April 23, 2012
The Russian Writer’s Daughter: Stories of Growing up American by Lydia S. Rosner is a collection of 20 lively autobiographical stories of a secular Jewish childhood in a Jewish socialist family that also had ties to the non-Jewish Russian emigre New York social circle. In this revelatory memoir, international politics shadow a child’s gradual awakening to the world around her. At the center of these memories is Lyduce’s father, whose complex personality mixes a passion for social justice, intellectual snobbery, and the desire to protect his family in the stifling atmosphere of the Red Scare.
Although born in the United States, the author grew up speaking only Russian. Her book reflects her experience of two worlds, and the choice she made to Grow Up American while respecting and honoring the roots from which she rose. As she tells her family’s story, Rosner shows how complicated autobiography can be, more a matter of pursuing the truth than of asserting it.
Although born in the United States, the author grew up speaking only Russian. Her book reflects her experience of two worlds, and the choice she made to Grow Up American while respecting and honoring the roots from which she rose. As she tells her family’s story, Rosner shows how complicated autobiography can be, more a matter of pursuing the truth than of asserting it.
