Don't Let My Baby Do Rodeo

Boris Fishman seems to be a master of the slow reveal. While the pace dropped in certain places in the novel, this gave the narrative more of a rocking sensation, as waves of information came gradually and in the lulls I felt I was able to get a better view of the family at the core of the novel. The story is told mostly from Maya's point of view, a Ukranian immigrant living in America with her Russian immigrant husband Alex and adopted son Max. The adoption is the crux of the story, something against the will of the Russian parents that loom heavily over Maya's life, and something that is hidden from Max in the belief that the knowledge will cause him pain. While you are acutely aware throughout of the emotional state of Maya, and of Alex, it is the facts of their lives that Fishman withholds for as long as possible. Rather than being frustrating, this gives the reader the feeling that they are actually less important. Why weren't Maya and Alex able to get pregnant? Does it matter? Doesn't it matter more how each of them feel about it? And in fact, when we eventually find out, it's not a surprise and rather what you'd come to believe throughout anyway. It's an excellent rendition of an imperfect family struggling to do their best and conjures the peculiar sensation of feeling out of place in a place that should be your home.