I loved this book! It was an emotional read, at times heartbreaking. I read this one slowly to savour it but also because I had to take breaks to process what I had read and the emotions I was feeling. It is a book I believe will stay with me forever. I learnt a lot about the history of Russia, not really having dabbled in that area before and Maria Tumarkin has written Otherland so well that it doesn’t feel like a history lesson. Her words are captivating, making you want to read more and also giving you a sense of being in these times and places yourself.
I finished this book a while ago and have finally come to the point of writing the review. Let me say there is much to discuss so this review will be quite lengthy. I hope you have a cup of tea or coffee at the ready and that you will sit back, read and enjoy.
Otherland is many things, a memoir, a travelogue, a history lesson and a personal journey. Most of all it is about relationships between mothers and daughters and how time and circumstances affect friendships, making them stronger and in some cases making them weaker. Maria currently lives in Melbourne after leaving her home in Kharkar as a 15-year-old with her Jewish family in 1989. Otherland is the six-week journey Maria and her daughter Billie, an Australian born 12-year-old, take to Maria’s homeland. Maria wants to revisit her old life and show Billie where her mother lived, take her to sites of historical importance, as well as personal importance, and introduce her to family and friends from a day gone by. Along the way there are trials, much emotion and some confronting situations. Maria’s childhood friend Sasha, for example, doesn’t want to meet up. Perhaps she is scared of what they have both become, Maria having left the country on the day of Sasha’s sixteenth birthday and Sasha staying through the hardship. Turning sixteen is big enough in itself but to have your best friend up and leave on this day must have been quite emotional. At times I felt maybe a sense of guilt from Maria at having been the one who left and was leading a better life in better circumstances.
Billie takes a little time to adapt to this foreign country. After being at the Moscow Metro she wants to go home, feeling out of place, not being able to speak Russian. As you can imagine this would be quite an ordeal for a young girl but having come this far Maria and Billie continue on, building their bond stronger along the way. Maria tries to see things through Billie’s eyes, after all Billie is seeing things for the first time and Maria has been here before. It is a new experience for both though as some observations made by Billie bring new meaning to Maria’s experiences.
