One More Year

Starred review from April 7, 2008
In her stunning short story debut, Krasikov hones in on the subtleties of hope and despair that writhe in the hearts of her protagonists, largely Russian and Georgian immigrants who have settled on the East Coast. In “Better Half,†22-year-old Anya gets a protection order against her husband, Ryan, after he attacks her; he pleads for forgiveness, but, Anya realizes, “a future with Ryan would be like staying in Russia.†In “The Repatriates†a man returns to Moscow—to his wife's disappointment—intent on applying to the Russian stock market some tricks he picked up on Wall Street. In “Maia in Yonkers,†a Georgian immigrant is visited by her son, and the tensions are fierce and palpable. In “The Alternate,†Victor meets the Americanized daughter of an old love from Russia. Though many of Krasikov's stories are bleak, there are swells of promise; even Lera, whose husband leaves her for another woman, “suddenly felt nothing but the most pure-hearted compassion for him, a kindness and forgiveness that almost broke her heart.†Krasikov's prose is precise, and her stories are intelligent, complex and passionate.

May 1, 2008
The fiction of post-Soviet immigrants has been gaining in popularity over the past few years but has mainly focused on the experience of Russians. In her first story collection, Krasikov, a native of the Ukraine, adds two other dimensions to this recent phenomenon: the experience of women in particular and of the peoples of the smaller Soviet republics (Georgia, Tajikistan, etc.) after the fall of the Soviet Union. Krasikov has noted the influence of the book of Ruth on her stories, which maintain a biblical surface calm while telling the stories of women caught in tough situations, having sacrificed security and prosperity for love or devotion (especially to children). The tone, however, remains fairly constant throughout, and many of the motifs are revisited once too often without enough contrast, which makes it hard to see the collection as more than a series of repeated technical studies, perhaps in preparation for Krasikov's anticipated first novel. The collection as a whole shows promise, however, and librarians should watch Krasikov's name in the future. A suitable addition to public libraries.Sam Popowich, Univ. of Ottawa Lib., Ont.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
Many of Krasikovs characters in her captivating debut are immigrants of the former Soviet Union, searching for, and often finding, resilience in life and love. In the heartrending "Maia in Yonkers," Maia, a Georgian immigrant, scrupulously plans her sons visit to New York, where she works as a caretaker. When the two embark on a tour of the city, the tension between Maias expectations for her son and his juvenile indifference swells to an anxious climax. "The Alternate" follows Victor as he comes to term with the life he left behind during a dinner with the brash American daughter of his former Russian lover. In "Debt," Lev, a loving uncle whobuilt a new life in America, struggles with a request from his wayward niece, Sonya, who only appears in her uncles life when she is in need. Krasikovs careful prose augments the quiet complexity of her characters as they confront loveand loss within an unfamiliar landscape. Despite their melancholic situations, the protagonists in these eight tales still manage to find moments of reckoning and grace.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)