I'm glad I didn't miss this book. one of those gems of a novel that delivers poignant observations about life in a suspenseful page-turner. As two young sisters separately search for answers in the wonderfully offbeat neighborhood of Riverwest, Milwaukee, torn in different directions by a fascinating crew of locals the reader is taken on a heart-thumping ride that explores all the important relationships that make up our lives: our relationship to our siblings, parents, friends, country, heritage, and, lastly, to ourselves, that is the person we used to be and the one we hope to become. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A heart-rending look at love (for others and mostly, for self) and survival, and the not-always-lucid path we may take in service of both. As this character-based narrative slowly reveals (gracefully and with pitch-perfect pacing), plagued with insecurities, unable to shed uniquely devastating pasts, emerging into the light comes harder for some, and for others, perhaps not at all.

Now living in Wisconsin, USA, Maria Pavolva (Masha) and her younger sister (Anna) have long lived in the shadows cast by their grim and anxious Russian immigrant parents, counter-balanced only somewhat by the loving and more temperately-nostalgic bubble inhabited by their elderly grandparents. As is clearly evidenced by their traumas, escape from totalitarianism comes at a cost, one that may take a lifetime to leave behind, inevitably extending deeply and with stealthy fervor, leaving its murky trail across both decades and generations.

Masha, a twenty-five year old seeker, struggles with her identity as both a Russian and a Jew, as her fascination with linguistics reveals an underlying compulsion to find community, sanctuary, a people and a homeland. Masha’s fractured journey leads her first to Riverwest, a colorful, crime-ridden neighborhood offering a smorgasbord of drugs, alcohol and entertainment, catering to disenfranchised youth, train-hoppers and transients.

“Snow is now swirling in small little tornadoes around the orange glow of street laps up an down Bremen St, making me shiver in my shitty coat. “

Anna, six years younger, an artist at heart, cannot help but follow in her sisters footsteps, as her own journey, a soul-ripping quest to find her true calling, takes her down an even more dark and dangerous path.

“Being existentially lost has a smell; the room is drowning in it.”

Desperately driven, impossibly intense, this book has an ominous and steady atmospheric pull that cannot be resisted. For this reader, heart-in-mouth, the pages could not turn fast enough as the ending (which really could have gone anywhere) loomed unpredictably.

Highly recommended, from start-to-finish a wonderful, tragic and beautifully-crafted read. I look forward to reading more from this oh so talented author.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* thought this book would be a hit or miss, so happy it was a 4.5! didn't want to put it down and loved reading it.

At the End of the World, Turn Left is written from the perspectives of two sisters, daughters of Jewish Russian immigrants who have both struggled to find their place in the world. When younger sister Anna goes missing, the older daughter is summoned home from Israel to help their distraught father, learning a lot about her family members along the way.

Through an overarching melancholy, readers get to peek into the somewhat hopeless, sometimes dramatic lives of Anna and Masha. Weighed down by generational trauma and a lack of others like them amongst their peers, the sisters have adapted in different ways, and the author takes care to give each woman her voice.

The book kept me entertained, and I felt that most of the characters were redeemed by the end despite some being more annoying than others. I know that Masha was supposed to be more cerebral and worldly, but I could have done without the definitions of words in other languages common in her chapters.

Just about 3 stars.

A book about generational differences in one family of Jewish Russian immigrants in Milwaukee, told from the points of view of two young women who are sisters. Drugs, alcohol and other poor lifestyle choices in the seedy Riverwest area form a large part of the novel and that is contrasted in a not very subtle way (the constant references to Israel in the first part of the novel were irksome and not well-executed) with the ‘rediscovered semi-religious’ lifestyle of one of the sisters who returns to the US from Israel due to a family crisis.

The writing is inconsistent - poor, better, flip-flopping for a while before greatly improving in the latter half. And the ‘clever’ use of words or phrases from other languages to describe a situation was anything but clever.

This is a story which will satisfy some readers but it missed the mark with me.

It might have been because i had high expectations going into this book, but i couldn't give it higher then a 3, the tension was very high, while the story felt like it went nowhere, it was very built up as though something big was coming so i felt a bit let down. It also felt rushed, the change in time periods and pov’s in the short chapters, were also a bit confusing to me at times, but by the end they did merge together pretty well. And I felt like i didn't get to know or understand the characters, but i still could not stop reading, it has so much family drama and diversity it still kept me interested like a comfort read, and Masha’s linguistic side and use of phrases in different languages, was very educational and i loved that. I also loved how the setting of Riverwest was brought to life, it may not have been my cup of tea, but there were still some very good points in this book, and I would try and pick up something else from this author in the future.

I liked and disliked this book at the same time.At some points I really enjoyed the writing and the way Riverwest in Milwaukee was brought to life.Other times it felt rushed particularly towards the end when the two POV timelines had to start matching up.

Thanks NetGalley for the free arc

At The End Of The World Turn Left
Zhanna Slor
Polis Books (Agora Books)
Publication Date 20th April 2021

This is the debut novel by Zhanna Slor who was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to Midwest USA in early 1990s. She lives in Milwaukee with her daughter and husband who is saxophonist for jazz fusion band Marbin. Her writings have been published in a range of literary magazines and received an honorary mention in Best American Essays 2014.

At The End Of The World Turn Left is her debut novel and focuses on a missing person, lost friendships, sinister acquaintances, cryptic messages from their abandoned homeland and how someone’s identity can differ across and between generations. The book alternates between two Russian born sisters of Jewish heritage Masha and Anastasia (or Anna) and is set largely in Milwakee’s Riverwest district in 2007 and 2008. At The End Of The World Turn Left translated from Hebrew slang as “B’sof Ha’olam Smolla” meaning the middle of nowhere – suburban Wisconsin in this case; but the phrase can also refer to starting a new life.

In 1991 the two girls, their parents and paternal grandparents left Chernovtsy in the former Soviet Union to the United States. While older sister Masha has some childhood memories of their previous lives, Anna has no recollections of this time. Their homeland is now part of Ukraine and the girls have never heard a word of the Ukrainian language before.

The Law Of Return allows Jews from across the word to move to Israel and elder sister Masha has taken this option. She is now settled with a partner while 19-year-old Anna is living as a student and studying in Milwakee. However, Masha receives a request from her father Pawel to urgently return as Anna has disappeared.

In parallel we follow Anna as she receives strange messages via her Myspace account from a mysterious woman living in Chernovtsy. This stimulates her own desire to return to the country of her birth. However, her father is deadest against this: “you can’t wash dirty dishes with dirty water – that level of corruption doesn’t go away because rubles are now hryvna.”

One of the key strengths of the novel is that Slor effectively shows the differences between the generations. Anna reflects upon the generation of Russian Jews who came to America for a better life never accept this is enough, they are always striving for a better life. She feels her parents should have been happy getting them to America but this is followed by a series of newly desired accomplishments such as wealth, European cruises, expensive clothes and clean cut Jewish life partners for their daughters. Anna questions why they would move to America for their daughters to marry Russian Jews; and speak in Russian but hate it there. Anna had been encouraged to use the Birthright programme to follow her sister to Israel but she denounces it as a dating service and states she has been told it is used to “brainwash” people into being Zionists.

While not brainwashed Marsha’s behavior has changed since leaving. While visiting old haunts and seeing old faces she tells herself that “lying is supposed to be a thing of the past, like all the drugs and sleeping around that I’d done during that brief period of flailing about in the abyss of adulthood.” While keen to find her sister she will not drive or use her telephone on the Shabbat holy day marking her as more orthodox than her father. There are some colourful uses of etymology in Marsha’s dialogue with frequent references to the chronological derivation of words. She observes that her and her sister have been lucky, In Israel nineteen year olds would not have the luxury to disappear as they have to join the army, she feels that in Ukraine they would be too hungry to do anything but find jobs but they were lucky enough to do pretty much anything.

Their elderly grandparents can only speak Russian and their community is limited only to their immediate family and some friends of a similar age. There is some tragic comedy about the grandmother who constantly refers to her impending death and confuses her granddaughters. Her husband attempts to remain a steadying influence who spends much of his time watching Russian television from the country he reportedly hates.

Referred to as an unconventional detective story, Anna immerses herself in some dubious activities and some bad company which place her in danger. Marsha tries to track her down while facing down her own ghosts of the past. This story uses sprightly language from the outset which draws you to continue reading. It makes for a compelling combination. The one strange aspect is that Myspace is the social media application of choice and only accessed via laptops. The author purportedly set the novel in 2007-2008 partly as this was a vivid period in her own life and also as she did not wish the protagonists to use smartphones. Indeed, Anna is scathing as to why her father needs to read emails on his mobile phone. How times have changed!

At the End of the World, Turn Left is a captivating mystery about two sisters and their family that left the USSR (especially because of the poor treatment of Jewish people), but it also felt like somewhat of a coming of age story. Masha, the older of the two sisters, never got along with her parents, dropped out of college, and made aliyah to Israel. She fell in love with her life there, but returns to Milwaukee when her dad calls her and says that her sister Anna is missing. The sisters switch off POVs and we get the backstory of Anna that led her disappearing. Everything is tied to a woman in the Ukraine with a big claim that changes the lives of her whole family.

I said this felt like a coming of age because Masha comes to terms with her past and her family. Anna decides to follow her own passions rather than being the daughter that Masha wasn't. I really loved Masha's story of falling in love with Judaism, which mimicked parts of mine. I thought it was interesting that we got to see another side of Judaism, where you don't have to believe in God to be Jewish. An interesting concept for a lot of people outside of the religion. I didn't really understand the train hopper culture that Masha and Anna were surrounded by, but I felt like it added to the story. Also, the writing felt comfortable and familiar in a way that kept me turning the pages. My couple of critiques are that at times the story felt like it could've been longer, especially closer to the end (it felt a bit rushed), and that one scene featured a Chinese woman speaking in such a way that displayed broken English of an immigrant. The book isn't written by a Chinese author, so I felt a little uncomfortable with that. However, it wasn't done as a joke or to make fun, which made me feel a bit better. Also, the parents and grandparents speak in broken English, but the author is Russian so this felt more agreeable because it's closer to her life and probably her experiences.

Overall, I think this book is a great debut mystery! I hope to see it around a ton!

I struggled with this book. At times I was absorbed in the story but I struggled to like any of the characters. I had a difficult time understanding some of the nuances and often couldn’t follow the narrative. I did like the linguistic lessons sprinkled throughout. I would try another book from this at author. Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to the author, Polis Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story of two sisters in a Russian Jewish immigrant family in Milwaukee is told from the POV of the two young women (in alternating chapters). They are fairly close in age, but seem worlds apart in mentality and outlook. Generational issues come into play as well, as the parents and grandparents are also part of the story. The themes of identity, independence, what/where is home and reckoning with the past are strong, but I wish there had been more intersection between the two sisters. I found it difficult to puzzle out what their relationship was and what shaped it, and each of them individually. I enjoyed the linguistic asides of the older sister, but I didn't feel as though I got to know or understand either of them. The writing is a bit inconsistent, particularly in the first half of the book, but overall a promising debut.

Masha dropped out of college and fled Milwaukee for Israel and a tamer, devout life, but her father begs her to return to search for her missing 19 year old sister. The storyline alternated between Masha's search and reminiscing and the build-up to her sister's disappearance.

I very much enjoyed this book. As someone who lives in the diaspora, I related to a lot of what she mentions throughout the book. Yes, we are totally different people from different backgrounds, but if you're a 3rd cultured person, then you would understand too:
"....This happens to me a lot; the way I didn't realize I was losing my native tongue until years after it was already happening, I somehow managed to misplace everyone's histories too. I wonder how much farther I can stray before it all disappears entirely, forever. Is heritage a lighthouse, blinking in the night, always prepared and preparing you for an eventual return? Or is it an unmapped land, a place that, if you leave, you may never find your way back to? Look at any immigrant family once it's had a generation or two of kids. Histories fade into anecdotes; foreign words are buried along with elderly grandparents. Every year that passes we are closer and closer to losing everything that makes us what we are. It's the shadow that lingers behind every American dream. The one you don't even realize is there because you never see it..."
Anyway, the protagonists in this story are two sisters- Masha (the older sister) and Anna (the younger sister). They have moved to the states at a very young age from the Soviet Union with their parents. Anna longs to visit Ukraine after her sister Masha moves to Israel. Their parents are against Anna's wish to visit Ukraine due to what they had to endure living there because they are Jewish. Anna also gets an email from a young woman from Ukraine claiming they are half sisters, which ignites her longing to visit there even more. Their father flies Masha home to the states because Anna goes missing after their dad cuts Anna off financially due to an argument they had about Zoya (the supposed half sister in Ukraine). Masha goes around the town they grew up in and asks around for Anna. The books switches back and forth as to who is telling their side of the story. Overall, it is interesting to see how both young women grow up in the states with different ways of looking at the world, along with different ways of handling things. Now I wish to know what happens to Anna.
ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review. #AttheEndoftheWorldTurnLeft #NetGalley

This book was amazing!!! Got a chance to read it through Net Galley and I'm so glad I did! Can't wait to read more by this author!!

A suspenseful novel about a family relocated from Ukraine, the former USSR, to midwestern Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Written from the two daughters' viewpoints, it is an unconventional read about family, identity, and independence.

The author relays what it's like for her parents and grandparents living as immigrants outside of their homeland. The two college-aged daughters get caught up in the sleazy side of Milwaukee, where drugs, alcohol, homelessness, and train-hopping are a way of life. Masha moves to Israel to get away from it all but is called home when her sister, Anna, goes missing. A woman from their father's past seeks out the sisters through the internet, derailing what little is left of their family dynamics.

Cleverly written with shock value, the novel is engaging and tension-filled until the very end. However, I would've liked to read more about the relationship between the daughters and their mother. I also felt Masha's delivery of words/sayings in various alternative languages was a bit overdone.

Thank you, Zhanna Slor, publisher, and Netgalley, for the ARC.

I loved this book! I loved the location, the richness the women’s Russian Jewish immigrant background story. I loved how the characters seemed like actual people I might know and not just soccer moms and prep school grads but artists and people who might hop a train for fun. I’m sad it ended (a little abruptly) and wish there was more to read.