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Lights All Night Long
Lights All Night Long is the stunning story of Ilya Alexandrovich Ekhlakov and his older brother, Vladimir. Two brothers who live in Berlozhniki, a refinery town on the edge of the arctic circle, where they spend their days watching bootleg American VHSs and their nights sleeping head-to-toe on the pull-out couch in their apartment. Ilya is a lingual prodigy; Vladimir the worst student at School #652 and an avid explorer of Berlozhniki’s seedier side. Still, the brothers are close, their love a careful balance of admiration and jealousy. When Ilya is tapped for an exchange program between Berlozhniki and an American refinery town, that balance is upset and Vladimir disappears into Berlozhniki’s underworld.
That winter, Ilya’s last in Russia, a new drug called krokodil surfaces in Berlozhniki and three women are murdered. Just as Ilya is about to depart for America, Vladimir is charged with the murders. Ilya arrives in Effie, Louisiana heartbroken, and in no mood to assimilate. But with the help of his host parents’ daughter - a local girl with secrets of her own - he embarks on a mission to prove Vladimir’s innocence. Lights All Night Long is a thrilling story of the fierce love between brothers, the sacrifices we make for family, and the power the past holds over the future.
That winter, Ilya’s last in Russia, a new drug called krokodil surfaces in Berlozhniki and three women are murdered. Just as Ilya is about to depart for America, Vladimir is charged with the murders. Ilya arrives in Effie, Louisiana heartbroken, and in no mood to assimilate. But with the help of his host parents’ daughter - a local girl with secrets of her own - he embarks on a mission to prove Vladimir’s innocence. Lights All Night Long is a thrilling story of the fierce love between brothers, the sacrifices we make for family, and the power the past holds over the future.
352 pages, ebook
First published April 2, 2019
793 people are currently reading
18849 people want to read
About the author
Lydia Fitzpatrick
1 book234 followersLydia Fitzpatrick’s work has appeared in the The O. Henry Prize Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, One Story, Glimmer Train, and elsewhere. She was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a fiction fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and a recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. She graduated from Princeton University and received an MFA from the University of Michigan. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughters. Lights All Night Long is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 732 reviews
May 13, 2019
Two brothers who couldn’t be any more different. The younger one, Ilya is 15 and smart, serious about his education, an exceptional student. Vladimir, at 17 is definitely not interested in school, drifts into a seedy, dangerous world of drugs. As different as they are, they love each other and this for me is the heart of the story, one that is about family, about brothers who would sacrifice for each other. It’s also about a teenage girl in another family trying to find her place and come to terms with her past. There is no shying away from the ravages of drug addiction in this novel.
The narrative moves back and forth from Ilya’s present in Louisiana as an exchange student to the time back home in the small refinery town of Berlizhniki, Russia just before he arrived in the US. Ilya has a difficult time making the most of his good fortune at this opportunity . “He was worried for Vladimir, worried when Vladimir was not home in the afternoons, worried even when Vladimir was home ...” and now in America, he is still worrying about his brother who is in prison after confessing to the murder of three girls. Ilya becomes intent on finding the murderer, because he is sure that Vladimir didn’t do it. Ilya loves his brother unconditionally and even jeopardizes his chance of going to America ? Why ? “The answer was simple: he wanted Vladimir back.” Vladimir loves Ilya and the depth of that brotherly love is revealed as the story progresses.
Ilya is alone trying to solve the mystery from afar until he connects with Sadie, the eldest teenage daughter in the family he is living with. He shares his story and Sadie in turn shares her own secret and their connection impacts them in ways that I didn’t expect. This is a terrific debut novel. I don’t as a rule read mysteries and there is a mystery here, but this was so much more. In spite of having to spend more time than I wanted looking up Russian words, I definitely recommend this heartbreaking yet hopeful novel . I will definitely watch for what Lydia Fitzpatrick will write in the future.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin Press through Edelweiss .
February 26, 2019
4.25 Stars* (rounded down)
Brilliant, intense, thought-provoking!
When Ilya got the opportunity to go to America from his hometown of Berlozhniki in Russia, he always imagined that his older brother, Vladimir would be going with him. Never in a million years did Ilya think that Vlad would be in prison, charged with murdering three young women while he was on his way to Louisiana as part of an exchange program. Now, every day and night at the Masons, is spent thinking about Vlad, trying to figure out how to prove his innocence, because he simply has to be innocent.. right?
Told in both past and present timelines, “Lights All Night Long” is an extremely powerful and poignant story of family, friendship, love, loyalty and strength. It is a story of triumphs and tribulations and most of all forgiveness.
Though this novel started out a little slow, it quickly got my attention. The prose is gorgeous and the characters made my heart ache fiercely. Vladimir’s overprotectiveness of his brother, Ilya’s determination to prove his brother’s innocence, call it love, or call whatever you want. Their love for each other will make you smile and it will bring tears to your eyes more than once.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, The Penguin Group - Penguin Press and Lydia Fitzpatrick for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 2.26.19.
*Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on 4.2.19.
Brilliant, intense, thought-provoking!
When Ilya got the opportunity to go to America from his hometown of Berlozhniki in Russia, he always imagined that his older brother, Vladimir would be going with him. Never in a million years did Ilya think that Vlad would be in prison, charged with murdering three young women while he was on his way to Louisiana as part of an exchange program. Now, every day and night at the Masons, is spent thinking about Vlad, trying to figure out how to prove his innocence, because he simply has to be innocent.. right?
Told in both past and present timelines, “Lights All Night Long” is an extremely powerful and poignant story of family, friendship, love, loyalty and strength. It is a story of triumphs and tribulations and most of all forgiveness.
Though this novel started out a little slow, it quickly got my attention. The prose is gorgeous and the characters made my heart ache fiercely. Vladimir’s overprotectiveness of his brother, Ilya’s determination to prove his brother’s innocence, call it love, or call whatever you want. Their love for each other will make you smile and it will bring tears to your eyes more than once.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, The Penguin Group - Penguin Press and Lydia Fitzpatrick for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 2.26.19.
*Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on 4.2.19.
May 29, 2019
Brooding yet hopeful, Lydia Fitzpatrick's debut novel,
Lights All Night Long
, is a gripping story about family, envy, and being caught between loyalty and the desire to make a better life for yourself. It is tremendously atmospheric, which is no mean feat considering the book really takes place in two completely separate places—Russia and Louisiana.
Ilya is 15 years old and lives in a small town in Russia with his mother, grandmother, and his older brother, Vladimir, whom he idolizes. Vladimir is a bit of a ne'er-do-well, more content to chase girls and commit petty crimes than go to school, but he knows Ilya is the smart one. The two dream of one day leaving their bleak surroundings for America, a country they only know through pirated VCR movies from the 1990s.
When an exchange program between the refinery in Ilya's town and an energy company in a small Louisiana town is created, Ilya's teacher knows there is only one student deserving of a chance to go to America, and it is him. Ilya is excited to finally go to America but is sad about leaving his brother behind, and Vladimir is torn between jealousy and wanting the best for Ilya. But the America that greets Ilya is very different than he imagined, and he's not quite sure what to make of his cheerful, religious host family, although they want him to feel comfortable.
Ilya tries to settle in and make the most of this new opportunity, but he can't stop worrying about Vladimir, who was arrested just before Ilya left for America, after he confessed to the brutal murder of three young women. Ilya knows there's no way that his brother could be a murderer, although he did fall prey to a powerful and dangerous new drug that started holding many in their town in its thrall. His mother wants him to forget about Vladimir and concentrate on building a better life, but he can't give up on a brother who taught him so much—good and bad—and with whom he dreamed of coming to America.
When Sadie, the oldest daughter of his host family, begins taking an interest in him, Ilya shares his worries about his brother and his suspicions that somehow Vladimir is taking the fall for someone else. The two of them begin to dig deeper into the facts and the innuendo surrounding the murders and the events leading up to Vladimir's confession, while at the same time, Sadie shares with Ilya some powerful secrets of her own.
Lights All Night Long shifts between Ilya's life in Louisiana and the year leading up to when he went to America. You see how Vladimir changed once Ilya was tapped to be the exchange student, how Vladimir wanted the chance for himself despite never having made the effort, yet he also was proud of his brother. Ilya's desperation to find the truth leads to painful discoveries, but ultimately, hope that he can save his brother from the things that might do him harm.
While I felt like the book took a while to really get moving, in the end I really enjoyed this story. It was definitely more of a mystery than I had anticipated, which is fine, and I thought the story would concentrate more on Ilya's life in Louisiana than recounting the past, but it all worked for me, mainly because Fitzpatrick is a terrific storyteller. As I mentioned earlier, she was able to vividly capture both the chill of Ilya's Russian town and the heat of the Louisiana bayou, and she deftly captured Ilya's experience adjusting to life in America.
It's often hard to realize how lucky we are when we're confronted with a crisis at the same time. Lights All Night Long is a moving story of the sacrifices we make for those we love, sacrifices which go unnoticed until it might be too late. With this book, Fitzpatrick proves that she's definitely an author to follow in the future to see what she does next.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Ilya is 15 years old and lives in a small town in Russia with his mother, grandmother, and his older brother, Vladimir, whom he idolizes. Vladimir is a bit of a ne'er-do-well, more content to chase girls and commit petty crimes than go to school, but he knows Ilya is the smart one. The two dream of one day leaving their bleak surroundings for America, a country they only know through pirated VCR movies from the 1990s.
When an exchange program between the refinery in Ilya's town and an energy company in a small Louisiana town is created, Ilya's teacher knows there is only one student deserving of a chance to go to America, and it is him. Ilya is excited to finally go to America but is sad about leaving his brother behind, and Vladimir is torn between jealousy and wanting the best for Ilya. But the America that greets Ilya is very different than he imagined, and he's not quite sure what to make of his cheerful, religious host family, although they want him to feel comfortable.
Ilya tries to settle in and make the most of this new opportunity, but he can't stop worrying about Vladimir, who was arrested just before Ilya left for America, after he confessed to the brutal murder of three young women. Ilya knows there's no way that his brother could be a murderer, although he did fall prey to a powerful and dangerous new drug that started holding many in their town in its thrall. His mother wants him to forget about Vladimir and concentrate on building a better life, but he can't give up on a brother who taught him so much—good and bad—and with whom he dreamed of coming to America.
When Sadie, the oldest daughter of his host family, begins taking an interest in him, Ilya shares his worries about his brother and his suspicions that somehow Vladimir is taking the fall for someone else. The two of them begin to dig deeper into the facts and the innuendo surrounding the murders and the events leading up to Vladimir's confession, while at the same time, Sadie shares with Ilya some powerful secrets of her own.
Lights All Night Long shifts between Ilya's life in Louisiana and the year leading up to when he went to America. You see how Vladimir changed once Ilya was tapped to be the exchange student, how Vladimir wanted the chance for himself despite never having made the effort, yet he also was proud of his brother. Ilya's desperation to find the truth leads to painful discoveries, but ultimately, hope that he can save his brother from the things that might do him harm.
While I felt like the book took a while to really get moving, in the end I really enjoyed this story. It was definitely more of a mystery than I had anticipated, which is fine, and I thought the story would concentrate more on Ilya's life in Louisiana than recounting the past, but it all worked for me, mainly because Fitzpatrick is a terrific storyteller. As I mentioned earlier, she was able to vividly capture both the chill of Ilya's Russian town and the heat of the Louisiana bayou, and she deftly captured Ilya's experience adjusting to life in America.
It's often hard to realize how lucky we are when we're confronted with a crisis at the same time. Lights All Night Long is a moving story of the sacrifices we make for those we love, sacrifices which go unnoticed until it might be too late. With this book, Fitzpatrick proves that she's definitely an author to follow in the future to see what she does next.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
March 12, 2019
A coming of age story of two devoted Russian brothers. Vladimir the oldest is quite a cad.. into thievery, drugs, sex, .etc. and Ilya the younger brother, a good kid with a great mind. They come from a very poor family and Ilya has the opportunity of coming to America as an exchange student.
This story goes back and forth from their story while together in Russia and the time Ilya is here in Louisiana with his host family and attending high school.
I enjoyed this story very much.. it contains a mystery, along with some grit..but really is mostly about the bond of brotherhood even from afar.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the ARC!
This story goes back and forth from their story while together in Russia and the time Ilya is here in Louisiana with his host family and attending high school.
I enjoyed this story very much.. it contains a mystery, along with some grit..but really is mostly about the bond of brotherhood even from afar.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the ARC!
October 2, 2019
It's not lost on me that I consumed most of this book in the lonely clutches of insomnia, my internal lights on deep into the night. Sometimes I think I embrace this torture, for it offers the opportunity to do the thing I most love in life besides writing: reading.
And this was one worth having insomnia for. One of the year's most moving (trembling, shaking) reads for me. I gasp in wonder and humbleness that Lights All Night Long is Lydia Fitzpatrick's debut.
The lights of Fitzpatrick's novel refer to the harsh and constant glare of the massive oil refineries that light the frozen plains of the small northwestern Russian town where Ilya Alexandrovich Morosov grew up and the steaming bayous of Leffie, Louisiana where he is spending the year as an exchange student.
The two landscapes and cultures couldn't be more different and the story opens as Ilya arrives at the airport in Baton Rouge, walking deliberately past the smiling, plump, eager host family that awaits him, holding high the sign with his name. He walks past the Masons not once, but several times, only meeting them at last at the car rental kiosk where they have him paged. Fitzpatrick captures the moment they register Ilya's face as one they had seen walk by, ignoring them, so perfectly —a moment's mixture of embarrassment, hurt, confusion, and then kindness. No one mentions the gaffe and Ilya is welcomed into the Mason family: Papa Cam, Mama Jamie, two young daughters, and the misplaced, reclusive teenager, Sadie, who becomes his guide to American high school and eases his cultural transition.
Ilya packed very little for his year abroad, but he comes laden with a terrible secret. His beloved older brother, Vladimir, is in prison, having confessed to the murders of three women shortly before Ilya left for America. Vlad is a drug addict, a petty thief, a high school dropout. But a murderer? Ilya knows his brother, knows his optimistic, fun-loving heart. He may have mired his life in terrible choices, but Vlad is not a killer.
The chapters alternate between America and Russia, between the present and the immediate past, the year leading up to Ilya's departure, when things were going so right in his life, and so terribly wrong in his brother's. Fitzpatrick crafts a murder mystery with a slowly-tightening circle around the truth as Ilya sets puzzle pieces in place each night in his basement room at the Mason's, surfing the net after he completes his daily homework. He reveals his secret to Sadie and together they work to prove Vladimir's innocence.
Lights All Night Long is beautifully written, with characters cast in tenderness and compassion, landscapes that crackle with ice and throb with humidity, and an intricate, carefully woven plot that will leave you gasping at the end. But it is the relationship between the brothers Ilya and Vlad that will burrow into your heart, and break it, over and over.
One of the year's best. Now, let's all get some sleep.
And this was one worth having insomnia for. One of the year's most moving (trembling, shaking) reads for me. I gasp in wonder and humbleness that Lights All Night Long is Lydia Fitzpatrick's debut.
The lights of Fitzpatrick's novel refer to the harsh and constant glare of the massive oil refineries that light the frozen plains of the small northwestern Russian town where Ilya Alexandrovich Morosov grew up and the steaming bayous of Leffie, Louisiana where he is spending the year as an exchange student.
The two landscapes and cultures couldn't be more different and the story opens as Ilya arrives at the airport in Baton Rouge, walking deliberately past the smiling, plump, eager host family that awaits him, holding high the sign with his name. He walks past the Masons not once, but several times, only meeting them at last at the car rental kiosk where they have him paged. Fitzpatrick captures the moment they register Ilya's face as one they had seen walk by, ignoring them, so perfectly —a moment's mixture of embarrassment, hurt, confusion, and then kindness. No one mentions the gaffe and Ilya is welcomed into the Mason family: Papa Cam, Mama Jamie, two young daughters, and the misplaced, reclusive teenager, Sadie, who becomes his guide to American high school and eases his cultural transition.
Ilya packed very little for his year abroad, but he comes laden with a terrible secret. His beloved older brother, Vladimir, is in prison, having confessed to the murders of three women shortly before Ilya left for America. Vlad is a drug addict, a petty thief, a high school dropout. But a murderer? Ilya knows his brother, knows his optimistic, fun-loving heart. He may have mired his life in terrible choices, but Vlad is not a killer.
The chapters alternate between America and Russia, between the present and the immediate past, the year leading up to Ilya's departure, when things were going so right in his life, and so terribly wrong in his brother's. Fitzpatrick crafts a murder mystery with a slowly-tightening circle around the truth as Ilya sets puzzle pieces in place each night in his basement room at the Mason's, surfing the net after he completes his daily homework. He reveals his secret to Sadie and together they work to prove Vladimir's innocence.
Lights All Night Long is beautifully written, with characters cast in tenderness and compassion, landscapes that crackle with ice and throb with humidity, and an intricate, carefully woven plot that will leave you gasping at the end. But it is the relationship between the brothers Ilya and Vlad that will burrow into your heart, and break it, over and over.
One of the year's best. Now, let's all get some sleep.
August 30, 2020
As much as I liked Ilya, my interest waned with all the back and forth to events in Russia. I wanted more about Ilya’s life with his odd and endearing American host family. A promising author but I was relieved to finish.
January 25, 2019
"T'was a junkie girl in my world
And everything began to twirl
And it spun so that I couldn't even stand
She had many charms, I heard alarms
She stuck needles in my arm
And I guess that’s when the trouble began
Days and nights, city lights
Empty bags and broken pipes
Slowly things got completely out of hand
Oh my god how far
Did we fall to get to where we are
In the dark, it’s not always easy to see the light
Was it just because
It was love on drugs
I don't know how we made it out alive" - Lyrics excerpt from "Butterfly" by Michael McDermott
This is a story unlike any other I have read. It started slowly for me; I felt no connection with any character until at least half of the way through, and then I began to relate to the beauty of the imagery that the author so skillfully designed. Her words are gorgeous, and I found myself highlighting beautiful passages that hit with stunning force, and the mesmerizing story she tells unfolded for me.
Ilya and his older brother Vladimir live in Berlozhniki, Russia. Ilya, the younger, looks up to his big brother with love and awe, and would do almost anything for him. Vladimir loves his younger brother, as well, but doesn’t have the interest in studies or the aptitude for learning that Ilya has. He is wilder, lives on the edge, and his choices are terrible and terrifying.
When Ilya has the chance to travel to America for a year as an exchange student, Vladimir becomes even more reckless than usual and his poor choices lead to a horrifying addiction, which in turn leads to his arrest for murder. Ilya, convinced of his brother’s innocence and now living with his host family in a small town in Louisiana in the US, does what he can from afar to dig into the truth of what really happened.
The outcome of this story is breathtaking, heartbreaking and extraordinary. I was absorbed in the author’s lovely images, even as I consistently had to look up the English translation for so many Russian words that were sprinkled throughout. This book started as a 3 star for me because it took a while to grip me; I felt removed from the characters and the storyline, but what a testament to the author’s writing skills that I never wanted to quit and that she pulled me in so completely that I can give this story nothing less than 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
And everything began to twirl
And it spun so that I couldn't even stand
She had many charms, I heard alarms
She stuck needles in my arm
And I guess that’s when the trouble began
Days and nights, city lights
Empty bags and broken pipes
Slowly things got completely out of hand
Oh my god how far
Did we fall to get to where we are
In the dark, it’s not always easy to see the light
Was it just because
It was love on drugs
I don't know how we made it out alive" - Lyrics excerpt from "Butterfly" by Michael McDermott
This is a story unlike any other I have read. It started slowly for me; I felt no connection with any character until at least half of the way through, and then I began to relate to the beauty of the imagery that the author so skillfully designed. Her words are gorgeous, and I found myself highlighting beautiful passages that hit with stunning force, and the mesmerizing story she tells unfolded for me.
Ilya and his older brother Vladimir live in Berlozhniki, Russia. Ilya, the younger, looks up to his big brother with love and awe, and would do almost anything for him. Vladimir loves his younger brother, as well, but doesn’t have the interest in studies or the aptitude for learning that Ilya has. He is wilder, lives on the edge, and his choices are terrible and terrifying.
When Ilya has the chance to travel to America for a year as an exchange student, Vladimir becomes even more reckless than usual and his poor choices lead to a horrifying addiction, which in turn leads to his arrest for murder. Ilya, convinced of his brother’s innocence and now living with his host family in a small town in Louisiana in the US, does what he can from afar to dig into the truth of what really happened.
The outcome of this story is breathtaking, heartbreaking and extraordinary. I was absorbed in the author’s lovely images, even as I consistently had to look up the English translation for so many Russian words that were sprinkled throughout. This book started as a 3 star for me because it took a while to grip me; I felt removed from the characters and the storyline, but what a testament to the author’s writing skills that I never wanted to quit and that she pulled me in so completely that I can give this story nothing less than 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
May 11, 2019
Every time I am finished reading a book that packs a literary punch I feel completely inadequate to review it.
Ilya’s dream of going to America has come true, the land of plenty, of super stores with no queues, the land of Hollywood movies and where people leave lights on all night long. This exchange year is everything he has worked for yet the shadow of his brother in prison stretches all the way from Berlozhniki in rural Russia to sunny Louisiana.
Even the host family’s pretty daughter can’t distract Ilya from the fact that his brother has been arrested for multiple murders.
I have never read a book that shows the devastation of the drug Krokodil and I urge you NEVER to google it, ever!
But it’s not just a book about a failing mining town in Russia where the young people fall under the spell of a dirty drug, it’s about the fierce bond between brothers, the tenacity never to give up and how the bonds of family is elastic and unbreakable.
I really loved the way that Ilya and Vladimir’s relationship was portrayed, and it saddened me that Vladimir, who clearly has potential, and could be quite a cad, wasted away on drugs (but isn’t that always the case?) There was as much meaning in what was said than what was left unspoken.
I also loved how life in Berlozhniki was described. This is a forgotten town with forgotten people that shows just how laughable the Russian system can be. I also appreciated how the side characters added richness to the story.
This was not always easy to read and is most definitely not sentimental, yet I could not get enough.
This is a strong literary debut and it’s no wonder Anthony Marra praised it so much.
Definitely recommended!
Ilya’s dream of going to America has come true, the land of plenty, of super stores with no queues, the land of Hollywood movies and where people leave lights on all night long. This exchange year is everything he has worked for yet the shadow of his brother in prison stretches all the way from Berlozhniki in rural Russia to sunny Louisiana.
Even the host family’s pretty daughter can’t distract Ilya from the fact that his brother has been arrested for multiple murders.
I have never read a book that shows the devastation of the drug Krokodil and I urge you NEVER to google it, ever!
But it’s not just a book about a failing mining town in Russia where the young people fall under the spell of a dirty drug, it’s about the fierce bond between brothers, the tenacity never to give up and how the bonds of family is elastic and unbreakable.
I really loved the way that Ilya and Vladimir’s relationship was portrayed, and it saddened me that Vladimir, who clearly has potential, and could be quite a cad, wasted away on drugs (but isn’t that always the case?) There was as much meaning in what was said than what was left unspoken.
I also loved how life in Berlozhniki was described. This is a forgotten town with forgotten people that shows just how laughable the Russian system can be. I also appreciated how the side characters added richness to the story.
This was not always easy to read and is most definitely not sentimental, yet I could not get enough.
This is a strong literary debut and it’s no wonder Anthony Marra praised it so much.
Definitely recommended!
March 22, 2019
4.5 Stars, rounded up to 5.
Ilya and Vladimir, two brothers born and raised in Russia, make life choices that will lead them into two different worlds. Forced by their decisions and opportunities presented to them, they are torn apart from each other, but their strong brotherly bond keeps them connected no matter the circumstances they find themselves in.
Close to perfect debut novel from Lydia Fitzpatrick, is a beautifully written story filled with emotions of brotherly love, devotion, family sacrifices, and addiction. Well written, character driven novel with a mystery in the background. Heart breaking and affecting story that kept me captivated till the end. I loved everything about this book and the characters will stay with me for a long while.
Thank you Edelweiss, Penguin Press, and the author, Lydia Fitzpatrick for giving me an opportunity to read this wonderful novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
Ilya and Vladimir, two brothers born and raised in Russia, make life choices that will lead them into two different worlds. Forced by their decisions and opportunities presented to them, they are torn apart from each other, but their strong brotherly bond keeps them connected no matter the circumstances they find themselves in.
Close to perfect debut novel from Lydia Fitzpatrick, is a beautifully written story filled with emotions of brotherly love, devotion, family sacrifices, and addiction. Well written, character driven novel with a mystery in the background. Heart breaking and affecting story that kept me captivated till the end. I loved everything about this book and the characters will stay with me for a long while.
Thank you Edelweiss, Penguin Press, and the author, Lydia Fitzpatrick for giving me an opportunity to read this wonderful novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
Read
June 5, 2023DNF @25%. No clue why I requested this from the library but it came in and I said why the heck not. Was listening to the audio and was intrigued and then I was like “what’s the point of this?” I read more about it on GR and decided it wasn’t for me.
September 14, 2019
Ilya and Vladimir, two brothers joined in familial loyalty, regardless of cost. A highly personal look at addiction and the devastation it spreads all around. This is what happens when one brother takes responsibility for fixing the other brother’s problems. It’s been said like seeks like and once two kindred souls find each other, under most circumstances, they stick together. Enter Sadie, the American girl, who is a kindred soul. A debut novel where the writer is clearly at home with the hopes and sorrows of life’s addictions and afflictions.
August 31, 2019
A beautifully written debut novel about the bond between brothers- the love, the guilt, the anger. The author has a way with words, and Lights All Night Long is almost more about how something is said than what is said. I say almost, because she manages to keep the plot and characters central in this literary coming of age story. I cared deeply for Ilya, the good brother, disregarding everything but his studies to get a chance as an exchange student in America. And felt probably even more for Vladimir, the lost, yet charming brother, who has no special talents to escape the small mining town in Russia.
The power in this story lies in the author's subtle, almost intimate descriptions of interactions and emotions in a family. So much so, that I had a few sleepless nights experiencing anxiety about things that has not, and will probably never happen in my family. She just makes it feel so real.
Highly recommended.
The power in this story lies in the author's subtle, almost intimate descriptions of interactions and emotions in a family. So much so, that I had a few sleepless nights experiencing anxiety about things that has not, and will probably never happen in my family. She just makes it feel so real.
Highly recommended.
June 2, 2019
Ilya Alexandrovich Ekhlakov arrives in Effie, Louisiana as an exchange student from Berlozhniki, Russia with a heavy suitcase of guilt. His brother, Vladimir, has confessed to killing three young women and is sitting in prison. Two years older than Ilya, Vladimir is a user of the devastating new drug krokodil; but Ilya just can’t believe that he is also a murderer. What can he do to help when he is thousands of miles away?
Fitzpatrick focuses on the love we have for family, even when they do things we don’t approve of. Both Ilya and Vladimir make sacrifices for each other. Fortunately, Ilya’s host family provides compassionate support for their anguished young exchange student.
Fitzpatrick focuses on the love we have for family, even when they do things we don’t approve of. Both Ilya and Vladimir make sacrifices for each other. Fortunately, Ilya’s host family provides compassionate support for their anguished young exchange student.
January 13, 2019
Thank you @penguinpress for providing me with this free copy of Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick to read and review, it was such a compelling reading experience!
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I was really very impressed by this novel, which is Fitzpatrick’s debut. It follows the moving story of Ilya, a gifted Russian student from a small refinery town whose talent for languages is often overshadowed by his older brother’s problems, which become a lot worse when a new drug called Krokodil arrives in Berlozhniki and a series of brutal murders occur. When Ilya gets the opportunity of a lifetime, to go on an exchange trip to America, his determination to stick by his wayward brother might threaten his future...
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What Fitzpatrick does incredibly well is detail the various relationships between her characters. Whether it’s his brother Vladimir, his tutor, or Sadie (his host family’s eldest daughter), I found Ilya’s relationships to be fleshed out, moving and believable. She also explores rocky relationships between mother & daughter with great sensitivity and acuteness.
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The structure works well for the story, as we flip each chapter between Ilya’s present in America and the past year in Russia. I’ve always loved this way of slowly revealing each part of the story until they come together.
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Admittedly I did see the reveal coming (I was actually really proud, I can never guess!) but the point of the novel is more than just a thriller or murder mystery and finding out the killer - it’s primarily a family drama, exploring the often unexplainable sacrifices people make when they care about each other, and the bonds between brothers.
.
I was really very impressed by this novel, which is Fitzpatrick’s debut. It follows the moving story of Ilya, a gifted Russian student from a small refinery town whose talent for languages is often overshadowed by his older brother’s problems, which become a lot worse when a new drug called Krokodil arrives in Berlozhniki and a series of brutal murders occur. When Ilya gets the opportunity of a lifetime, to go on an exchange trip to America, his determination to stick by his wayward brother might threaten his future...
.
What Fitzpatrick does incredibly well is detail the various relationships between her characters. Whether it’s his brother Vladimir, his tutor, or Sadie (his host family’s eldest daughter), I found Ilya’s relationships to be fleshed out, moving and believable. She also explores rocky relationships between mother & daughter with great sensitivity and acuteness.
.
The structure works well for the story, as we flip each chapter between Ilya’s present in America and the past year in Russia. I’ve always loved this way of slowly revealing each part of the story until they come together.
.
Admittedly I did see the reveal coming (I was actually really proud, I can never guess!) but the point of the novel is more than just a thriller or murder mystery and finding out the killer - it’s primarily a family drama, exploring the often unexplainable sacrifices people make when they care about each other, and the bonds between brothers.
April 1, 2019
This book is gorgeously written and impossible to put down and just trust me: read it now, thank me later. Heartbreaking, beautiful, lyrical, but also equally compelling, this is literary fiction at its best.
February 22, 2019
Lights All Night Long feels really quite an accomplished debut novel from Lydia Fitzpatrick. A coming of age story following Ilya Ekhalov, a teenage boy from rural Russia who gains a place on an exchange programme to study in America. The story is told in alternating chapters set in Russia and America - focusing on the lead-up to his trip to America and chapters on what happens once he gets there.
While Ilya is the main character, the supporting cast - Vladimir (his elder brother), his mother and grandmother, Sadie (the adopted daughter of his host family), his English teacher, his brother's friends - are all well fleshed out and people we care about while following his story.
If you're a fan of coming of age stories (with the tone more skewed towards adult than YA) or great storytelling I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
While Ilya is the main character, the supporting cast - Vladimir (his elder brother), his mother and grandmother, Sadie (the adopted daughter of his host family), his English teacher, his brother's friends - are all well fleshed out and people we care about while following his story.
If you're a fan of coming of age stories (with the tone more skewed towards adult than YA) or great storytelling I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.
Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
April 2, 2019
3.5 rounded up! There is not much that I love more than a fantastic, debut novel and I’m definitely here to say-this one checks that box! It is a well-written and intense read that will be sure to make you think about this family, and their story, long after you read the last sentence. Although it started a little slow for me, that didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the book overall. Fitzpatrick has a way with her beautiful prose and character development that can’t help but hook you in as a reader and once that happened, I was in. The story is about brotherhood at the forefront, but it is intertwined with mystery, poverty, murder, a bit of religion, decisions, intentions, role models, drugs, friendship, family, loyalty and so much more. It’s a story full of wins, full of losses and ultimately, about what it’s like to love someone so much that fighting for them is your only option. It’s a story that will make your heart ache, make you think, make you laugh, make you understand humanity a bit better and is sure to bring you to tears a few times. I’m excited to see what else Fitzpatrick brings us. Happy Release Day Lights All Night Long! I think you will be impacting a few hearts with your words.
January 25, 2019
Living in a derelict mining town near the Arctic Circle, Ilya learns English from the bootleg VHS movies he and his brother Vladimir watch incessantly. Some tapes are so damaged that the dubbing of the languages overlap. After an astute teacher recognizes his "gift," Ilya's loyalties are split between his increasing ambitions to become an exchange student in the US and his love for his brother who he doesn't want to leave in the dust. From the first, we know he makes his way to Louisiana, and his story is told in alternating chapters between his last year in Berlozhniki and his current new life in Leffie, LA. Keeping much of his personal history to himself and only releasing details sporadically, he attempts to learn truths about events that still haunt him from his earlier life, and the resolution is truly satisfying and original. So distressing to learn that the drug krokodil is present and working its evil half way around the world.
April 22, 2019
4.5 stars….Lydia Fitzpatrick is a debut novelist but you wouldn’t know it from her writing. She does so many things well in this novel about two brothers growing up in modern day Russia. First, she’s a consummate storyteller. There is plot here and it moves seamlessly between Ilya’s (younger brother) life in Russia and then in America.
Second, there is a mystery and honestly I didn’t know until so very near the end that there wasn’t time to even guess what really happened.
Third, the characters are brilliantly drawn, you see them and have empathy for them.
Fourth, you will learn about the most dangerous drug in maybe the entire world….many times worse than heroin and I didn’t know that was possible. If you want some graphic images, go to YouTube and search for “krokodil” but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In fact, the only criticism I have of this story is it buys into that old cliche that everybody wants to come to America. Unfortunately the U.S. is not the beacon of hope that it once was and while I’d like to blame it on current politics, the truth is other countries have been catching up and surpassing us in many important measures of what constitutes an enviable standard of living. I know for a fact that not all Russians dream of coming to America and haven’t for many years….so there is that and for that reason alone I docked it .5 star.
Second, there is a mystery and honestly I didn’t know until so very near the end that there wasn’t time to even guess what really happened.
Third, the characters are brilliantly drawn, you see them and have empathy for them.
Fourth, you will learn about the most dangerous drug in maybe the entire world….many times worse than heroin and I didn’t know that was possible. If you want some graphic images, go to YouTube and search for “krokodil” but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In fact, the only criticism I have of this story is it buys into that old cliche that everybody wants to come to America. Unfortunately the U.S. is not the beacon of hope that it once was and while I’d like to blame it on current politics, the truth is other countries have been catching up and surpassing us in many important measures of what constitutes an enviable standard of living. I know for a fact that not all Russians dream of coming to America and haven’t for many years….so there is that and for that reason alone I docked it .5 star.
December 24, 2019
Loved this novel which begins as a culture clash book--the Russian high school exchange student Ilya arriving from his impoverished life in an industrial town in distant Siberia with his mother, grandmother and hooligan brother Vladimir to stay with a middle-class Christian family in suburban Louisiana, but becomes more a brother-story, a story about secret lives and expectations, about loyalty and guilt, facades and what's behind them.
The prodigy brother comes to America trailing skeins of worry and backstory which puts a chiaroscuro on the American story. His getting used to supermarkets and swimming pools and church, and living with the three girls of the family, two little ones and the eldest, Sadie, Ilya's own age, a beauty who no-one will be surprised that he falls for. It is the Russian story which makes this such a compelling book. Fitzpatrick gets Russia right--the danger and unpredictability of the family's life, the longing for stability and the tenacity in search of a better life, the glamour of elsewhere, the despair, the loyalty that's the bedrock and the vulnerability that loyalty opens one up to, the injustice of life and survivor's guilt.
I admire the story-telling, the way the Russia story unfolds, full of interestingly timed revelations--as if Ilya himself didn't want to think about the things he knows--as the American story begins to intertwine with the Russian one rather than diverge from it.
Looking at a picture of himself and his brother, the brother's girlfriend and another girl, Ilya thinks: "Lena's fist was thrust out, flicking off the camera. Somehow the other photos had a doomed quality to them that reminded Ilya of the faded portraits of miners at the museum on the square, but this one was the worst to look at because Lana seemed so alive. Simply, defiantly alive, like she might tip forward, table out of the monitor and start to dance. Like she had no idea what was coming."
The prodigy brother comes to America trailing skeins of worry and backstory which puts a chiaroscuro on the American story. His getting used to supermarkets and swimming pools and church, and living with the three girls of the family, two little ones and the eldest, Sadie, Ilya's own age, a beauty who no-one will be surprised that he falls for. It is the Russian story which makes this such a compelling book. Fitzpatrick gets Russia right--the danger and unpredictability of the family's life, the longing for stability and the tenacity in search of a better life, the glamour of elsewhere, the despair, the loyalty that's the bedrock and the vulnerability that loyalty opens one up to, the injustice of life and survivor's guilt.
I admire the story-telling, the way the Russia story unfolds, full of interestingly timed revelations--as if Ilya himself didn't want to think about the things he knows--as the American story begins to intertwine with the Russian one rather than diverge from it.
Looking at a picture of himself and his brother, the brother's girlfriend and another girl, Ilya thinks: "Lena's fist was thrust out, flicking off the camera. Somehow the other photos had a doomed quality to them that reminded Ilya of the faded portraits of miners at the museum on the square, but this one was the worst to look at because Lana seemed so alive. Simply, defiantly alive, like she might tip forward, table out of the monitor and start to dance. Like she had no idea what was coming."
February 18, 2019
I'm not sure if there's such thing as a perfect debut, but this is as close as I've read. Lydia Fitzpatrick captures small-town Russia and Louisiana with such precision, they are permanently etched into my mind. While the mystery of the murdered girls will keep you guessing until the end, this is fundamentally a story of two brothers. Ilya is a powerful protagonist and his love for his troubled brother, Vladimir, made me want to reach into the book and hug him. Combine these complex characters with Fitzpatrick's enviable prose, and you've got a spellbinding novel that is sure to engage every reader. An absolute must-read.
May 5, 2019
Ilya and Vladimir’s love for each other was brilliantly portrayed through actions not words. Vladimir’s choices so petrified his family that his well-being became their priority. Far too often this type of destructive behavior causes families to live in dread of the next bit of bad news, thus making it impossible for them to live in any sort of balanced harmony. The author did a great job of showing us this heartache— this kind of hurt that piling on more and more love can not fix. Self love must exist and no one else can give you that.
Switching scenes from their worn out Russian hometown to Louisiana, where Ilya’s academic exchange family lived, mostly worked. There came a time though (about 2/3 of the way) when I wished that the Russian flashbacks would have dwindled. The story with the Masons was rich and could have used more attention.
Many people have commented on the author’s writing style. I must admit that I was oblivious to any great writing chops. I was more interested in seeing how the story was going to play out. So, for me, her writing did not get in the way of her storytelling. Always a good thing in my book.
Switching scenes from their worn out Russian hometown to Louisiana, where Ilya’s academic exchange family lived, mostly worked. There came a time though (about 2/3 of the way) when I wished that the Russian flashbacks would have dwindled. The story with the Masons was rich and could have used more attention.
Many people have commented on the author’s writing style. I must admit that I was oblivious to any great writing chops. I was more interested in seeing how the story was going to play out. So, for me, her writing did not get in the way of her storytelling. Always a good thing in my book.
December 22, 2018
Profoundly sad and affecting story of two brothers from a small town in what is best known to the rest of the world as gulag archipelago who take very different ways out of there. One uses his smarts, learns English, gets to go to US to study, the other choses addiction. No idea if the author has ever actually visited the area, but her descriptions of it are superb, not just surroundings but the zeitgeist, the beaten down snowed in tired desperation of an oligarch owned small company town so remote, bleak and hopeless that it makes communism seem like a decent idea, at least to the older population. It’s a place anyone would want to leave. A place anyone would do whatever it takes to leave. And that’s exactly how it plays out when two very different (opposites really) young brothers set their mind on America, the land of dreams as seen in incompetently dubbed action movies they like so much. And when one of them makes it, the culture disparity of a life with an all American family from Louisiana is staggering. And difficult to enjoy, weighted down by the notion that his brother has been arrested and accused of multiple murders. So not only a family drama, it’s a murder mystery. One you can figure out if you think about it, but it isn’t all too obvious. It’s just very appropriate and very tragic. And it’s sad to see how a place’s general ugliness can be so persuasive as to permeate all souls, good and otherwise. In the end it was just a good story well told. I wouldn’t describe it as a mystery per se, it’s primarily a drama, a very heavy one at that, but it’s a very satisfying emotionally engaging read with great characters and memorable story. And that’s a debut too, which is just…wow. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
February 7, 2019
What a remarkable book. Reading it I had the sense that was discovering something I had never seen before. The juxtaposition of two places, two cultures — a remote town in Russia, once a Stalin era penal village now become a place of dead and dying dreams, of drugs and drunken stupor, and flickering glints of hope; and a small town in Louisiana, with its own nests of poverty, it’s own conflicted identities — is revelatory. Throw in a smart young boy, a broken but loving brother, dark secrets, and a couple of murders, and you’re drawn in and held until the last page. Really interesting, well drawn characters, vividly recreated landscapes, striking imagery... The book is not without flaws but Fitzpatrick's talents are so prodigious that I had no hesitations at all about letting them slide by. I really hope this book gets the attention it deserves. And I'll eagerly await her next book.
August 6, 2019
Growing up in an impoverished town located in the former Soviet Gulag, two Russian brothers dream of leaving their town and finding a better life in the United States.
Vladimir and Ilya are very close friends even though they couldn’t be more different. Vladimir is loud, boisterous, and a thrill seeker. The younger of the two, Ilya, is quiet, studious, and very smart. Their lives suddenly and irrevocably change when Ilya is offered an opportunity to study in the United States while Vladimir drifts into the drug culture.
With a vivid sense of place and realistic characters, this is a heartbreaking coming of age story about family, sacrifice, loyalty, and the unbreakable bonds between brothers.
Vladimir and Ilya are very close friends even though they couldn’t be more different. Vladimir is loud, boisterous, and a thrill seeker. The younger of the two, Ilya, is quiet, studious, and very smart. Their lives suddenly and irrevocably change when Ilya is offered an opportunity to study in the United States while Vladimir drifts into the drug culture.
With a vivid sense of place and realistic characters, this is a heartbreaking coming of age story about family, sacrifice, loyalty, and the unbreakable bonds between brothers.
May 18, 2019
This book was recommended to me by a friend who absolutely loved it. I think it's well written and reads easily, but I struggled to understand the protagonist. He's written as a genius, smart enough to escape the poverty trap of rural Russia and provide for his family, but the entire book up to page 240 (where I stopped) consists of him desperately trying to piss away his opportunities so he can instead slum around with his drug addict brother. What's worse, in my opinion, is that the only reason he fails to sabotage his own life is because several women in the book seem to inexplicably love him to the extent that they will put their own well being in jeopardy to cover up for him.
If you struggle watching loved ones (who you desperately want to help) continue to destroy their lives by making poor choices, this book will most likely resonate with you. As a heartless narcissist, this book just made me frustrated.
If you struggle watching loved ones (who you desperately want to help) continue to destroy their lives by making poor choices, this book will most likely resonate with you. As a heartless narcissist, this book just made me frustrated.
December 15, 2024
4.5 stars.
August 14, 2020
We see a vivid picture of Russia's economic collapse through the memories and events in the life of 15-year-old Ilya. He lives with his older brother Vladimir, his mother, and his paternal grandmotheer in Berlozhinki, a defunct coal mining town built on the site of an abandoned labor camp. Crumbling guard towers and scattered graves are a grim remindeer of the past. The only functioning industry in the town is a refinery, owned by an absentee oligarch who occasionally swoops in to check on his investment.
The stark silhouette of the refinery, the Russian interjections in the dialogue, the restless and careless abandon of futureless adolescents and the unimaginable harshness of the weather convey the hopeless struggle for survival in this hinterland of post-Perestroika Russia. Fitzpatrick brings these scenes alive: “That winter, Ilya's last in Berlozhinki, was one of the coldest in the books. Snow swallowed the crosses in the field by the Tower completely. It was rumored that the Pechora [River] was frozen solid, surface to bed, with whole schools of salmon trapped in the ice.” (p.83)
Although the narrative is entirely through Ilya's eyes, I found Vladimir to be the most interesting character. He is hopelessly flawed, and descends from mere truancy and petty thievery into drunkeness, an obsession with sexual bravado, violence and drugs. At the same time, Ilya relates touchingly intimate memories. Ilya is gifted. In particular he has a gift for languages. The boys are watching one of their treasured bootlegged action tapes and Ilya learns to sound out an English word. Vladimir is so proud of his younger brother. At school Ilya's teacher recognizes his gift and provides a list of titles for advanced study. Even with the money scraped together by his mother, not all of the items can be purchased. Vladimir makes up the difference from his surreptitious stash.
The plot traces Ilya's residence with an American family in Louisiana as a result of a scholastic award he has spent years working toward. At the same time, Vladimir is arrested for the murder of three young women. Ilya is certain Vladimir is innocent, although Vladimir has already confessed. The chapters alternate between America and the past events in Russia. Although this alternation dramatizes the murders and arrest early on, it dilutes the portrait of Vladimir and at first Ilya's intense concern for his brother fails to strike the same sympathetic chord in the reader. Only after several chapters into the book does Vladimir emerge as the complex character he actually is. Likewise, we begin to see the growth of a new resolve and resourcefulness in Ilya as he matures emotionally during his stay in America.
Parts of this book were very well written. Other parts seemed to drag, and I had mixed feelings about the book. It was the selection of our local book club.
The stark silhouette of the refinery, the Russian interjections in the dialogue, the restless and careless abandon of futureless adolescents and the unimaginable harshness of the weather convey the hopeless struggle for survival in this hinterland of post-Perestroika Russia. Fitzpatrick brings these scenes alive: “That winter, Ilya's last in Berlozhinki, was one of the coldest in the books. Snow swallowed the crosses in the field by the Tower completely. It was rumored that the Pechora [River] was frozen solid, surface to bed, with whole schools of salmon trapped in the ice.” (p.83)
Although the narrative is entirely through Ilya's eyes, I found Vladimir to be the most interesting character. He is hopelessly flawed, and descends from mere truancy and petty thievery into drunkeness, an obsession with sexual bravado, violence and drugs. At the same time, Ilya relates touchingly intimate memories. Ilya is gifted. In particular he has a gift for languages. The boys are watching one of their treasured bootlegged action tapes and Ilya learns to sound out an English word. Vladimir is so proud of his younger brother. At school Ilya's teacher recognizes his gift and provides a list of titles for advanced study. Even with the money scraped together by his mother, not all of the items can be purchased. Vladimir makes up the difference from his surreptitious stash.
The plot traces Ilya's residence with an American family in Louisiana as a result of a scholastic award he has spent years working toward. At the same time, Vladimir is arrested for the murder of three young women. Ilya is certain Vladimir is innocent, although Vladimir has already confessed. The chapters alternate between America and the past events in Russia. Although this alternation dramatizes the murders and arrest early on, it dilutes the portrait of Vladimir and at first Ilya's intense concern for his brother fails to strike the same sympathetic chord in the reader. Only after several chapters into the book does Vladimir emerge as the complex character he actually is. Likewise, we begin to see the growth of a new resolve and resourcefulness in Ilya as he matures emotionally during his stay in America.
Parts of this book were very well written. Other parts seemed to drag, and I had mixed feelings about the book. It was the selection of our local book club.
November 18, 2020
Wow, hard to believe this is the author’s debut novel, it was exceptional. First off, if you ever needed to thank your lucky stars that you were not born in a dying refinery town in freezing Russia, this book will serve as a reminder. Without reviewing the plot which is available elsewhere, the story unfolds in mostly flashbacks to two bothers’ (Ilya and Vladimir) lives in the aforementioned town alternating with present day in Leffie, Louisiana where Ilya is an exchange student. I knew I was really enjoying the book when every time the author moved from Russia to the US, I groaned finding myself anxious to stay and learn what happens next in Russia. Then the same, vice versa, when she takes us away from Louisiana! It is part murder mystery, a genre I love, but that’s really only a part of it. It’s really more about the love between two very different brothers and the relationships with their family and friends. You will really like Ilya’s character (although I did find myself yelling aloud at him when he makes a really bad judgement call on the eve of his board exams. Enough about that.) Vladimir, for all his many flaws (and he has many, including drug addiction) still earns a kind of quiet admiration for his love and, most of the time, support for his little brother. The “supporting cast” are all fairly unique and interesting three dimensional characters. The description of the two locales makes you feel you’re actually in these neighborhoods (bring a heavy coat!) You will smile occasionally, and worry a lot. I really enjoyed it. (Thanks to Sonja for the recommendation)
December 19, 2018
This book is as close to perfect as any other novel I've read. From the first paragraph, with its almost-throwaway mention of how a hook had given a coat "a permanent hump behind the collar," it transports you with its authenticity. Every character is well rounded, fallible, utterly human; every relationship is relatable, and the bond between the protagonist, Ilya, and his older brother, Vladimir, is limned beautifully. There's a mystery that drives the plot, but even if there weren't, I'd have love this book, so heartbreaking true is its world. This is a must-read.
Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Press, for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Press, for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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