Rachel BarenbaumCritiques

DNF

The personal completes with science and disaster in this novel. Anna Berkova is a talented Soviet scientist, whose work helped the Soviets built both atomic weapons and nuclear reactors. Then, when Chernobyl explodes, she accidentally time-travels for the first time - a consequence of nuclear explosion that she's been working towards for decades. But when Anna time-travels, she discovers the family she's cut herself off from is in danger. As Anna travels across time to save her family and correct mistakes, she struggles to find a way to save them and to prevent the Chernobyl disaster, ultimately realizing she can't do both. An interesting and enjoyable read, even if I found the conclusion slightly jarring.

In 1914 Russia, siblings Miri, a doctor, and Vanya, a scientist, are living with their grandmother, a Jewish matchmaker. The Great War is just beginning. Vanya is competing with Einstein to prove the theory of relativity. He embarks on a jury with Miri’s fiancé, Yuri, to meet an American, take photos of an eclipse, and arrange passage for their family to America. Miri travels with a soldier, to find Vanya and Yuri. The novel follows each journey through the vast terrain of Russian landscapes, cities, and towns. It is a story of ambition, love, science, prejudice, and resilience.

The book is structured around the Jewish calendar, which fits with the themes of cosmic phenomena, time, and being Jewish in czarist Russia. I enjoyed the historic setting and complexity in the narrative. There is one major plot issue toward the end that bothered me, but overall a successful debut. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Russia, 1914. Miri Abramov and her brother Vanya have been raised by their grandmother after their parents' death years before. There is unrest in the country and the Jewish communities are especially at risk. Miri Abramov is now one of few female surgeons, while Vanya is a physicist who dreams of solving the final puzzle concerning Einstein's theory of relativity. Now an eclipse is coming and this could be the answer to solving the puzzle. However, with Russia at war, it is unsure if Vanya will be able to take the photographs he needs to confirm his theory. But, he will not give up and together with Miri's fiance he sneaks away from the army in hopes of taking photographs of the eclipse...

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. Barenbaum’s latest novel is a “One Book, One Hadassah” pick for the month of June. This hard to put down time-travel story follows three generations of Jewish women as they attempt to prevent the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It grapples with themes of love and responsibility and the bonds between mother and daughters. The New York Times Book Review calls it “masterfully plotted”.

A vast and complex novel covering three generations of women culminating in their goal of stopping the Chernobyl meltdown thus saving many people. Anna is a Russian scientist that is a key player in their countries' nuclear research. She also develops a working time machine.Her daughter Molly writes a comic strip based on her mom's adventures. Raisa is Anne's granddaughter who has the mathematical savvy to help Anna stop the meltdown.The novel is thought provoking but is confusing at times with the constant time and location shifts.

Book Review….. Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum

Three brilliant women.

1986
When Chernobyl’s reactor melts down, Anna Berkova, renowned nuclear scientist is thrown back in time. She lands in 1992 to her estranged daughter Molly shot in the chest. Molly begs her to go back in time to prevent the disaster and to save Molly's daughter Raisa, and put their family on a better path.

60s Philadelphia
Molly is coming of age as an adopted refusenik. Her family is full of secrets and a past they won’t share. With dreams of being an artist she finds peace in comic books and drawing her own comic Atomic Anna. When she meets. But when she meets the charming Viktor their romance will change the course of her whole life!

Two life-changing mistakes.

80s
Raisa, is a lonely teen and math prodigy, until a handsome boy moves in across the street and a woman shows up saying she is her grandmother. When Raisa finds issues of Atomic Anna, she notices each comic has an equation that leads to one impossible conclusion: time travel. And she finally understands what she has to do.

One chance to reset the future.

Atomic Anna is a fantasy and science fiction with a twist! It's based on the Chernobyl disaster. That was one of the reasons I was drawn to this book. I can't remember reading sci-fi that was based on a real life event. Obviously it's told from multiple points of view and timelines so there is a lot going on but the author brings all the layers together nicely. The main characters are very realistic. They have their flaws, emotions and personalities making it easy to like them. The book offers up a few genres coming of age, sci-fi historical fiction and thriller so it can appeal to a lot of different readers. But in the end it is about family and friendship bonds and sacrifice and redemption!

Thank you Grand Central Pub and Rachel Barenbaum for sharing this book with me!

This book had a great start - a new aspect to the story of Einstein's Theory of Relativity set in 1914 Russia - but I lost some of my interest in the story and I slogged my way to the finish. The bones of the plot are good - I really liked the characters, but I never felt compelled to read on the way I do with my favorite books. I also was disheartened by a certain character's death, but this was a decent book overall, just not one of my favorites.

A new voice in historical fiction, Rachel Barenbaum has chosen Russia in 1914 -- at the outset of WWI. The basic plot is two-fold: scientist Vanya's efforts to complete Einstein's theory of relativity so the family can move to America. He needs to complete the complex math and get a picture of a forthcoming solar eclipse (proving that light bends.) He is being chased by a Russian scientist trying to steal credit for his work. Meanwhile, his sister Miri is a rare gem, a woman surgeon, whose surgeon fiancé (Yuri) agrees to join the military for her promotion. Vanya and Yuri head to the eclipse while Miri saves the life of a soldier, Sasha, who himself is a complicated character, with skeletons in his closet. They head off to meet Vanya and Yuri at the eclipse. A compelling mix of history, science, the plight of Russian Jews plus a complicated love triangle, with treachery, friendship and love, and profit.

This novel about the start of WWI in Russia with the German, was so good! I felt like I was holding my breath the whole time. In the midst of war breaking out; Miri, her brother Vanya, and fiancé Yuri have to make some quick life altering decisions while on the fly. Vanya is racing time and Einstein to prove a theory, Miri has just become one of the first female surgeons, and Yuri has been the only one to believe in Miri’s abilities as a surgeon.

But being Jewish has put targets on their backs and they are now fearing their lives. Vanya also has those he thought he could trust after him, for his work. This would not be the first time that others have taken his work, and produced it as their own, now knowing he can trust no one- and that the only way to figure out and prove relativity is to use the upcoming eclipse to prove everything. But in Russia eclipses are believed to be bad, and are often feared.

Their grandmother, who they live with knows the signs all too well and the only option is to leave. They must escape and find a way to America. Vanya knows that if they can just wait until the eclipse happens, this will solve the problem and they will then have guaranteed passage to America, by the one university. They just need to find a way to stay safe and not raise suspicion until he can get his data.

But war does not wait, neither does time and soon they all must flee for their lives. With the help of an injured soldier, Miri and this “cousin” are on their own, their grandmother has made it to her sisters house where she will await the rest of them, and Vanya and Yuri have also gone off together. So many things are at stake, but they must live today and worry about tomorrow as it comes, as the future is so uncertain.

This was such a good novel! It tells the story from the various characters and it is amazing what these people endured. Based on a true story, I learned a lot about Russia during WWI and the a tid-bit about relativity and time and space being used to prove this. I would recommend this to any one who loves reading historical fiction.

Digital audiobook performed by Thérèse Plummer and Eduardo Bellarini

From the book jacket: In Russia in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms the czar’s army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision. Since their parents drowned, they’ve been raised by their babushka, who taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, kill if necessary, and always have an escape plan. Now, with Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia’s only female surgeons, and Vanya close to solving the puzzle of Einstein’s elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much?

My reactions:
This was an ambitious debut, and Barenbaum did a reasonably good job of painting the picture of a country divided by political upheaval and on the brink of war. But I think she bit off more than she could chew. There are so many subplots here … a romance or two, an escape from danger (or three), Vanya’s efforts to test his theory based on the solar eclipse, Miri’s efforts to be recognized as the surgeon she wants to be. They are chased from one end of Russia to another, riding trains and carts and living by their wits (and occasional muscle). They hide in filthy holes, and in “plain sight.” They are separated, reunited and separated again. I ached for some peace for them and for me as a reader.

The audio version is expertly performed by two very talented voice artists: Thérèse Plummer and Eduardo Bellarini. They really brought these characters to life and made me feel I was involved in the intrigue.

I think Kate Quinn may have ruined me for historical fiction, because this is the third book in the genre I’ve picked up this year and they’ve all kind of been disappointments. And this one even got positive comparisons to The Alice Network on the cover, so it had me excited.

First off, apologies for the slightly odd summary. I decided to go for teasing the mood and themes than the plot because the plot’s hard to summarize without giving too much away. (Basically, though, Vanya’s trying to beat Einstein to the relativity equations, because he can use them to save his family, but he’s got to cross Russia to do that, and his sister Miri, a surgeon, has to deal with life without him but ends up on a cross-country journey of her own.) It’s a story full of high emotion of all kinds—except that I never quite felt it. Not when homes get raided, not when they reach destinations, not when they succeed or fail in their goals.

I liked the setting, though. Russia in 1914 isn’t something I’ve read before, and the trend in historical fiction right now seems to be for World War II, so it was interesting to read something different. Barenbaum captures the sense of it well, I think—winter forests, rotting fields, Jewish slums, war in the distance—and has done enough research to make it all seem believable and to round out her protagonists. I liked that there were so many central Jewish characters too and that their Jewishness is central to the story, same with Vanya’s and Miri’s professions of physicist and surgeon. They’re properly courageous too, and survivors, and familiar and relatable despite the historical gap.

At the same time, if you’re looking for a book steeped in Jewish faith and culture, this isn’t it. This is “people being heroic in wartime while also being Jewish” more than “Jewish people being heroic in wartime”, if that makes sense. You’re not going to find a lot of stereotypes or typical jobs in the main cast either, and even the matchmaker grandmother is shown as a community leader and a pogrom survivor instead of the local busybody. I get the sense that Barenbaum’s bringing known figures or events to life instead of writing a book about Jewish people, and I liked that.

I also liked that I learned things! I didn’t know about the Jewish hospitals, for instance, and there’s stuff about trains and physics and the army too. It’s an interesting window into and realization of history, and you do get a sense of the fear and oppression and beauty and hope of Russia even before the war starts.

Unfortunately, like I said, I found writing a little less evocative than I’d hoped, so I ended up not connecting the characters much, and I found myself not caring so much about whether they succeeded, failed, or got reunited. Even the scenery There’s also a motif of superstition vs. science, which I wish had been taken a little further, and I had my usual problem with the frame story, which is that I generally don’t care for them.

In the end, this was interesting enough to hold my attention, but barely, and I’m not sure I’ll pick up another book of Barenbaum’s. Let’s hope my next historical read turns out to be more my speed.

To bear in mind: The characters face antisemitism, though it’s usually matter-of-fact, not violent, and something they’re just aware of and living with. There is also violence, including attempted sexual violence, misogyny, and war-created food shortages.

6.5/10½

This is a fast-paced historical drama set in Russia at the outbreak of World War I. Miri Abramov is the first female doctor in her town; her brother, Vanya, is a talented physicist researching relativity, and his research and corresponding status as a "useful" member of the Jewish community affords their family a fragile stability on the eve of the war. But as the war steadily approaches, tensions and stakes rise, and in an attempt to fulfill the loftiest of his scientific aims, Vanya disappears at the war's beginning along with Miri's fiancé. Miri's attempt to locate them sets off a tale of science and history that unfolds across the dramatic landscape of imperial Russia.

This was remarkably well-researched, and Russia truly seemed to come alive in this book. It's quite plot-driven, and it's a very compelling story to read. I will say that, for me, my enjoyment of the book increased in the second half of the book. Through the first half, I was fairly lukewarm about the book, but the story was much more enjoyable for me in the second half. This might be due, at least in part, to the fact that my favorite character in the book was Miri without a doubt, and the second half of the book saw more focus on her.

Set in Russia before the outbreak of WW I, this follows the lives of a Jewish family who are trying to escape the prejudice and violence inflicted on Russian Jews. Miri is a female surgeon and her brother Vanya is a physicist. They've placed their hopes on escaping Russia through Vanya's work on finding the flaw with Einstein's theory of relativity. Vanya, brilliant in math feels that he is close to figuring this out, but needs to prove his theory with photos of the total solar eclipse, scheduled to occur over Russia in 1914. The result is a story that is richly descriptive of tsarist Russia with a page turning plot.

I thought the writing was simplistic and the story too melodramatic for historical fiction.

This novel takes place in Russia during World War 1. The main character Miri and her brother Vanya are Jewish during a bad time for them. Her brother is a scientist who is trying to beat Einstein in his relativity studies. To do this her brother and fiance go on a journey to photograph an eclipse to prove his data. They separate and agree to meet up later and flee Russia and go to America as things are getting really bad for Jews under the Czar. The theme for the fiance is when the cats away the mice will play. Wink. Wink.

A BEND IN THE STARS by Rachel Barenbaum
Relativity and Russia star in this detailed novel of science and politics. Siblings Vanya (male, older, trying to prove Einstein’s Theory of Relativity) and Miri (female, a surgeon in a man’s field, following her deserter fiancée) flee across Russia trying to stay alive long enough to prove Vanya’s theory by photographing a solar eclipse as World War I begins.
You do NOT need to understand the Theory of Relativity to enjoy this epic novel while meandering through Russia. A triangular love story ensues when Miri saves a Jewish mystery man who then falls in love with her. The story is really the love story and the chase for a photo of the eclipsed sun all while being chased by a murderous villain.
The details are all there. The science is understandable, the characters are likeable (or detestable), the country is unmanageable, the climax is heart pounding. An enjoyable, if lengthy, read.
4 of 5 stars

. Barenbaum has given us a sweeping epic steeped in the history of Czarist Russia, from its poverty-ridden shtels to its scientific intrigue that pits dark ambition against a passionate love of science. With the eclipse of 1914 as both backdrop and main event, Barenbaum’s characters demonstrate resilience in the face of prejudice and the ability to love even when the world is filled with hate. This heart-pounding journey across WWI era Russia about a brilliant young scientist racing against Einstein to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the universe is not to be missed!

A good historical fiction book, albeit a bit long. I'm always on the lookout for historical novels that don't take place in WWII. A Bend in the Stars fits that bill. Taking place in 1914, we follow Miri as she tries to find her brother and fiance all the while dealing with the start of WWI.

For a book of historical fiction this reads like a rollicking adventure story. Set in Russia on the cusp of the first World War, the story surrounds a Jewish family and their difficulties living in Russia, the scientific ambitions of the protagonist's brother, the race to figure out the truth about the general theory of relativity, and the race to save the family as they battle Russian officers, ambitious scientists, and myriad other characters who play a part in their story. It's really an edge-of-your-seat adventure, married with a love triangle and historical story. It'll keep you turning the pages.