A01=River Adams
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
antisemitism
Author_River Adams
automatic-update
ballet
cancer
Category1=Fiction
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=FA
Category=FB
Category=FW
Category=FXP
Category=JFSL1
Category=JFSR1
catholicism
citizenship
COP=United States
Delivery_Pre-order
driver's license
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_philosophy-religion
fast food
immigrant
Language_English
Leningrad
modern dance
PA=Not yet available
Philiadelphia
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Active
Russia
Skulykill
softlaunch
St.Petersburg
Vaganova Ballet School
white nationalism
Product details
- ISBN 9781953002433
- Weight: 294g
- Dimensions: 139 x 209mm
- Publication Date: 24 Oct 2024
- Publisher: Delphinium Books, Inc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Dinah would be dancing lead roles with the famous Kirov ballet, but growing antisemitism threatens her career and her life, forcing her to flee to Philadelphia, which seems like her best chance until she finds out that success in her new homeland is very different than she expected.
Living with her Babby after her parents’ death, 10-year-old Dinah Ash is invited to train at Leningrad’s legendary Vaganova Ballet School. In the world of elite dance, she works hard, falls in love, and weathers the Soviet Union’s ubiquitous antisemitism, but despite an impressive talent, she quickly learns that dancers of her “profile” don’t make prima ballerinas. Love of Leningrad, ballet, friends, family, and books sustain Dinah until history intervenes. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, the rise of perestroika, and a re-emergence of Nazism leave her vulnerable and exposed. Realizing escape is her only option, she applies for refugee status in America. Dinah’s adjustment to life in the US is a test as much of her identity as of her perseverance. Is who she is something Dinah can forge on her own? Or is identity imposed by upbringing, public opinion, and the myths of our cultures? As Dinah struggles with the questions of religion, race, and worth, her choices and the people she encounters will determine whether the dream of a better life can survive the weight of the past.
For readers who enjoy thoughtful and unusual immigration stories like Adiche's Americanah with that special twist of love star-crossed and otherwise.
Living with her Babby after her parents’ death, 10-year-old Dinah Ash is invited to train at Leningrad’s legendary Vaganova Ballet School. In the world of elite dance, she works hard, falls in love, and weathers the Soviet Union’s ubiquitous antisemitism, but despite an impressive talent, she quickly learns that dancers of her “profile” don’t make prima ballerinas. Love of Leningrad, ballet, friends, family, and books sustain Dinah until history intervenes. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, the rise of perestroika, and a re-emergence of Nazism leave her vulnerable and exposed. Realizing escape is her only option, she applies for refugee status in America. Dinah’s adjustment to life in the US is a test as much of her identity as of her perseverance. Is who she is something Dinah can forge on her own? Or is identity imposed by upbringing, public opinion, and the myths of our cultures? As Dinah struggles with the questions of religion, race, and worth, her choices and the people she encounters will determine whether the dream of a better life can survive the weight of the past.
For readers who enjoy thoughtful and unusual immigration stories like Adiche's Americanah with that special twist of love star-crossed and otherwise.
After growing up a concert pianist in late Soviet Russia, River Adams (they/them) came to America as a Jewish refugee. They graduated from Rosemont College and Harvard Divinity School, then returned to Philadelphia to teach religious studies and work as a medical interpreter for Russian-speaking patients. Today, having earned an MFA from Emerson College, they live in Massachusetts. They are the author of many published short stories and essays and a biography of Leonard Swidler, There Must Be YOU (2014). The Light of Seven Days is their debut novel.
