A very interesting book, what I like most about it is that it is not just solely focused on Russia. In USSR there was a lot of movement (voluntary or otherwise) and it is stories like this one that show the interconnectedness. Even though the USSR has dissolved, those family ties remain and the current political state of affairs is very unforgiving of those.

This is a fascinating and important book. Like "War and Peace" and, more recently, "The Eighth Life" (but considerably shorter than both of these) it chronicles a family across the generations, at the same time as describing significant historical events in what was the USSR. There is an interesting discussion about the possibility that trauma may be inherited, something which could explain much of the Russian psyche.
For me, the author's descriptions of growing up in the former USSR were a chilling reminder of what I observed and sensed during visits I made there from the West as a teenager in the mid-1960s.
With many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this unforgettable book in exchange for an honest review.

This biographical journey traces the author’s family back through the Soviet Union, whilst also chronicling his own childhood experiences growing up in and leaving the country. Halberstadt provides a lot of historical detail to contextualise the period for the reader, personally I found his explanations of Lithuanian geography and culture incredibly enlightening, as I don’t feel this area is often included in histories of the time period. I also found this book very emotional; the descriptions of the mistreatment and abuses his Jewish family received were heartbreaking. The relationship between Halberstadt and his father is strained, but something both the reader and the author come to understand more clearly as the book goes on. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I felt like it both educated me and took me on an emotional journey.