Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour - by Yelena Lembersky (Paperback)

About the Book

Told in the dual points of view, Like A Drop of Ink in a Downpour is a clear-eyed look at the reality of life in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, giving us an insider's perspective on the roots of contemporary Russia. It is also a coming-of-age story, heartfelt and funny, a testament to the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of art.

Book Synopsis

Told in the dual points of view, Like A Drop of Ink in a Downpour is a clear-eyed look at the reality of life in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, giving us an insider's perspective on the roots of contemporary Russia. It is also a coming-of-age story, heartfelt and funny, a testament to the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of art.

Review Quotes

"Breathtaking memoir."

- Robin Young, Here & Now

"Strikes a real chord given the ongoing Russian war with Ukraine."

-- Tiziana Dearing, Radio Boston

"Galina and her daughter Alëeuml;na ... have painted a vivid portrait -- one of life in and escape from a country that now exists only in memories and memoirs... Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour is more ambitious than the average memoir. It's informed by Galina's and her parents' lessons on the value of art and culture and enriched by Alëna's beautifully constructed images and Galina's poetry. Yet their tale always feels honest both in its broad strokes and finer details... How fortunate then that Yelena and Galina have revealed their own truth."

-- Herb Randall, LA Review of Books

"Yelena and Galina Lembersky's memoir Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour combines the sober documentation of real events in Soviet Russia from the 1970s and 1980s with the emotional density of personal experience. Intertwining polar perceptions and confronting personal states--nostalgia and fear, anticipation and hopelessness, loneliness and intimacy, a sense of rootlessness and cultural belonging--it builds a vivid panorama of the turbulent, catastrophic events in the life of mother and daughter... in the Soviet context during the Cold War. ...
Although the feeling of helplessness and despair, the doubt in humanism, and the sense of decaying values are dominant in Yelena Lembersky's narrative, clear optimistic suggestions can also be found in the memoir. Among them is the idea of the healing power of art. ... Another optimistic vein refers to the indestructible bond between mothers and daughters, and the spiritual resilience transmitted from generation to generation of women. ... This vein does not allow such a story of women's determination and resistance demonstrated in the context of life's extremes, to be washed away like a drop of ink in a downpour."-- Valentina Mitkova, Aspasia

"Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour, in gorgeous prose worthy of [Felix] Lembersky's paintings, details [Yelena and Galina's] struggle to flee from the Soviet Union to the United States in order to preserve and exhibit his works. Their tale is a poignant and timely reflection on the healing power of art in all its forms. ... Yelena and Felix's compassion for the lives that can be found amid the soot of a rustbelt town or the gray concrete boxes built to house the poorest is a bracing contrast to the inhumanity of those who see only the grime, who cannot hear the voices beyond the hidden vowels of a common language, inevitably leading to the newly excavated scars in the earth that haunt the headlines today. Joined now in aesthetic harmony, the Lembersky family's lyrical paintings and candescent prose, infused with their hard-won faith, point the way forward to the rope bridges necessary to endure the distress of our current moment."-- Herb Randall, The Jerusalem Report
"In this fascinating memoir, the tight-knit bonds of family shine through, as does the healing power of art."-- Alexandra Grabbe, Heavy Feather Review
"One of the very few English-language memoirs about life in Russia in the 1970s and '80s authored by a Jewish woman."-- Julie Masis, Times of Israel
"This memoir presents a genuine and moving portrayal of the trials of the Soviet Jewi

About the Author

Yelena Lembersky is an American author of two books, Felix Lembersky: Paintings and Drawings (2009), and Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour, co-authored with her mother, Galina. Yelena's writing has appeared in The Forward, World Literature Today, and Cardinal Points Literary Journal, and she was a repeated guest on National Public Radio. She grew up in Leningrad and immigrated to the USA in 1987. She holds degrees in art and architecture from MIT and the University of Michigan. She is a granddaughter of Felix Lembersky (1913-1970), prominent Jewish artist with roots in Ukraine, best known for his Babyn Yar canvases and non-figurative work that resisted Soviet propaganda.