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Feb 22, 2016TheresaAJ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Gorokhova's follow-up book to a A Mountain of Crumbs opens when her first American husband, Robert, sends her to New Jersey from Texas to live with his mother. There she meets her soon-to-be second American husband, Andy. When her daughter Sasha is born, Elena's mother comes to Nutley to care for the baby and stays 24 years until her death. During that time, the author completes her doctorate, raises a more American girl than she expected (despite all the Russian language and culture lessons), and battles her mother's very vocal, Russian expectations for daughters. This is a classic immigrant memoir written in a Russian flavor. The most noticeable difference between the two books is language and pacing. As Elena becomes more fluent in English, her writing becomes less philosophically ponderous and more about moving the narrative along.