Soviet Milk | 
pickAnother read for my Europe 2021 project, set in Latvia by a Latvian author. It spans roughly 1969-1989 and focuses on a mother and daughter as they navigate the changing political landscape. The daughter has never known Latvia as a country!
Reading Envy Podcast Episode 197: Surly Magnificence with Lauren
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Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94 😘
1. Probably the tagged Soviet Milk - I loved it and a fair few Littens have since read it for #readingeurope2020.
2. Only really on Litsy - my IRL friends don‘t read like I do andusually come to me for recs instead!
This is going out to my fellow Billy Joel fans @Amiable and @Mollyanna , my fellow Bon Jovi nut @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick and my #virgotwin @Book_Fiend_Melissa - do you all want to play? 😘
pick“What to do with the truth?”
Thank you to @squirrelbrain for putting this book on my radar. Somewhat depressing as 3 generations of strong women are forced to “comply” to the Soviet Regime in under to survive. It‘s a painful life they lead when all hope & opportunities are out of their control. Told from 2 POVs those of the granddaughter being raised under Soviet rule and that of her mother from the years 1969-1989 #Latvia
#ReadingEurope2020
pickSoviet Milk is a novella of Soviet rule and it‘s dissolution, following a mother and daughter in #Latvia in the 1970s and 80s. I appreciated its close-in look at these 2 lives set against a major world shift and the sense of place it creates, making it a perfect #ReadingEurope2020 choice. Thanks to @squirrelbrain for posting about this one—I never would have found it on my own.
Having some milk with my tea.
You're right @squirrelbrain it's really good. The first few pages I thought it would be confusing flipping between mother and daughter, but they have such distinct voices, it's really clear.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Written in the time of Latvia under Soviet control, we read how three generations of women react. The grandmother, who saw the violence that could be imposed, complies. The daughter who knows she lives under oppression and mentally riles against it and the granddaughter, initially not understanding, but confident of freedom. Once I got used to the split POV, a wonderful but sad story. #ReadingEurope #Latvia
I‘m all set for the day, my coffee is just to the side, I‘ve got my books and blankets, if physical travel is out at the moment, I‘ll have to travel through books. #ReadingEurope2020 #Latvia #Germany
#ReadingEurope2020 - for some countries it‘s hard to find good translated work (looking at you Belgium, may have to read TinTin), but so far this novel from Latvia is gripping. #Latvia
pickI really enjoyed this book. An emotional story with a bittersweet ending. Loved the way the book was written 😍
#ReadingEurope2020 #Latvia 🇱🇻 (29th country)
My first Latvian novel. I've heard a lot of good things about this: I hope I'm not disappointed...
On a Peirene Press roll (this is my fourth in a row)!
pickA woman was born in a country when it was still #Latvia, her daughter is born there too but now it is the USSR. The mother isn‘t able to build a life without freedom and becomes depressed, the daughter is optimistic and takes care of her mother.
Perestrojka, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War are on their way but they don‘t know it.
A beautiful book. Thanks for recommending it, Helen!
#ReadingEurope2020 🇱🇻 #Tearjerker
pickGosh, this book is good-one of the best I‘ve read this year. It follows the life of a Latvian woman as the country is under Soviet rule. She trains to be a doctor but then falls foul of the state and is deprived of her profession and her identity. The story is also told from the point of view of her daughter, born in 1969, so reaching the age of 20 when the Berlin Wall falls and the novel ends.
Utterly fascinating!
#latvia
#readingeurope2020
pick#readingeurope2020 #Latvia. The story of a mother and daughter born in 1944 &69 told in alternating segments, abt how they cope with the oppression of Soviet rule. Mother, a doctor,trys in her own way to resist but the humiliations affect her stability, whilst dtr copes with her mother's moods whilst rebelling herself as the regime crumbles. Bitter maternal milk and the individual as oppressed country worked well and i enjyd this bk very much ⏬
so-soSad story of three generations of women.
A story of unconventional mother-daughter relationship.
A book about a gloomy survival in the redoubtable Soviet era.
The style didn't appeal to me...
There were not mentioned names of the main characters - interesting choice
This has been a lovely week of #bookmail thanks to beautiful Litsy friends. This is the first half of the amazing package I received from @saresmoore. Thank you for this. That tote bag!! Love it 😁 And the books are wonderful. Thanks @Suet624 for sharing the Hustvedt book; I'm looking forward to reading it and passing it on to @vivastory :) Sara, Bryan is a whiz at packing... And I almost passed out when I saw what else was included... ❤️
