Russian winter : a novel

“Daphne Kalotay captivates in a soaring debut novel. An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modern-day Boston and postwar Russia through a profound love story. Graceful, moving, and unexpected.”—Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club In Russian Winter, the beautiful debut novel by critically acclaimed writer Daphne Kalotay, a famed ballerina’s jewelry auction in Boston reveals long-held secrets of love and family, friendship and rivalry, harkening back to Stalinist Russia. Called “tender, passionate, and moving” by Jenna Blum, the New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us, Russian Winter is a perfect choice for fans of the novels of Debra Dean (The Madonnas of Leningrad), Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), and Ian McEwan (Atonement).

When Nina Revskaya, former star of the Bolshoi Ballet, decides to auction her remarkable jewelry, she hopes to draw a curtain on her past. Instead, she is overwhelmed by memories of glorious and heartbreaking events that changed her life's course half a century before.

In Russia, she discovered the theater, fell in love with a famed poet, and became—with her closest friends—a victim of Stalinist aggression. A terrible discovery led to a deadly act of betrayal—and to Nina's escape to Boston. Now, an associate at the Boston auction house and a Russian professor are unraveling a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, stirring up revelations that will have life-altering consequences for all.

Publishers Weekly

Kalotay makes a powerful debut with a novel about a Soviet-era prima ballerina, now retired and living in Boston, who confronts her past as she puts up for auction the jewelry she took with her when she left her husband and defected. Nina "The Butterfly" Revskaya, 79, reveals little about the past to curious auction house representative Drew Brooks as he peruses her cache of exquisite jewelry. Nina likewise rebuffs inquiries from foreign language professor Grigori Solodin, who has translated the works of Nina's poet husband and who offers an additional item for auction: the amber necklace he inherited from the parents he never knew. In extended flashbacks, Nina recalls intimate moments and misunderstandings with her husband, happy and disturbing times with his Jewish composer best friend, and encounters with her own childhood friend. Meanwhile, Drew and Grigori delve into the jewelry's provenance, hoping to learn as much about the jewels as their own pasts. While the Soviet-era romance can lean too much on melodrama, Kalotay turns out a mostly entrancing story thanks to a skillful depiction of artistic life behind the Iron Curtain and intriguing glimpses into auction house operations. (Sept.)

"When Nina Revskaya, former star of the Bolshoi Ballet, decides to auction her remarkable jewelry, she hopes to draw a curtain on her past. Instead, she is overwhelmed by memories of glorious and heartbreaking events that changed her life's course half a century before. In Russia, she discovered the theater, fell in love with a famed poet, and became--with her closest friends--a victim of Stalinist aggression. A terrible discovery led to a deadly act of betrayal--and to Nina's escape to Boston. Now, an associate at the Boston auction house and a Russian professor are unraveling a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, stirring up revelations that will have life-altering consequences for all"--Page 4 of cover EDITORIAL REVIEW: When Nina Revskaya, former star of the Bolshoi Ballet, decides to auction her remarkable jewelry, she hopes to draw a curtain on her past. Instead, she is overwhelmed by memories of glorious and heartbreaking events that changed her life's course half a century before. In Russia, she discovered the theater, fell in love with a famed poet, and became—with her closest friends—a victim of Stalinist aggression. A terrible discovery led to a deadly act of betrayal—and to Nina's escape to Boston. Now, an associate at the Boston auction house and a Russian professor are unraveling a mystery surrounding a love letter, a poem, and a necklace of unknown provenance, stirring up revelations that will have life-altering consequences for all. Former Bolshoi ballerina Nina Revskaya auctions off her jewelry collection and becomes overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, the friends she left behind amidst Stalinist aggression, and the dark secret that brought her to a new life in Boston.