The protagonist Sasha is born into a Russian family in a provincial town around the time of the Second World War. During her youth, Stalinist communism tries to white-wash Russian history by avoiding difficult parts, like barbarous murders, the horrors of anti-German military campaigns, and betrayals of one’s neighbors to prisons. For the Party, World War II tells the story of glorious and miraculous Russian triumph over the world, without any complications.
However, Sasha soon discovers the journal of her late uncle, who was an artist before being lost to history during this great war. He saw life clearly, and through him, she decides to become an actress. The life of direct access to art (and truth) appeals to her longings. Despite the misgivings of her family (especially her practical mother), she decides to move to Moscow to pursue acting school.
However, she leaves behind the complex social life of a small town. Her boyfriend Andrei, himself with heavy moral weights, is becoming a Party member and exploring a life of ambition. She leaves behind memories of another childhood friend, unable to arrive at adulthood. Her family lives in a web of lies, death, manipulations, and defeat. These dark relationships serve for Gorohova as a microcosm of the tragedy that was Stalinist Russia. It was not a regime based on truth or human dignity.
This story, written by an American immigrant from Russia, reminds readers of the value of truthfulness in healthy human relations. This theme certainly speaks loudly to modern times in America where some proclaim a so-called “post-truth” era. It also rekindles the enduring faith that out of any ashes, the human spirit will eventually triumph, much as Sasha rose from provincial Russia.
Although the eternal struggles of mother Russia are littered throughout centuries of Russian literature, I can only hope that trading these struggles for American realities will produce better fruit for the modern world. Such hope is fostered by Gorokhova’s first novel, though, and those who seek better human life will benefit from reading this book.
A Train to Moscow: A Novel
By Elena Gorokhova
Copyright (c) 2022
Lake Union Publishing
ISBN13: 9781542033879
Page Count: 309
Genre: Historical Fiction
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