The Invention of Exile
by Vanessa Manko
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" Austin Voronkov is many things. He is an engineer, an inventor, an immigrant from Russia to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1913, where he gets a job at a rifle factory. At the house where he rents a room, he falls in love with a woman named Julia, who becomes his wife and the mother to his two children. When Austin is wrongly accused of attending anarchist gatherings his limited grasp of English condemns him to his fate as a deportee; retreating with his family to his home in Russia, they show more become embroiled in the civil war and must flee once again, to Mexico. While Julia and the children are eventually able to return to the United States, Austin becomes indefinitely stranded in Mexico City because of the black mark on his record. He keeps a daily correspondence with Julia as they each exchange their hopes and fears for the future and as they struggle to remain a family across a distance of two countries. Austin becomes convinced that his engineering designs will be awarded patents, thereby paving the way for the government to approve his return and award his long sought-after American citizenship. At the same time he becomes convinced that an FBI agent working for the House Committee for Un-American Activities is monitoring his every move, with the intent of blocking any possible return to the United States. Austin's and Julia's struggles build to crisis and heartrending resolution in this dazzling, sweeping debut. The novel is based in part on Vanessa Manko's family history and a trove of hidden letters that serve as a kind of inheritance-letters from a grandfather she never knew. Manko uses this history as a jumping-off point for the novel, which deals with themes of exile and invention and explores how loss reshapes and transforms lives. It is a profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home"-- show lessTags
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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 show more the things that he wittiness actually happen or if it's his imagination.
Four and 1/2 stars. show less
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 show more the things that he wittiness actually happen or if it's his imagination.
Four and 1/2 stars. show less
This book was one big giant 'meh,' for me. Though the writing was beautiful, there just wasn't enough in plot lines for my liking. I felt as though the writing was trying to build suspense and mood for a story that didn't need it. Also, I didn't care enough for Austin to really feel sorry for him in his exile.
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: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/08/the-invention-of-exile-novel.html
Reviewed based on a copy received through a publisher’s giveaway
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/08/the-invention-of-exile-novel.html
Reviewed based on a copy received through a publisher’s giveaway
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Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2014
100 works; 7 members
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2+ Works 102 Members
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- Canonical title
- The Invention of Exile
- Original publication date
- 2014
- Important places
- Constantinople
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- Members
- 97
- Popularity
- 323,663
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 1
