Panic in a Suitcase - The Library of the Uncommons

Paperback, 320 pages

Published Aug. 4, 2015 by Riverhead Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-59463-382-9

(1 review)

"A dazzling debut novel about a Russian immigrant family living in Brooklyn and their struggle to learn the new rules of the American Dream. In this account of two decades in the life of an immigrant household, the fall of communism and the rise of globalization are artfully reflected in the experience of a single family. Ironies, subtle and glaring, are revealed: the Nasmertovs left Odessa for Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with a huge sense of finality, only to find that the divide between the old world and the new is not nearly as clear-cut as they thought. The dissolution of the Soviet Union makes returning just a matter of a plane ticket, and the Russian-owned shops in their adopted neighborhood stock even the most obscure comforts of home. Pursuing the American Dream once meant giving up everything, but does the dream still work if the past is always within reach? …

"A dazzling debut novel about a Russian immigrant family living in Brooklyn and their struggle to learn the new rules of the American Dream. In this account of two decades in the life of an immigrant household, the fall of communism and the rise of globalization are artfully reflected in the experience of a single family. Ironies, subtle and glaring, are revealed: the Nasmertovs left Odessa for Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with a huge sense of finality, only to find that the divide between the old world and the new is not nearly as clear-cut as they thought. The dissolution of the Soviet Union makes returning just a matter of a plane ticket, and the Russian-owned shops in their adopted neighborhood stock even the most obscure comforts of home. Pursuing the American Dream once meant giving up everything, but does the dream still work if the past is always within reach? If the Nasmertov parents can afford only to look forward, learning the rules of aspiration, the family's youngest, Frida, can only look back. In striking, arresting prose loaded with fresh and inventive turns of phrase, Yelena Akhtiorskaya has written the first great novel of Brighton Beach: a searing portrait of hope and ambition, and a profound exploration of the power and limits of language itself, its ability to make connections across cultures and generations"--

"The story of an immigrant family living in Brooklyn's Little Odessa, and the obstinate uncle who resists his family's and their adopted country's promise of a superior life"--

2 editions

memorysnow reviewed Panic in a Suitcase by Yelena Akhtiorskaya

Review of 'Panic in a Suitcase' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I really wanted to like this book, the story of a family who emigrated from Odessa to live in New York just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Told in two parts--first, the one remaining family member (Pavel) comes to visit the family in the States; then, years later, the youngest of the family (Frida) becomes the first to return to Odessa--it is situated to provide two unique perspectives on how migration impacted the family and its relationship to its hometown over time. Unfortunately, the story focuses far too much on the boring, unlikeable Pavel and his insufferable artist friends that the opportunity to make this an interesting story is lost. There were some insightful moments, but overall this book failed to engage my interest.