Read Women discussion

This is our discussion thread for our February RAtW group read focused on Ukraine: The Nesting Dolls, the 17th novel by Alina Adams. She describes it as, a historical family saga following three generations of Soviet-Jewish women through the 1930s and the 1970s in the USSR and present day Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

Alina Adams

In 1977, Alina Adams immigrated to the US with her family from Odessa, USSR. Since then, she has done a lot of different things. She has worked as a creative content producer for 2 soap operas (As the World Turns and Guiding Light) and has written tie-in novels. She has been a writer, producer, and skating researcher for several networks. She's even written a series of figure skating mysteries. She lives in New York City.

Adams' website, which includes a book club kit and an offer to join a discussion by Zoom: http://alinaadams.com/index.html

Lindsey will lead our discussion.

Let us know if you plan to read and join in.

Thanks Carol! I just got my copy from the library today :)

This looks good, too! I will be reading this too.

Ok - I know we’re still a day away from February, but I’m so interested to know what everyone thinks about this one. I’m on chapter 15 & so far it’s not exactly what I was expecting.

If you’re reading along, let me know where you are so I don’t spoil anything with my comments! I’m thinking by the end of Feb.Wk.1 we can discuss the first part of the book, chapters 1-14?

I just started last night, and read the first few chapters. It's been pretty captivating so far. I just read about her chaperoned courtship and laugh at the tenacity of her mother.

Just picked it up. Sounds great!

Just about to start! Sounds really interesting.

Yay! Glad to see so many joining along. I'm onto the second "part" of the book (I didn't realize before-hand that it's divided into 3 parts more or less)

Feel free to jump in with thoughts as you get a few chapters in!

I finished part 1 last night. The story is very captivating, it almost feels like a guilty pleasure. Daria is a strong character both in personality and development, I'm not sure any of the other characters are developed at her level. After I finished Part 1, I went back and read the prologue to reorient myself to the story - now we know who some of these women are. The entirety of Daria's story is just tough, yet fascinating, and though I do hate to move on, I am curious to maybe see some of it through Alyssa's eyes.

I'm actually surprised a bit by this book - it's not what I was expecting. I'm enjoying the overall story, but it almost feels like a romance novel (*which I don't generally read, so maybe that's not a fair statement?)
I'm also surprised that the author has made the main female characters somewhat unlikeable - or is that just me? I think she's attempting to show their lives fully - their faults, their inner conflicts, egos, etc., but they're coming across as a bit... shallow? - to me.

I don't know - I've been holding off on commenting because I feel like mine are somewhat negative. I'd love to hear if others have a different perspective on these characters.

I have a hard time expressing my thoughts on the book too. It's a little lighter than I usually read, and the romance aspect makes sense now that you pointed it out. I also don't generally read these. The glossing over of historical events surrounding them was something that stood out to me, and bothered me a little, but the story is about the characters in their situation, maybe not necessarily of the political events themselves are the focal point.

I didn't find Daria's demeanor shallow because of her situation, and yes I agree she seems abrasive, but I like her character. I like atypical characterizations of women, it's refreshing sometimes. Since the book is taking us through many generations and decades, I think it will seem topical at first. But I still find myself really enjoying it either way. I see part 2 starts in 1970, so I don't think I will get to read much from Alyssa's perspective. We shall see.

I actually like Daria as well. I was thrown a bit with the dual-love story in the midst of being sentenced to Siberia. It feels like the author is minimizing things a bit (I know awful things have happened to Daria & her family - it just seems like the focus is more on the romance/pull between both men as opposed to her day-to-day situation. Like… she didn’t *have* to enter into a second relationship, she made that decision).

I think I’m being a bit judge-y because it hasn’t turned out to be a genre I typically read (so… my fault!)

I’m halfway through Part 3 where we return to Zoey (from the very beginning), but I’ll hold off on saying more until others have gotten there!

I have read a few chapters. It is gripping. The author is narrating the turn of events in a factual and analytical way. Somewhere, this style of writing is touching hearts, I think.

Daria comes across as a practical and rational person, the source of strength of the family- the first impression of the first few chapters.

I've read through chapter nine. Like you Lindsey and Anita, I do not typically read romance novels. So far I don't see it as such but I am guessing that is coming.
Darla seems like she is distancing herself from being emotional because she has to in order to survive and do the best she can for her husband and daughters. As you said Rupali, she has to be practical and rational.
Adams does not do into great detail about historical events that were taking place during those times. For example, she mentions a woman who was a "kulak" with a quick explanation that this was the name for farmers who refused to join the collective and the resulting famine known as the Holodomor.

Sophie wrote: "I've read through chapter nine. Like you Lindsey and Anita, I do not typically read romance novels. So far I don't see it as such but I am guessing that is coming.
Darla seems like she is distanci..."

That's a great observation Sophie. I think that's why I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd expected - there's a lot in terms of what's going in in Daria's head and how she's experiencing everything. But not as much in terms of setting the scenes, explaining historical events, etc.

I have finished part 1 and as expected toward the end Daria's situation is somewhat over-dramatized. I mean, her inner dialogue is more about her own feelings toward the two men in her life than her children's survival. Maybe because her bio above says she was a creative content producer for a well-known soap opera. I may have that in the back of my mind as I am reading so it may be influencing my opinion.
I also felt that Adam's character was not fleshed out enough. Not really sure what his motivations were. Was he secretly in love with Daria all along? (There I go with my soap opera-ish thoughts.)

Ok, I didn't know the author worked on soap operas. That actually makes SO much sense.

I agree - I would have liked to understand Adam more. He comes across as spiteful and selfish when he makes Daria stay with him in exchange for freedom for her husband and daughter. Later, he makes some truly selfless decisions which don't seem to mesh (or they do - we just don't understand him enough?) I think he was in love with her from the very beginning though.

I really liked Daria's story, and wish it were developed more. Maybe if it were an entire book about her, we would learn more about Adam and their lives together after they leave Odessa. I would have loved to read about Alyssa and Gosha growing up together during that time, and seen what kind of woman Alyssa became. Maybe we will still learn a little over the next generations, it's possible. I think it could have been a great historical fiction if fully developed. I'm having a little harder time getting into Natasha's story so far, but again find the historical setting very intriguing and wish it were a little more developed.

Anita - I agree! I haven't read very much about the USSR or Siberia during this time and would have like a bit more in the way of history, setting, etc. I didn't realize prior to picking this up that it's less historical-fiction focused, and more focused on the family of women and what they've collectively learned over the years.

I've just finished, so I'll hold off on saying more until others are further along. I ended up liking it a bit more than I expected (once I realized it was more romance than I generally read).

Hope everyone's still enjoying this one - I'd love to hear more thoughts as everyone finishes up part 1 :)

Just finished Part 2 last night. It picked up a bit in the latter half of the section for me, but definitely noticing a trend with the women and their relationships. I don't hate the book or the story, but the consistency with which these women are saved by the readily available man who holds the keys on the sidelines is an annoying trope that I don't care for. But I'm not trying to hate on the book or anyone who loves a happy ending because I can see the appeal.
Something I did like about Part 2 is how it shows the aspects of their political changes and how they impact these families. Carrying over generations I think is going to be an interesting concept to be able to think about retroactively.

So I know I left Part 2 with a not-the-best-feelings about the book, but something about Part 3 is tickling all my funny bones. Something about Zoe's constant struggle to fit in really resonates with me, and her dark humor about life at home with old world women just really struck alot of chords. I'm not done, but really enjoying this part so far. So, we shall see...

I liked Zoe's part too. Though I felt like the majority of it didn't really fit within the "historical fiction" novel I'd imagined, I did like how her family and culture was constantly tied in with the previous two stories. I did find some of her inner monologue a little bit... annoying.. but overall I liked her character and the way she described being sort of stuck between two worlds, in a way.

Anita wrote: "So I know I left Part 2 with a not-the-best-feelings about the book, but something about Part 3 is tickling all my funny bones. Something about Zoe's constant struggle to fit in really resonates wi..."
I thought parts of Natasha's story were silliness. While she wanted to better her life and was shot down because of being Jewish, her inner dialogue and actions were contradictory. I mean she wanted to be involved with the rebel group protesting the treatment of Jews and communism, but her motives seemed mostly driven by her crush on the rebel leader.
The description of the family's living circumstances was interesting. So were the attitudes toward things like abortion as a means of birth control and hopefully having enough rubles to bribe the doctor into using anesthesia.
While this is historical fiction, it is mainly focused on the women's lives.

Sophie - I've been thinking about your comment about the silliness of Natasha's story. Since finishing the book, I can see what the authors point was (I think?) - to show how each of the generations of women had decisions to make between what they wanted and what they needed. And how they each somehow ended up with what they "needed." I don't necessarily love this message for a variety of reasons, but I do see why the author wrote Natasha's story like she did. Natasha was so confident in what she thought and felt (as are many teenagers! - I had to remind myself that she was not an adult, as I'd pictured while reading), and she made some very clear mistakes. I like Boris' character, but I didn't love that he was there to rescue her, per say. But I did gather that it was the authors entire message throughout, that the women received what they needed vs what they thought they wanted.

Lindsey wrote: "Sophie - I've been thinking about your comment about the silliness of Natasha's story. Since finishing the book, I can see what the authors point was (I think?) - to show how each of the generation..."
What I meant by silly was that considering the seriousness and danger of her involvement with the rebels, the author seemed focused on Natasha's crush. I came away believing that she was being used and it was ultimately revealed to her.

I agree with you that the message was that they ended up getting what they needed.

Anita wrote: "I finished part 1 last night. The story is very captivating, it almost feels like a guilty pleasure. Daria is a strong character both in personality and development, I'm not sure any of the other c..."

I agree with you that Daria's story is the strongest part of this book, Anita!

Lindsey wrote: "Sophie wrote: "I've read through chapter nine. Like you Lindsey and Anita, I do not typically read romance novels. So far I don't see it as such but I am guessing that is coming.
Darla seems like ..."

I didn't see this as a romance novel, but it bears noting that this author has written some romance. I think she is trying to cover a lot of ground with this book (maybe too much?) and that some parts of the story are not given the time they deserve. For example, Daria's and Natasha's perdicaments lose power when Zoe's perspective comes in at the end, in my opinion.