Description: Andrei Kaplan leaves his lacklustre academic pursuits in New York to care for his ailing grandmother in Moscow. It’s not at all what he expects.
Andrei emigrated from Russia to the US when he was 6. His brother Dina was 16 and didn’t really embrace the States so left to make his fortune back home. Dima, now a well-placed businessman in Moscow, has been caring for Seva Efraimovna for several years. But certain political winds have changed and he’s laying low in London, hoping his business failings that have left him exposed to prosecution in Russia will blow over.
The novel is set around the financial crisis in 2008, which unfolds shortly after Andrei arrives to aid his grandma. Seva is in failing health and has dementia. As her health fails, so does the Russian economy.
Initially Andrei is scared and unsure about his life in Russia. Things have changed. There’s still the decrepit buildings and police presence, but there’s also exciting activism, along with flashy cars and mob behaviour. He’s at a loss as to how to support his grandma, he has no money, no friends and no Dima, except occasionally over Gchat. Then things start to change as he settles in.
A Terrible Country is a melancholic novel that gives Western readers a perspective of young Russians and one expat’s view of Putin. At its heart, this is a love story to Russia, with vodka, the FSB (formerly KGB), cheap snacks, over priced housewares, and the Russian leisure hockey leagues.
The back jacket ends with ‘A Terrible Country asks what you owe the place you were born, and what it owes you.’
Favourite moment: Andrei is an academic, and not a very good one. He’s also a terrible cook and has no DIY skills. There’s a sink clogged and the plumber has left him to it with the sink snake.
And then suddenly it felt like my clog had fallen into space and my snake was free. I turned the handle a few more times but it was unnecessary. The clog was gone! I just knew it. Motherfucking clog!
The setup and end of this scene is hilarious, and I was left cheering for Andrei. Maybe things would work out.
Perfect read for anyone who likes a modern-day Chekhov, David Lodge (The British Museum Is Falling Down), or John Boyne (The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas). This is a story about loss, family, friendships, finding ones’ place, and being displaced.