing similarity to Absurdistan, but it’s only comparable on the very surface. Petropolis follows the adventures of a young girl named Sasha Goldberg, who moves from her bleak home in Asbestos 2, Siberia to a Moscow art school to America - thanks to her decision to become a mail-order bride. Once in America, see seeks out her father, who left the Soviet Union many years before. And oh yes, she has a daughter while a teenager, still living in Asbestos 2. The book has a marvelous sense of humor about it, even though the main character goes through her fair share of difficulty. And even though you can see why her classmates might shun her, you can’t help but adore Sasha. She’s not the smartest girl or the most talented. But she feels so real, like someone you might encounter in a club or sitting at a playground. I completely enjoyed her journey, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this novel.

Lately, there have been a lot of books that have prominently featured anti-heroes. Some of them work (Ovenman, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao), some of them are somewhere in the middle (You Don’t Love Me Yet, Tree of Smoke) and some have left me cold (Absurdistan, Home Land). I’m always a little wary when I see the words “anti-hero” or “coming-of-age” in a book description, and if the book happens to be compared to Absurdistan or Home Land, I’m even more cautious.

But it turns out I was absolutely thrilled with Anya Ulinich’s Petropolis. Yes, it is a coming-of-age story. Yes, the protagonist can be unlikable at times. And sure, it bears a passing similarity to Absurdistan, but it’s only comparable on the very surface. Petropolis follows the adventures of a young girl named Sasha Goldberg, who moves from her bleak home in Asbestos 2, Siberia to a Moscow art school to America - thanks to her decision to become a mail-order bride. Once in America, see seeks out her father, who left the Soviet Union many years before. And oh yes, she has a daughter while a teenager, still living in Asbestos 2.

The book has a marvelous sense of humor about it, even though the main character goes through her fair share of difficulty. And even though you can see why her classmates might shun her, you can’t help but adore Sasha. She’s not the smartest girl or the most talented. But she feels so real, like someone you might encounter in a club or sitting at a playground. I completely enjoyed her journey, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this novel.

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