Iron Curtain: A Love Story

Milena Orbansky is the privileged daughter of a hero of the revolution. Her life is one of luxury and indulgence, albeit within a communist state. Then she meets an English poet, over to perform at a festival, and her life changes. She falls deeply in love and escapes to the West. However life in 1980s London is not what she is used to and she begins to realise that there is a price to pay for freedom.
This is a really strong book. The decadence and rebellion of Milena's life in her home country is contrasted so sharply to realities of poverty in the free world. There is also a huge undercurrent on the theme of betrayal, Milena will not betray her country or her family but her husband has no such morals. It is obvious that the author has show more lived life in the communist bloc, the authenticity screams from the page. show less

After another title abandoned from my quest to read #20BooksofWinter I am back on track with a most enjoyable novel that I romped through in a couple of days, pausing only to think about the way we tend to absorb propaganda about other countries without having enough information about them or about the purposes of the propaganda we unwittingly consume.

As Lolly K Dandeneau at BookStalkerBlog indicated in her enticing review Iron Curtain is more than a love story. Vesna Goldsworthy FRSL grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Serbia, but moved to Britain in 1986, not long before the Gorbachev reforms and the collapse of communist regimes throughout Europe in 1989 and 1990. Her novel, ostensibly about a passionate love affair between a visiting show more English poet and one of the privileged elite in an unnamed Soviet republic, is also about a cultural clash that goes beyond the obvious differences between Thatcherite capitalism and a failing centrally controlled communist economy.

Milena's father is a Soviet hero and a Big Deal politically, so she is a 'Red Princess', living in a sumptuous mansion, and able to travel freely to buy consumer goods that ordinary citizens can only dream of. More than that, her father's power means that when she gets into any kind of scrape he can fix it. Even ghastly ones that would have catastrophic consequences in the West.

But Milena isn't happy. She is scornful about her parents and bored by her privilege. So she is only too vulnerable to the charms of Jason, a middling poet from Britain who is visiting to take part in a festival (which has been organised for diplomatic reasons, not because he's the genius he thinks he is.) When he says he loves her, it's only too easy for her to use her unwitting father's connections to help her escape in the guise of an interpreter for a friend she then abandons. Before long she is living in an overpriced squalid London flat, after a very small (and unromantic) registry wedding.

The contrast between her former lifestyle and 1980s London is stark...

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/06/26/iron-curtain-a-love-story-2023-by-vesna-gold... show less

This novel brings together two unlikely figures - a privileged daughter of Communist elites and an impoverished British poet - in Cold War Europe. They fall in love (or more accurately, in lust) and Milena makes plans to leave her protected existence behind the Iron Curtain to live with her lover in London. But things aren't how she thought - her lover lacks the financial resources to support them in a capitalist world and Milena deeply misses the comforts of her homeland. An interesting read and one that challenges one's conceptions of live behind the Iron Curtain.

IRON CURTAIN by Vesna Goldsworthy
IRON CURTAIN is a delight to read. It has humor, pathos, tension, fear, love, loyalty, tragedy, responsibility, faithfulness and patriotism. Milena and Jason, as well as all the supporting characters, are well drawn, and accurate. The descriptions of the two countries reflect the notions of how each country sees itself and the other. The book covers the differences between perception and reality, especially as it relates to how communist countries view the west and vice versa.
My daughter lived for several years in a former Soviet Republic. I completely understand Milena’s decisions. The notion of freedom has varying degrees of reality: freedom from want, from decision making, to choose, to make show more mistakes, and others. Where and what is “home” is also a point that is covered well by this book.
One of my favorite characters was Clarissa. She had depths of character that slowly emerged as the book progressed.
IRON CURTAIN would make a great book for discussion groups. I highly recommend it, even with its slow start.
5 of 5 stars show less