Vanessa Manko

The Invention of Exile by Vanessa Manko puts a face to the immigration process - presenting not numbers or statistics or aggregates but the way in which it impacts one man. It is a slow paced book looking at the struggles of Ustin "Austin" Voronkov, who spends years upon years after his deportation trying to find a legal way back to his family in the United States.

Read my complete review at: target="_top">http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/08/the-invention-of-exile-novel.html

Reviewed based on a copy received through a publisher’s giveaway… (mehr)

I received this book from Penguin Publishers as an early electronic review copy.

This is a beautifully told story of love, loss, and exile. It is written mostly from the point of view of Austin (Ustin), a Russian immigrant deported, with his American wife, back to his home country in the 1920s as an accused anarchist. He and his family again leave Russia through Turkey, France, and eventually Mexico. Then they become separated for several years.

It's difficult to say more without spoiling the story so I'll stop there.

Occasionally we get different points of view (his wife, his daughter, and his son) but this is mostly Austin's story of how he deals with his memories and his separation from his family. At times it's not clear if some of the things that he wittiness actually happen or if it's his imagination.

Four and 1/2 stars.… (mehr)