A bend in the stars by Rachel Rosenbaum

 Name of Book: A Bend in the Stars

Author: Rachel Barenbaum

ISBN: 978-1-5387-4628-8

Publisher:

Type of book: 2000, 1914, science, eclipse, Russia, Latvia Riga, trains, army, desertion, Judaism, medicine, music, stars, equation, race, Einstein, war, love triangle, choices, secrets 

Year it was published: 2019

Summary:

All the Light We Cannot See meets The Nightingale in this literary WWI-era novel and epic love story of a brilliant young doctor who races against Einstein to solve one of the universe's great mysteries.

In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and 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 fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs: to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan. But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much?

Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both. As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance.

Grounded in real history -- and inspired by the solar eclipse of 1914 -- A Bend in the Stars offers a heart-stopping account of modern science's greatest race amidst the chaos of World War I, and a love story as epic as the railways crossing Russia.

Characters:

Main characters include Miriam aka Miri aka Mirele a talented woman surgeon who desires to work and who follows an unconventional life. She is strong, protective, resourceful and devoted to her family. Vanya is her older brother, a rock among the turbulent sea who is way too much about science. He desires to protect and make life better for his grandmother and sister. Baba is heir grandmother who survived a pogrom and has taught her grandchildren a lot of survival skills. She is intelligent, scheming, and strong. Yuri is Miriams fiance who is a doctor but who also has a number of secrets that he wants to keep secret. He is devoted to Miriam and will do whatever he can for her. Sasha is a deserter from an army who also desires to protect Miriam and even accompanies her to find her brother. Like Yuri he has a lot of secrets as well and has a strong attraction towards Miri. Dima is a resourceful sailor who often thinks more of money but as he spends time with Vanya and Yuri the more he changes.   

Theme:

I can't help but tie the theme to the Russian fairytale of a boy named Ivanushka ( diminutive or nickname for Ivan as well as Vanya) drinking from pond and becoming a goat. Perhaps it says a lot about selfishness and how it can lead to different paths than planned. 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Miriams, Vanyas, and few times Dimas and Yuris points of view. The story begins in 2000 but then jumps back to 1914 where we meet the devoted and indomitable Abramov family of a grandmother and her two grandchildren: Miriam aka Miri and Ivan aka Vanya. The story then takes place over the next five months, from summer to almost winter as we travel on trains and witness various aggressions that Jews had to endure living in pre Soviet Russia. Was I a stranger to them? I lived there for only eight years, but did take history and from stories and family history I knew, it didn't surprise me but made me sad. I was surprised that Judaism played such an important part of life for the Abramov family. I grew up during Soviet Union times when my culture was being erased and only a word was left: Jew. History, traditions and culture became dead to my family. For Americans it will be a shocking journey. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Rachel's debut novel is A Bend In The Stars. It has been named a New York Times Summer Reading Selection and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. It is also a Boston Globe Bestseller. Rachel is a prolific writer and reviewer whose work has appeared in the LA Review of Books, the Tel Aviv Review of Books, LitHub, and DeadDarlings. She has been an Honorary Research Associate at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University and is a graduate of GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator. She is also the founder of Debut Spotlight and the Debut Editor at A Mighty Blaze. In a former life she was a hedge fund manager and a spin instructor. She has degrees from Harvard in Business and Literature and Philosophy.

Opinion:

I have heard of this book in 2018 or 2019, but I regret that it took me about three years to decide to read it. It's certainly three years too late. Despite some small issues I have had with the story, the  author is a truly born storyteller and she certainly made the science in her novel intriguing. I definitely learned a lot about eclipse as well as history from the book. Some other things that I loved was the strength of familial relationships over romantic love, and of the strength of main character's grandmother and her dominance. So one issue that I had in the story is the name Ivan. Jews from Russia, unless they might have converted to christianity, don't name their sons Ivan/Vanya because it's a purely Russian name. I also wonder if perhaps he is named Vanya was for the Russian fairytale of a boy not listening to his sister and drinking from water and turning into a goat? In other words, selfishness can cause consequences?  

This was given for review 

5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)