Russian Winter - by Daphne Kalotay (Paperback)

About the Book

"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).

Book Synopsis

"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, 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 Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), and Ian McEwan (Atonement).

When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal--and an ingenious escape to the West.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina's jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story--setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

From the Back Cover

When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal--and an ingenious escape to the West.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina's jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story--setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

Review Quotes

"Superior fiction. Forget the flashy epiphany, the Kodak moment. Kalotay prefers the glancing accumulation of detail, which pays off to impressive effect." - Los Angeles Times on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Kalotay's collection builds force so quietly that when all the characters appear together in the final story you're stunned--by how well it works and by how familiar these women now feel." - New York Times Book Review on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Like short-story collections by Alice Munro and Lorrie Moore. . . . Lovely [and] comic." - San Francisco Chronicle on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Kalotay's delicately graceful debut offers what many story collections do not: the chance to discover what becomes of its many characters. . . . Capturing her characters at different stages in their lives, Kalotay artfully crafts her book around their metamorphoses, both big and small." - Publishers Weekly on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Contemplative, melancholy, yet not without humor, these are well-made fictions on a delicate scale that subtly demonstrate such truths as the persistence of character and the endurance of friendship." - Boston Globe on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Compassion is at the heart of Kalotay's polished stories, as are a subtle sense of humor and appreciation for the complexities of human emotion." - Booklist on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"RUSSIAN WINTER. . . is engaging and affecting. It could well be the debut novel of the year." - Philadelphia Inquirer

"Kalotay has brought to life hidden worlds with the verve of an expertly executed tour jeté." - Maclean's

"RUSSIAN WINTER, Daphne Kalotay's first novel, is a magnificent tale of love, loss, betrayal, and redemption. . . . Characters appear like an endless stacking nest of Matryoshka dolls, one more fascinating and intriguing than the next. . . . Kalotay describes her players with clarity, empathy, and understanding. . . . The complex story is multi-layered and labyrinthine so that the reader, just like these characters, does not know whom to believe or distrust. And while there is fascinating information and insight about ballet, jewels, music, art, and politics, the emotional center of the book holds everything together. Toward the end, with many unanswered questions swirling, the author lets the truth ebb and flow until a final riptide of revelations leave the reader profoundly moved." - Washington Post Book World

"[A] magnificent tale of love, loss, betrayal and redemption. . . . The emotional center of the book holds everything together. . . . [A] final riptide of revelations leaves the reader profoundly moved." - Washington Post Book World

"Part romance, part mystery, this elegant debut captures the danger--and refuge--of love in Stalin's era." - Good Housekeeping

"An exceptional debut novel. . . . Delving into Nina's life with the Bolshoi Ballet, her life among the Soviet Union's artist community and her escape from the Stalinist regime add glamour and historical flavor to this novel of secrets, intrigue and wonderfully described priceless gems." - USA Today

"With sure and suspenseful artistry, Daphne Kalotay intersperses the unfortunate and tortuous histories of Nina, Elsin, and their artist friends with new discoveries and disclosures. The several stories draw together in a conclusion that is surprising, fitting, and satisfying." - Boston Globe

"Kalotay has created appealing, well-rounded characters in well-researched settings. . . . This is a briskly paced, fresh, and engaging first novel dealing with the pain of loss and the power of love." - Booklist

"This tale of a Russian ballerina who defected to Boston is a history lesson inside an evocative novel about art and betrayal." - O magazine

"Daphne Kalotay's stories . . . are old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, plainspoken and melancholy, about ordinary people struggling with the trials of ordinary life. Few writers I know speak . . . with such clear-eyed compassion, such quiet humor and grace." - Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Lowland and Interpreter of Maladies, on Kalotay's CALAMITY

"Kalotay writes about her characters--artists struggling to dream and survive within the constraints of the Stalinist regime--with sensitivity, humor and wisdom. I believed in these characters and cared about their fates. . . . A captivating and entertaining read." - Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

"RUSSIAN WINTER is a marvel that had me canceling appointments and staying up half the night, as it swept me into a world of intrigue, poetry, and romance. Set against the perfection of ballet, the hardships of life in the Soviet Union after World War II, and the anguish of families lost and found, RUSSIAN WINTER reminds me of why I love to read fiction." - Lauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author of City of Light and A Fierce Radiance

"Tender, passionate, and moving, Daphne Kalotay's debut novel about ballet, jewels, love and betrayal is also a delicious form of time travel. I loved it." - Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us

"A complex story that, in the end, boils down to the simplest of elements: love, fear, disappointment and loss. An auspicious first novel, elegantly written and without a false note." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"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