If you've ever found yourself wondering what a year in the life of a modern Russian would be in 21st-century Moscow, look no further than A Terrible Country by Keith Gessen. It follows 33-year-old Andrei Kaplan who's family left the Soviet Union in the 1980s for the United States and has returned in 2008 to take care of his elderly grandmother for a year after his older brother had to leave her abruptly. Andrei grew up visiting Russia after the collapse of the USSR, studied its literature and history until it became like a second skin and so naturally settles into living in Moscow as if it was no different to living in New York as he was adjusted to. What follows is a very honest account of what the life of a Russian adult looks like in Russia, far enough of a time from the collapse of the Soviet Union that it is not much of a concern anymore but close enough that the country is still recovering and there are still lingering signs of Soviet Russia.
Despite the narration following Andrei's time in Russia and that, at times, there are hints in the narrative that suggest this is a memoir of his, it feels more like the story of Russians who only experienced the Soviet Union as children and their experiences of Russia as the in-between generation who remember the old country but have lived their adult life in the new. The narrative style is interesting in that multiple chapters are practically lists of everything Andrei does in his day, anything that might have been different from the usual day and the peculiarities of 21st-century Russia. However, it still flows very well despite being list-like. It's so easy to move from one paragraph to the next as they flow seamlessly into the next. I rarely ever find myself praising a writer for writing that reads like a list but I find myself praising Gessen here as it is not a mundane and monotone drag but floats along as easily as a river. The mundane is enjoyable to read.
The presence of Baba Seva, Andrei's grandmother and the reason he returned to Russia, is sobering and the thing that makes Andrei feel more human as this is the person he truly cares for throughout the whole book. Though he hasn't seen her in a decade and she often forgets who he is due to her dementia, Andrei's commitment to being with her as much as he can beyond his work and personal life, his dedication to refusing his brother's suggestion of selling her "Stalin apartment" and moving her someone else are some of his most admirable moments in the book. This is someone who feels unfulfilled in his academic and career pursuits, who finds it irritating him and worsening his mood many times but even when he lets his disappointment anger him, he does still put her first a lot of the time.
She is the one that makes me care more about what happens in the book, even when she is reluctant to talk about her Soviet experiences that Andrei would like to use in his work. It is bittersweet to see her repeat things she has already said before because she's forgotten she said it or just needs to remind herself of the fact. One of our book club members was very moved by those moments and found herself reminded of her own grandmother who had dementia. Those times when Baba Seva needs to be reminded again of who Andrei was and she remembers her daughter, his mother, is dead are heartbreaking but it is also a gentle reminder of her condition when at times you forget it is there and maybe she didn't have it after all. It's a blow to the reader every time.
We also come across many others of Andrei's generation who lived their childhood in the USSR and grew up in post-Soviet Russia. At the time this is set, Putin was a former president and current prime minister, he wouldn't run for president again for another two years, the presidency of which has lasted until now. You see that despite Russia being very right-wing and ready to incorporate capitalism into their country after years of communism, there are still many of those that would prefer to keep some socialist institutions in the country so that it can prosper and take care of its people. And these kinds of protestors and socialist thinkers are the people Andrei finds himself involved with, even entering a romantic relationship with the woman of the group. It's a moment that shows Andrei truly embracing his place in Russia, seeming to have given up on his American identity.
Speaking of which, it was interesting to see that those two parts of him were never at war with one another while he settled into Russia because they were one whole part. He grew up in the USA but lived in a Russian community and dedicated his life to studying Russia. The interesting thing about him is seeing a person who left their homeland quite young, still had a love for it and when they returned at first saw it through those rose-tinted glasses making it seem like all you had dreamed but steadily seeing the ugly underbelly of it as well. Though he was never disconnected from Russia, Andrei did have a dream-like expectation of it, something like the Russia you would read in one of Tolstoy's masterpieces. It was enjoyable to see him enjoy all those parts but also to see that rose-tinted lens slowly slip from his eyes as he steadily sees the truer sides of the Moscow he was born in. He at least sees all that's right and wrong with Russia side by side and it is in that moment that his love for the country and his disdain at what has become of it is truer than ever. He, at last, understands why growing up, people like his parents had a love and a disdain for the home country that lived side by side in their hearts.
I find that this is the case for a lot of people in this kind of position, something I related to quite a bit. I wasn't born and didn't grow up in the country I'm from, I have a love for it of someone who has only ever visited and never lived there. But at times I see what lies beneath the surface, what is wrong with it and what needs to change. This element of the book can really make you understand how someone could both love and hate the land they are from, accept that and still be confident of who they are and where they stand. Unlike Andrei though, I do not see a time in my life just yet when I would decide to never return.
Reasons to Recommend:
- An insight into what Russia is really like today
- If, like our book club member that chose the book, you like a book that's pretty uneventful throughout but has everything culminate in the last couple of chapters
- Read what it's like for someone who has lived most of their life outside of their home country and go through all the highs and lows of returning, to love feeling like a part of it but also have a certain disdain for it.
I would recommend the book a 7/10. Many of the characters are quite bland and mundane, a story that just details a person's everyday life until something special happens at the end doesn't really appeal to me. It still gets a higher score than most books in this style because the narrative flow is really good, Gessen is still quite a talented writer. I also have quite an interest in how modern history has impacted the world today having studied the Cold War exhaustively. After going to Berlin for the first time just over 5 years ago, I found myself thinking more and more about how the echoes of the Soviet bloc didn't just disappear with the collapse and they can still be felt in those countries a couple of decades later.
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