A beautiful dual-culture world where language combines with elegant storytelling to satisfy the exquisite longing for belonging that exile and oppression create, every sentence of this the novella requires slow re-reading. Far from being tedious, it is highly rewarding - like reading a condensed version of Proust.

Aside: although some would say it is too similar to Le Testament Francais, I would be thrilled if every Makine book followed this same formula thematically and prose-wise. ( )

This book is said to be the conclusion of the trilogy ("Dreams of My Russian Summers" and "Requiem for a Lost Empire" being its forerunners) but it can definitely stand on its own too. It might not be as riveting as the other two, but it has certainly moved me as much. One of the things that I admire so much about Andrei Makine's writing style is his meticulous and thorough attention to detail - expressed is such a way as to never be boring; on the contrary, I often find myself rereading this or that line making sure I missed nothing of the elegance of expression and its on-the-dot grasp of the moment. ( )

Jacques Dorme is the remembered lover of Alexandra, a french woman who teaches French to a young orphan emboldened by his encounter with an unnamed general, clearly de Gaulle. Her memories describe life in Stalinst Russia.

Translated from French. World War I story by the author of My Russian Summers--which I liked. I had a harder time getting into this one. Felt slow moving and predictable. ( )