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January 2015: Author of the Month: Gina Ochsner

Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Leslie
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1501bookThe Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight 

This beautifully titled book is not for everyone, but it speaks to me. My day to day life may not be exciting, but at night I travel to other continents. My one complaint is that about once a month, I find myself just finishing a lovely trip in my dreams to some new, exotic place only to remember that I have a ticket for China and I’m neither packed, prepared, nor pleased. Perhaps because after visiting China in summer of 1982 when skies were blue, shirts were blue and cars were few, I’ve had my fill of that experience.   I must say that our watchers in China were far more gracious and useful frequently returning lost objects to me, like my camera, compared to the Soviet followers lurking in the shadows who may have awaited my droppings for personal re-sale.

 “…as a girl, she’d [Olga] collected languages the same way people collected keys or buttons. At night she dreamt in other languages and she woke in the morning with spoonfuls of those foreign sounds still on her tongue.."

Our book, Jewish Luck, is a true story about two very extraordinary and fortunate women in the magical city of Leningrad/St. Petersburg. The Russian Dreambook, though nonfiction, reads like a truer story about four ordinary women of different ethnic origins who share bad luck and apartments in the same tenement in Perm, on the edge of Siberia. Yet, they are all dreamers; and, in the end, at least for two of them, their modest dreams come true.

How unlucky are these women? Don’t ask. One woman, Azad, daughter of a Muslim historian who was forcibly moved to Perm, ekes out a living by attending to the one toilet on the roof. By the smell, she senses everone’s mood. Azad has other waste to dispose of including her husband’s ghost and her adopted son who has matured into a raging sociopath. The other three have dreams. Olga, a Jew, works at the newspaper translating trivial stories according to the rigid guidebook on appropriate Russian phrases and topics. She is our first narrator who recounts the absurdities of life at The Red Star and eventually is compelled to leave the paper “when the ink runs out.”

Reminiscent of the few stories written by women in Soviet times, Ochsner recounts the pain of simply surviving and the deep loneliness of a loveless life. Women carried on the work of Russia making stone soup, while the men who returned from war drank away their kopecks. Tanya, the most ambitious, works at the All-Russian All-Cosmopolitan Museum of Art, Geology and Anthropology where all the dusty exhibits are mediocre replicas. Perhaps having a Russian Orthodox grandmother inspired Tanya to create icons of her own out of chewing gum, cardboard and gum foil, which are on display there. She expresses herself better in poetry as she colors in the black and white Russian life with her words.

Anticipation builds with the upcoming visit of representatives from “The Americans of Russian Extraction for the Causes of Beautification,” who want to experience the real Perm, including a homestay with Tanya. Tanya is petrified. She is not counting on their funding the museum as she has plans to become an Aeroflot stewardess if only she can lose some weight. This brings us to the last woman, Zoya, who is counting on the museum grant to siphon into her own pocket in order to raise a child with Olga’s shell-shocked son.

This is a tight, well-written, bittersweet book but it tells a story that not everyone want to read. For me, there is humor and resilience in these women, especially Tanya and Olga, even though their lives are horrible in most every way.

My favorite line was set up by an American visitor noting that Tanya’s grandmother appeared to be mentally ill asking, “Why don’t you take her to the hospital?”

“Unthinkable,” Tanya said, “She’d never make it. One has to be extraordinarily healthy to survive a stay in a Russian hospital.” Our readers will understand that well.

I have not read The Master and Margarita in 40 years; but there are elements in The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight that echo for me the magical realism, the absurdity and the resilience of hope even among the Russian dead, and those who lead an impoverished life who are nearly dead, hoping for resurrection.  

Tags:
magical realism russian life womens literature Gina Ochsner
Wrapping up an Incredible Year
Apropos of Nothing

About the author

Leslie

Leslie

  http://morejewishluck.com
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Leslie Levine Adler, PhD visited Russia in the summer of 1976 as part of her undergraduate Russian Studies program. She returned in 1977 to pursue her friendships from the previous summer. After teaching ESL at university, she became a psychologist.

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Comments 2

Guest - Harry on Tuesday, 30 December 2014 13:16

The Master and Margarita -- one of my favorites ever. Who would ever want to stay in a Russia? No matter the political or economic system - the masses seem to be in a constant opiate fog dispensed by the bungling bureaucratic and thug producing movement of the times.

Thank you Ada/Benjamin, Abraham/Lena, Sophia and son Ruben, and David and Sarah for getting yourselves and your children out of that land so often brutally controlled by the gangs of the day.

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The Master and Margarita -- one of my favorites ever. Who would ever want to stay in a Russia? No matter the political or economic system - the masses seem to be in a constant opiate fog dispensed by the bungling bureaucratic and thug producing movement of the times. Thank you Ada/Benjamin, Abraham/Lena, Sophia and son Ruben, and David and Sarah for getting yourselves and your children out of that land so often brutally controlled by the gangs of the day.
Cancel Update Comment
Leslie and Meryll on Tuesday, 30 December 2014 18:57

Sorry to those of you who are moved by Leslie's review to borrow the book from the HCL. I took out the
kindle version and I'll read as quickly as I can. I am enjoying Olga--like Vera and Alla she is a strong Russian
girl who is finding her way to combat "the system." Meryll

0 Cancel Reply
Sorry to those of you who are moved by Leslie's review to borrow the book from the HCL. I took out the kindle version and I'll read as quickly as I can. I am enjoying Olga--like Vera and Alla she is a strong Russian girl who is finding her way to combat "the system." Meryll
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"I was very fortunate to be able to hear Meryll and Leslie speak at a Hadassah event in Israel. Each of the ~50 participants really enjoyed the event because Meryll and Leslie were so engaging. While they had a natural rapport with the audience, you could also tell they had prepared well so they could connect with our particular group's interests. I learned a lot from listening to them, and I found their sisterly interaction unique and fun. If you want an enlightening and uplifting experience, attend one of their book talks."
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"Truly, you have written a story that makes accessible the reality of existence in Russia, through the eyes of individuals who lived through the various regimes and dictates.  It is fascinating and very well told.  As I read Vera and Alla's story, I learned more Russian history than I had known from a textbook.  That's a big deal, women!  You tell the tale with vivid detail and hook us on the two women and their stories, then weave in the history to illuminate their journeys. It is such a necessary book.  I am thrilled that the two of you collaborated, as I can see the uniqueness of your personalities come through in the stories, and that, too, makes the book a gem."
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