Something Unbelievable

More about the book

Larissa, an honest woman in her eighties, is weary of life in Kiev, except for her cherished granddaughter, Natasha. Natasha, recently a new mother, struggles to juggle her roles as a wife, actress, and host to her husband's unhelpful friend, Stas, in Brooklyn. When Natasha asks Larissa to recount her family's Soviet wartime escape from the Nazis, Larissa hesitantly agrees, hoping to bring her joy despite the painful memories. She shares the harrowing three-year journey with her sister, parents, and grandmother to an abandoned army village in the Ural Mountains, marked by near starvation, a cholera outbreak, a tragic suicide, and a complicated love triangle involving two brothers from a privileged family. As Larissa narrates, both women are unprepared for how these past experiences resonate in their current lives. Through the dual perspectives of Larissa and Natasha, the narrative delves into how circumstances shape our lives and the legacies we pass on to future generations, blending sharp wit with deep emotion.