In Memory of Memory

This is one of the best books written in Russian in the last 20 years. I had been waiting for its English translations for months, and it finally came out. The English text does a good job conveying Stepanova's poetic prose, but I was shocked and disappointed to notice that Sasha Dugdale skipped paragraphs, sometimes entire pages that are present in the original. That she does that is not mentioned anywhere in the footnotes. I'm really hoping for the second edition of this translation because right now it feels like the publisher does not have any respect for their readers.

I loved the book. It was basically a free association riff on memory. However, no one else in my book club liked it.

It took me too long to finish only because each line was thought provoking and rang true to my own determination to hold precious my family's past.

A much hyped and undeservedly prized essay - family history (the best part) - journal - critique of various authors (the worst part). The grammatical and related errors become annoying but only marginally compared to the cutting and sometime just inaccurate riffs on various writers, Proust, Sebald, and others. The author simply does not have the insight and style to write compelling intellectual discussions.The fictive history of the family, created from a box of family photos, is intriguing and the reason I’d give it three rather than two stars. Perhaps its better in Russian.

Maria Stepanova's book has a lot of problems and has many boring, unnecessary parts particularly in the first 200 pp. which needed drastic cuts. She talks boringly about photographs a lot. Parts of her family going back to the late 19th century in Russia were as even she acknowledges atypical and at another place tells that they very wealthy. She acknowledges that her ancestors did "not take part in histor,... None .. had lived under German occupation or fought in the battles of the century." 99% of Russian Jews like my family lived in the Pale of Settlement and endured German invasion in World War I, horrible famine at the end of the war, another German invasion in World War II, and the mass killings of the Holocaust. Her lucky relatives escaped all of this. 3rd rate memoir.

This book was so disjointed and hard to follow that I had to give up.Much of the writing seemed like 'show off' writing.The author wandered from topic to topic and the most interesting part was concerning Rembrandt.

Maria Stepanova is fine writer. She takes us through her large family and her perceptions of her understanding of her history. Especially fine is her search for identity.

In parts this book feels more essay than fiction and is I suppose best classified as a memoir an extraordinary memoirI didn’t always enjoy reading it but always felt that I was immersed in one woman’s life’s workThe book details the many ways we remember those that came before us from family stories not always reliable and sometimes contradictory to ancient letters and old photosThe story that comes through in most detail is that of her great grandmother a doctor when there were so few women doctors in the uk but seemingly far more in RussiaThere are chapters that describe in great detail art works that I have never seen and I found myself looking up images of them on line ,likewise some of the literary figures are not well known to uk audiences as were some of the historical events .I personally have read several novels set during the period of history between 1890 and 1944 in this part of the world and I did need This knowledge to anchor myself firmly in the times being described .I think some uk readers might struggle with this and miss out on the significance of some portions as I’m sure I did myselfThis is no doubt a fantastic book and I gave it 4 stars for its literary worth .I might however find it hard to make a universal recommendation and will be interested to see what wins the 2021 Booker international for which it has been shortlisted

It took a while for me to get around to reading this: I read some reviews that said the book was too long. Don't believe them. This book is voluptuous and meandering, yes. It is written in the style of an assemblage by Joseph Cornell (the subject of one of the chapters), it's true. But the narrative current of this book is strong and sweeps you along experientially and almost spiritually that is both hugely moving and greatly satisfying.

A classic work on memory

Amazon needs to improve its suggestions. "What did you use this product for?" is hardly a good hint for how to write a review about a superb, touching book. Wonderfully translated as well. I used this product to expand my mind.

A rare gem, encompassing an entire universe, and brilliantly translated.