A loving memoir of two grandmothers that offers a penetrating look at two killer regimes. Masha Gessen's wonderful book portrays human beings trying to live justly when there is virtually no way to do so." ---William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
Khrushchev: The Man and His Era "This blend of historical depth with personal experience is a powerful mix, illuminating how family and friendship can grow in even the darkest eras." --
Publishers Weekly "A journalist's memoir of her grandmothers also paints an eloquent portrait of two totalitarian powers, the havoc they wrought, and the countless burdens they imposed on ordinary families.... A masterful chronicle of dark and dangerous years, and a distinguished addition to the history of totalitarianism." --
Kirkus Reviews "Reviewers sometimes call a work of nonfiction 'as exciting as a novel, ' but that would be an understatement applied to this extraordinary family memoir....
Ester and Ruzya will remind you how much life, history and emotional and moral complexity the genre can convey in the hands of a wonderful writer." --
New York Times Book Review
From the Hardcover edition.
Masha Gessen was born in the U.S.S.R., emigrated to the United States when she was fourteen years old, and later returned to Russia as a foreign correspondent. She makes her permanent home in Moscow with her partner, Svenya, and their two children but is currently living in Boston, where she has a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard.
From the Hardcover edition.