The story starts off with Zhenia and her husband talking crap about their friend’s decision to have kids and how great it is to have a childfree life. So of course you know what’s going to happen next.. Zhenia gets pregnant. She never wanted kids before but now she’s found that she does. Her husband hasn’t changed his mind and their relationship eventually deteriorates.

Zhenia doesn’t have a good relationship with her own mother and they’re both very bad at communicating. She’s always been closest to her babushka and she isn’t dealing well with her grandmother’s declining health.

One day she receives a call from a stranger who tells her that he’s been speaking with her great grandmother. Her DEAD great grandmother, Irena. Through this medium, Paul, she tells the story of her life as a teen living through the Russian revolution.


Initially, the writing style confused me. I was so lost when the first scene with Irena was presented. But this slowly made sense, and the audio narration was very helpful.

I liked the historical fiction aspect with the Russian revolution but I didn’t like Zhenia too much — she’s selfish and horrible at communicating.


Mother Doll is not the usual type of book I would read but I saw the synopsis and it piqued my interest and I had accepted an ARC on NetGalley. (I didn’t get around to reading it before it was published and eventually listened to the audiobook from my library instead).
I think it was the better option for myself anyway. I probably would have struggled reading the ebook.

The narrator is amazing! She has a distinct voice for these characters and a wonderful Russian accent.

Stars 3.5

the contents and storylines of this book are scattered all over the place, but it absolutely works. i loved the mother daughter relationship and i loved the family history as well. felt like actual russian dolls—absolutely adored it.

This has been a tough review to formulate to be honest, I absolutely adored the premise, and being an immigrant from the former USSR and a history nerd as I keep prattling on, I was so excited to get my eyes on a story that involves the homeland and has a period touch to it. Also, my birth name is Zhenya....so it had sold on so many levels.

The pros for me were the above mentioned things. I loved the historical narrative part of it, both as a history nut and a Jew. I also loved hearing the immigrants themselves speak about life there and newly in US (Zhenya, the main character and her mother). I also really enjoyed how well drawn out the characters all were, and frankly how unlikable they all were. If that was the author's intent, I applaud her because I think the only people I only sort of liked or maybe the better word would be understood, were Zhenya's mother and the babies, Everyone was shitty in their own way which I think was the point.

The only con but I think for me it's a major one so hence the 3, not a 4 star reading experience, was how frankly unfinished the story felt. I didn't feel satisfied at the end, I didn't feel resolved, I didn't feel that the story was done, because I just knew that Irina's ghost had way more to say but are the readers supposed to not wonder what happened to her after she abandoned her daughter? Are the readers supposed to think that through this book, Zhenya has transformed and changed for the better? It doesn't take 12 months and a baby to change one's mentality or even approach any actual self awareness.

So yeah,, I felt like it just dropped in the end when there could have been a few more chapters to fill in the blanks.

I wish that I could say something more positive about this book, because the premise seemed like something I would really enjoy. However, I found the intro to be pretty jarring, the voice relatively hard to follow. I don't think this is something that all readers will see in this text, I just don't think this was the right book for me in this moment. I didn't make it far enough to speak much to the content of the book overall, so I will leave it at that.

Thank you to Overlook Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review.

I loved Mother Doll! I appreciated the exploration of ancestry as well as the mother-daughter relationship.

Super late review, but wanted to get this on here, this book was very telling and a little bit odd at times. But that’s what I love about literary fiction is that you never really know what you’re going to get. Really enjoyed the story will keep an eye out for more from this author.

At a sentence-level, this novel shines. It's hilarious, and propulsive, and did I mention also a ghost story? Katya Apekina is the real deal. I can't wait to read whatever she does next. Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

While there are things to like about this story -- the dry humor, the intriguing premise, the wholly original speculative elements, the vivid and visceral portrayal of the Russian Revolution among them. But as compelling as Irina's story and character are, Zhenia's part feels oddly flat in comparison. It wasn't until the last third of the book that she felt like a fully developed character, and while that might have been by design -- Zhenia's nature gradually revealed, alongside the truth of Irina's life, like the nesting dolls of the title, it left me feeling indifferent. I appreciated what the author was trying to do, but it isn't a title that I could convincingly handsell to patrons.

This book started off strong for me. History of Russia in the early 1900's coupled with a current timeline. I found the idea of medium sharing the story to a great grand daughter interesting. I was invested in Irina's Russian story. However, it got weird as it went on, and the medium story kind of fell apart for me. Then, the ending was so abrupt. I was sure I was missing some more pages. I didn't really like Zhenia, the main characters in the current timeline. When it was over, I didn't really care what happened to her, but wanted more from Irina's story. The writing was pretty good, though she uses the word "stared" way too often.

A fascinating examination of family history. A focus on generation’s of trauma, motherhood, and growth. Much like Russian nesting dolls, this book opens more and more of the main character’s familial past in very unique ways - supernatural ways! I enjoyed the spots of humor, the honesty of motherhood and relationships, and the suspense of history. I struggled a little keeping the different timelines and POVs straight, but it didn’t deter my enjoyment!

Thank you NetGalley, ABRAMS, and author Katya Apekina for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In "Mother Doll", Katya Apekina weaves a tapestry of intergenerational trauma, motherhood, and the haunting specter of history with remarkable poise and depth. Set against the backdrop of a fractured family and the weight of inherited secrets, Apekina's novel delves into the complexities of identity, immigration, and the relentless march of time.

At the heart of the narrative is Zhenia, who is recently and unexpectedly pregnant while attempting to come to terms with the decline of her beloved grandmother. Zhenia is a first-generation Russian-Jewish daughter, living in LA, across the country from her family, working as a translator after failing as an actress. Her confusion and discontent with her life is evident as she doesn't know how to move forward with her life. She suddenly recieves a call from a psychic who claims to the speaker for Zhenia's great-grandmother Irina, calling from beyond the grave, needing to tell her story and get forgiveness in order to move on. Her story mainly being about her heavy involvement in the Russian revolution as a Menshevik, helping to overthrow the tsar's government before being betrayed by Lenin's Bolshevik government.

Apekina is masterfully able to weave together the supernatural and the real world that calling this book a ghost story doesn't do it justice. Deeply human, the stories of each generation affecting the next clearly demonstrate the effect of generational trauma on each next woman. It's clear to see the parallels between Zhenia's situation and Irina's. However, Apekina investigates whether familial forgiveness and understanding can help unravel generational trauma from continuing forward.

Apekina's prose is at once funny and tender, infusing the novel with a raw emotional resonance that lingers long after the final page is turned. The presentation of the Russian-Jewish family experience is hilariously accurate and a unique representation for this 'own voices' category. With "Mother Doll," she crafts a gripping family saga that transcends the boundaries of time and space, offering readers a profound meditation on the enduring legacy of trauma and the redemptive power of love.

In conclusion, "Mother Doll" stands as a testament to Katya Apekina's talent as a storyteller. With its richly drawn characters, evocative prose, and unflinching exploration of the human condition, this novel is sure to captivate and resonate with readers seeking a deeply moving literary experience.

A complex, engaging, at times baffling story of ghosts, trauma, and Russia. Zhenia thought her life was going fine until it wasn't and now she's both dreading the death of her grandmother and dealing with a psychic who claims he is channeling the great grandmother who abandoned her daughter, It's a lot and the chorus of voices who chime in occasionally might be a bit confusing at first but then you relax and it all works. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I'd not read Apekina before but I'm impressed by this and will go back for her first novel while hoping for a third.

“𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”

I’m a fan of Katya Apekina, I devoured The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, from the title to the entire story and am delighted that her latest is a completely different tale. Mother Doll is an interesting read that is hard for me to categorize. Historical fiction, paranormal, family trauma, revolutions, abandonment, unwanted pregnancy, flailing relationships, dead that cannot move on- there is a lot to sink into. Zhenia’s beloved grandmother Vera is dying, losing cognitive ability, a fact she cannot face, when she receives a strange voicemail from a man named Paul Zelmont. Returning his call, he tells her he is a psychic medium and has been speaking to her dead maternal great-grandmother, Russian spy Irina Petronova. He informs her that Irina must tell her life story to them, naturally he doesn’t speak Russian he will need Zhenia to translate it, the memoirs can then be published, Irina’s legacy. Believing it’s a scam, Zhenia is stunned when he mentions her own pregnancy, which not many people know about. Why would Irina want to enlist her from beyond the grave, she abandoned her little girl, Vera, at a Russian orphanage so long ago sailing off to America and building a whole new family. Obviously a cold, cruel, self-serving monster of a woman. Not that she believes this madness, but who cares if she led a fascinating life when she gave up the one person Zhenia loves more than herself? Humoring him, she writes down what he channels, and is told that she is the closest thing to Vera herself, an absolute truth. Irina’s story unfolds, beginning with her spot at finishing school in Petrograd secured by her father before his death, their financial ruin, forcing her to live at her wealthy aunt’s house, in the servants quarters as she finishes out her schooling. Her job, to help her cousin Hannah get accepted into Petrograd society, closed off to them “on account of their being Jewish”. Her German teacher Fräulein Agata takes her under her wing, once a governess for a prominent family, she is popular with the students for her youth and wild, romantic ideas. Her connections are the catalyst for what befalls Irina and her cousin Hannah, during the Russian Revolution. It is also the birth of generational trauma and conflict. Zhenia resents her great-grandmother, she doesn’t want to open her heart to her, however magical this event is.

There is a line in the book, “We can make new worlds out of old bricks”, and certainly that is what occurs, as the gaps in her great-grandmother’s past are filled in. How could she have left Vera? Is there a path to forgiveness so Irina’s soul can rest? Is it Zhenia’s to give? This bridge to the dead is not without risks, Paul has never experienced this intense of channeling, it is affecting him and his partner. He is a man possessed. Zhenia’s own life is falling apart, her work as a translator at the hospital is lackluster, she fears for her marriage, her husband Ben doesn’t want to have a child with her, she feels deep down that he doesn’t want her period. She hasn’t always been loyal, faithful nor honest either. Does she really want to hold on to him? The one person she has always turned to, her grandmother, appears to no longer be of this world, one foot in the next, fading away. She isn’t ready to grasp reality but through Irina, she will receive a far more important inheritance than money. What about her pregnancy? Does this child truly carry shards of those who came before? Is that why Irina insists on telling her side posthumously?

A hell of a read, from the Russian revolution to modern day struggles, maybe they are vessels carrying each generation within them and on and on it goes. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: March 12, 2024

ABRAMS

The Overlook Press

I love a good ghost story and this was one that I couldn't put down! This was a great story! I really enjoyed it!

I was additionally, intrigued to read this book to be able to recommend it to a good friend of mine who is Russian, and who I thought would relate to some of the characters. There is a lot going on in this book, and not all of it spoke to me, but I do really feel that the author conveyed the idea of generational trauma, and how the trauma that each individual deals with informs the choices that they make in the rest of their life. It’s very easy to get sucked in involved in these women’s lives as they each try to deal with not only the terrible things happening in their own lives, but the lives of those that game before them. I will definitely be passing it along to my friend.

Short review: not daddy issues or mommy issues, but a secret third thing— great grandma issues

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I often think of this one tweet or tumblr post I saw where it said that women are born with all the gametes they will ever have in their life. Basically, our mother was born with us and our grandmother’s were born with our mothers so through transitive property, our grandmothers were born with us. I’m not sure if this is true or 100% correct (i was never good at biology), but I think this concept is kinda what Mother Doll is trying to grapple with. This idea of generational interconnectedness, whether by trauma, culture, or inane characteristics.

There are a lot of themes being discussed here. Motherhood, generational trauma, identity, belonging, finding community through political affiliation (and the dangers that might entail).

Overall, I see this book becoming very popular. It’s got a good mix of humor and heart.

4.5 stars. Thank you Overlook Press for my free ARC of Mother Doll by Katya Apekina — available Mar 12!

Read this if you:
🪆 enjoy unique, genre-bending reads (historical/literary/magical realism-ish)
👩‍👩‍👧‍👧 have some tricky female-family relationships in your life
🔮 love stories with engaging prose that require you to keep an open mind

Zhenia was just surprised with a positive pregnancy test, which throws her marriage on the rocks. To complicate things, her beloved grandmother is dying, and she just received a phone call from a medium who says her long-deceased great grandmother is trying to contact her. There's a lot going on, so Zhenia does what she usually does in tough situations: nothing. While her relationship and her grandmother languish, Zhenia ends up transcribing the story of her Russian pra-babushka over the phone. What is Zhenia supposed to do with all these matrilineal trauma memories? And which of the women in this family actually need forgiveness to move forward?

This book was such an amazing ride — it's a blend of genres that work incredibly well together. I absolutely loved the supernatural/psychic elements, especially the bits of dialogue from the "cloud" of spirits/ancestors, and the way that Paul was visualized as communicating with Irina. Despite being frustrating as hell, Zhenia is easy to root for, even when she's making decisions I don't personally agree with or stagnating in her misery.

Family relationships are tough for everyone, but these women in particular have had a rough time of it. There is a ton of trauma and wounding laced throughout this story, but also a hefty dose of healing and flourishing. I love the non-traditional relationships portrayed in this tale (especially Zhenia's situation at the end of the novel), as well as the arc of Zhenia's growth and development throughout. The whole thing is wild, informative, emotional, and heartrending. I loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The authors first novel is one of my favorite of all time. It’s wild to be how different this story is! Love to see it.

It took me a while to get used to the change in POVs and time jumps, but once I did I was completely engrossed. A very interesting and emotional look into the manifestation of generational trauma, motherhood, and familial relationships.

What a wild ride of a novel. There are some powerful parallels between our main character and the women who came before her and their sordid past in the Russian Revolution. We get a dual timeline of modern day with the early 20th century and how the decisions and actions of the past continue to repeat into the present. I think this book really shares some beautiful insights on motherhood and familial connection through storytelling. I loved the aspects of magical realism as well. I highly recommend to those who love history, family relationships, and motherhood stories and struggles.

Many thanks to NetGalley and ABRAMS for the opportunity to read this gem!

The author beautifully winds the metaphor of the title into this novel. Mother Doll refers to Russian nesting dolls which stand in for the relationships among generations and the ways in which trauma carries from one generation to the next.