After the Fall

The fiction of post-Soviet immigrants has been gaining in popularity over the past few years but has mainly focused on the experience of Russians. In her first story collection, Krasikov, a native of the Ukraine, adds two other dimensions to this recent phenomenon: the experience of women in particular and of the peoples of the smaller Soviet republics (Georgia, Tajikistan, etc.) after the fall of the Soviet Union. Krasikov has noted the influence of the book of Ruth on her stories, which maintain a biblical surface calm while telling the stories of women caught in tough situations, having sacrificed security and prosperity for love or devotion (especially to children). The tone, however, remains fairly constant throughout, and many of the motifs are revisited once too often without enough contrast, which makes it hard to see the collection as more than a series of repeated technical studies, perhaps in preparation for Krasikov's anticipated first novel. The collection as a whole shows promise, however, and librarians should watch Krasikov's name in the future. A suitable addition to public libraries.—Sam Popowich, Univ. of Ottawa Lib., Ont.

This collection by Vapnyar (Memoirs of a Muse) follows up her first collection, There Are Jews in My House, which won the Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture in 2004. Among the growing number of writers, including David Bezmozgis and Ellen Litman, who use eloquence and sardonic wit to capture the experience of Eastern European immigrants from the Communist bloc resettling in American cities, Vapnyar is one of the best. Her new collection, with its focus on food, captures the delights of abundantly packed grocery shelves and, conversely, the sadness associated with the makeshift recipes of home, like Salad Olivier, a creative assemblage consisting of items that were generally available even in hard times, including boiled potatoes, canned peas, and bologna. The thematic nature of the collection is also its downfall, unfortunately, and not owing to any lack in quality. The book feels thin and is over too fast, leaving the reader, perhaps appropriately, hungry for more. Recommended for urban public libraries.—Sue Russell, Bryn Mawr, PA