This book offers so much to the reader. Dual narrative - Sasha, early 1950s to the 1960s; Sasha's uncle, pre-WWII to WWII.
Sasha fights - against her grandfather who pushes his Stalin ideology down her throat; her mother who reinforces the patriarch while forcing Sasha to face their reality, their position in their community.
Her grandmother, once a student of opera, understands - offering soft understanding and silent encouragement for Sasha's rebellion to become an actress.
And of course Russia in these eras - the harsh government, rigid rules, lack of opportunity and the reality of poverty.
The relevance of this story in today's world, the reality behind the Iron Curtin, how hard Russia must have fought against the tradition of Communism just to fall prey to Putin - heartbreaking tragedy.

The historical fiction novel, A Train to Moscow, is set in Russia at the conclusion of WWII. Sasha has always dreamt of leaving her small town to travel to Moscow to become an actress. To make this sacrifice, she will leave her family and her love, Andrei, behind.

As she is preparing to leave, she comes across a journal belonging to her uncle who supposedly passed during the war. The journal describes in detail the horrors of Stalin's rule. These words haunt the stages she graces after succeeding as an actress. Her one decision to leave home has consequences not only for her but for Andrei.

Andrei, who never stopped loving her, becomes a ranking member of the Government. He soon strips her of the one thing she loves as the government censors ALL performances. Andrei acts at the mercy of rule but can he give her one last gift to show her his true love has never wavered.

It is a beautifully told story of loving, duty and freedom. The ending was so bittersweet and emotional.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Lets Talk Promo for the hardcover copy of this novel.

Elena Gorokhova’s debut novel is a definite hit! She has written a beautiful and poignant novel of a woman coming of age behind the Iron Curtain. The main character Sasha lives in.a world full of secrets and as Sasha ages, she becomes rebellious against the stiff conformity of her family, battling politics and a lover turned political censor.

The beauty of Gorokhova’s words and descriptions kept me reading through the night. The reader is able to feel what it’s like to be in Russia after WWII and being someone that has your own opinions and ideas.

Thank you to #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Coming-of-age story set in Soviet Russia. It follows the life of Sasha who decides to be an actress and leaves her provincial hometown to pursue her dream. It’s a pleasant enough read, reasonably interesting, reasonably well-written, reasonably insightful and authoritative about life in the Soviet Union, both the political and personal, but for me it lacked that special spark which would have made it a more compelling read. There’s nothing new here, nothing original. And one or two false steps, like having an uncle’s perfectly composed war diary discovered in an attic, felt like lazy plotting. So not bad, but nothing special.

A Train to Moscow is a set in Russia just after World War II. Elena writes a historical fiction story that follows Sasha, a headstrong young woman who decides to risk everything to pursue a career as an actress.
While Sasha is the main character, Elena creates a great mix of supporting characters. One of my personal favorites is Elena’s uncle, Kolya, who you meet through Sasha reading from his personal journal from the war.
Each character is met with a crossroads of making at least one life altering decision. Obviously each choice has its immediate repercussions but it is ultimately how time weighs on each decision that makes this such a gripping story.
I found this novel a nice reprieve from the typical stories based during this time period and I will be suggesting this book to all of my historical fiction friends!

A Train to Moscow was such an interesting book. It follows the life Sasha, who was born in the days following the siege of Leningrad.

I enjoyed learning about how the events of WWII impacted the daily life of the Russian people in subsequent decades. I liked the character development of Sasha, as well as the supporting characters.I would have preferred a more dialogue to move the story forward.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

I am on a roll with reading historical fiction set in Russia and I am just loving it! Thanks to being a Patreon member for the Thoughts from a Page Podcast, I was given the opportunity to be an early reader for Elena Gorokhova’s upcoming book and then invited to a zoom chat with her. It was such a great experience and I look forward to be able to do this with a few more books in the future with Cindy and her Patreon group.

I admit, I don’t know much about Russian history, so I found this book to be incredibly interesting. I appreciated that it was set post-WWII during the time of the Iron Curtain and we see how that is affecting the lives of those living there. Told through the eyes of Sasha, with the backdrop of the theater, I found myself completely engaged in this story, a story that is very much based on the author’s family history.

I learned so much about Russian life, culture and even politics from this story, and the zoom chat with the author just enhanced my experience. The book itself really opened my eyes to the way that life was for the people living in Russia at this time and I really fell in love with Sasha who was so determined to live out her dream of becoming an actress at all costs. I loved how the author uses the uncle’s diary entries from his time in the war to bring that aspect to life.

While this story gives us a glimpse into the life of Russia during this time, it is ultimately a story of love and sacrifice. It beautifully delves into the relationship between mothers and daughters and also about what your duty to your country is versus what your passion is. I think this would make such a fantastic book club pick as there is just so much to unpack and discuss. This is Elena’s debut novel, though she has written two memoirs that I for sure will be checking out.

I truly enjoyed this historical fiction novel set in post-WW2 Russia behind the Iron Curtain. I learned a lot about the political/social isolation, control and fear during this time period. The story focuses on a young woman (Sasha) aspiring to become an actress who moves out of her small town to pursue her acting dreams. The book is also woven around her missing uncle’s story (who is also an artist) told through his vivid war journal which has been hidden away in the family’s attic. The main protagonist (Sasha) is determined to follow her childhood dream of becoming an actress as she deals with the secrets and lies of the past that haunt her throughout the book. The forbidden love story between Sasha and her childhood sweetheart is a major thread that Sasha continues to grapple with as she questions her personal pursuit of her dreams. Did she make the right decision? Should she have left her family and the love of her life to pursue her acting career? Is her missing uncle still alive? Is she truly happy? Ultimately, Sasha’s dedication to acting and the arts hold the key in which Sasha is able to unlock her future freedom and uncover the truth. The author does an amazing job of building the complex relationships within this story. The characters are well developed and the plot moves at a good pace. The beginning was a bit bumpy for me until I grasped the characters and setting, but once I did I could not put this book down. The book is beautifully written.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley (along with Cindy Burnett from Thoughts from a Page) for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

From The Historical Novels Review, February 2022:
The Soviet world in the post-WWII era is a bleak existence for Russians. The Iron Curtain has cut them off from the rest of the world, and famine and deprivation define their existence. Sasha, a young girl born three years before the end of the war, lives with her mother and grandparents. She is told her father died a noble death in the war, but the vagueness of it all seems to her a lie, and her uncle Kolya is presumed dead since he was never returned from the war. When Sasha finds Uncle Kolya’s war journal hidden in the attic, she learns of his horrific experiences in his beautiful prose and illustrations of haunting images. This find is yet another family secret dogging Sasha. As she reads, it draws her close to an uncle she never met.

Sasha and her two close friends, Marik and Andrei, are witness to the unfair arrests and brutality of the NVKD and the mysterious disappearances of people in the village. Tragedy strikes the group of friends, and Sasha’s guilt and regret is forever with her. Since a small child, she has aspired to be an actress. Living in a make-believe world gives her escape from the realities of her life. In a bold break from her claustrophobic life in a small country village, she boards a train to Moscow and defies the expectation for a conventional career to seek her dream.

Elena Gorokhova, who grew up in the 1960s Soviet Union, has given us a heartfelt autobiographical novel. Sasha, like Elena, navigates through her family’s lies and secrets, within the lies and secrets of her country, to make her own path in the world. This novel will move you to feel the pain and frustration of one who needs to live in truth and have the freedom of expression.
Janice Ottersberg

I loved this book about the Soviet Union in the years after World War II. Told through the eyes of Sasha, a precocious girl from a provincial town who transforms into a strong-willed woman, I learned so much about Soviet history, culture, and politics from this tumultuous time behind the Iron Curtain. Sasha becomes an actress in the country’s prestigious theater, which comes at a great cost to her family and her romantic life. The way the author describes how actors inhabit their characters is so vivid, you can picture the scenes in your head.

The story is at times heartbreaking yet hopeful, challenging yet fulfilling. Even amidst the harsh political times, she finds time to have friends, fall in love, and create her art. Life goes on but there’s always a tinge of fear lurking around every corner. And the flashbacks to her uncle in the trenches of World War II were some of the most memorable scenes from any WWII book I’ve read.

A Train to Moscow by Elena Gorokhova is a literary experience in 4 acts. It was one of the most unique and beautiful books I’ve read lately. Act 1 starts with Sasha, Marik and Andrei are childhood best friends living in a provincial Russian town after the end of WW II. Each is experiencing the effects and trauma of the war, and leadership of Stalin, in their own way. As they grow, their differences bring them together, but also threaten to tear them apart.

Act 2-Sasha dares to leave her family, take the titular, Train to Moscow. There she grows, exploring her new world, while still being tethered to the old world in many ways.

Act 3- A mature Sasha experiences love and loss.

Act 4- Sasha’s eyes are completely open and she experiences a loss of the world she thought she knew, and moves into a new life.

This is a beautifully told story of love and letting go. It explores the relationship between duty and want. It’s about mothers and daughters, war and peace. It’s about before and after. It’s about boundaries and freedom.

This would make a great book club book. There’s so much to explore and discuss throughout this book.

I really enjoyed learning about post-war Russia, as well as learning how the policies of the Russian state impacted so many lives during and after the war.

Thank you to #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for the advanced e-copy of #atraintomoscow.

I thoroughly relished this novel set behind the Iron Curtain in Russia. Immersed into the life of the main character, Sasha, I was enraptured, and at times, awestruck, by the cultural experience the author envelopes us in by means of her gorgeous writing. The story begins with a young Sasha living her childhood in a small provincial town. The texture of Sasha’s relationships with her family and friends, and her dreams for the future, set the stage for this historical fiction gem. The novel is rich in love, devastation, sadness, family secrets, fear, and hope. I was captivated.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for the advance reader copy, in exchange for my honest review.