Farewell to Russia: Memories of When I Was Kola

by Nikolai Prestia, Teresa Fiore (Translator), Daniela Chaudhary Fiore (Translator)

Growing up in 1990s Russia in a family marked by poverty, substance abuse, and neglect, Kola and his sister are eventually admitted into the orphanage system. Here, Kola comes face to face with a different but equally daunting challenge – navigating an unfamiliar and sometimes hostile world haunted by the absence of his mother. The ensuing journey, which eventually culminates in the adoption by an Italian family, alternates moments of both trauma and deliverance, while asking fundamental questions about our ability to reconcile ourselves with unfathomable loss.
 
Harrowing yet lyrical, Nikolai Prestia’s prize-winning 2021 novel is a testament to the duality of memory in its ability to both hurt and heal, and to the transformative power of those figures, adults and peers alike, who contribute to a child’s development. Translated into English as part of a collaboration between the author and a mother-daughter translator duo, the novel serves up a wrenching glimpse into the back stories that often precede the adoption of an older child. 

184 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 10, 2026

About the author

Nikolai Prestia nasce nel 1990 a Nizhny Novgorod, in Russia. All’età di otto anni, insieme alla sorella, viene adottato da una coppia italiana che vive in Sicilia. Si è laureato in Giurisprudenza all’Università di Siena e attualmente vive a Roma.

Reviews

[Alicia Garcia-Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing this review while dabbing at my eyes that are threatening to overflow with tears once again. In my future times of ingratitude, let me remember this book, and the story it tells. Farewell to Russia is a translated book (from Italian to English). It is the memoir of a man, now grown, who was born and raised in Russia, until an Italian couple adopted both him and his sister. The story follows his short life spent with his biological family, and the drug addiction, prostitution, poverty, and abuse that defined that life, and then later, the bulk of his years spent in an orphanage. You'd think, by this description, that it would be a heartbreaking read, and yes, there is much of that. But there was also such wonderful moments in his boyhood, beautifully relayed, spent with boyhood friends, various adults who befriended him, and his wonderful "Babushka"(his great-aunt) who visited him and his sister periodically. The tears, for me, came at the end, when the young boy, in order to embrace his new and impending future in Italy, knows that he must give up everything, both bitter and sweet, that have thus tethered him to the only life that he has ever known. Guilt, shame, grief, hope, and joy all intertwine simultaneously in a very cathartic ending. As gut-wrenching as it was for this reader, one can only imagine how emotionally depleted the author must have felt, both experiencing it firsthand, as well as writing about it. A lovely book. A brave book. ** I received this ARC from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

[Angelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute wow of an autobiographical memoir. This story will shatter your heart and put it back together again piece by piece. I absolutely recommend this novel to anyone and everyone. It’s emotionally raw, hopeful, heartfelt, and vulnerable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rutgers University Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.