Eastbound by Maylis de KerangalMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Amazon.in Page
Release of Paperback Edition: February 7, 2023
This novella is translated from French but set in Russia. The story is short and simple, yet evocative. It’s about the attempt of its two main characters to conduct very different plans of escape. Aliocha is a soldier who’s traveling by train to a remote assignment in the East when he decides to desert. Aliocha’s desertion plan ends up hinging on the assistance of a foreign woman, Hélène, a French woman who – as it happens – is fleeing a failed relationship. For whatever reason, but perhaps because she knows the intense need to break free, Hélène decides to shelter Aliocha in her cabin until he can make clean getaway.
This is a quick but intense read. The lack of common language between the two escapees makes for an austere telling, one that adds to the emotional tone of the story. I recommend it for readers of literature in translation.
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the !n(tro)verted yogi 
Good review. It really did need a time setting to help put it into better context for me though. Could be anywhere from the 1800s to modern times based on the train travel mentioned. 🙂
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It’s Post-Soviet based on references to Putin and a cell phone, but that’s still like the last 20 years. The writing is fairly sparse so there aren’t a lot of clues. While this translation is new, as far as I know the original language text has been out a few years.
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Ahh 🙂 See that makes a difference if you factor in aircraft and technology being able to be used in the hunt for them. Can drastically change the flavor of the story if the writer thought to include them. 🙂
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