Iry Ismatt’s Reviews > The Correspondent > Status Update

As a Ukrainian, I have to admit that every mention of Russia in the book hits differently these days.
First, a random Russian nanny. Then the main character turns out to be half Russian. And I catch myself wondering: why? Why is it so often Russia? Why not Polish, Romanian, Swedish, German, Albanian, Mexican, Ukrainian, or any of the countless other nationalities that exist?!

“We are born and grow through childhood in spring. We live those glorious, lively, interesting years of our twenties, thirties, forties in summer. We settle into ourselves in autumn, that cool but not yet cold time, rich and aromatic. And in winter we age (brutally) and die.”

Such a beautiful way to think about the seasons of a human life!