Why is the necklace worn backwards...
and who is the woman wearing it? The cover of Russian Winter beguiled me, but did not answer the many questions that hammered at my brain as Nina's story unfolded.
I paid diligent attention to the carefully spun-out clues in the novel and was spellbound until the end.
Sometimes we savor a book-read a bit, then put it away until tomorrow so that it may be pondered.
Not so with Russian Winter.
I was swept away and contentedly disconnected from the rest of my life for the hours I spent within its pages.
I reveled in author Daphne Kalotay's use of language.
She juxtaposes present day Boston with post WW II Soviet Union where artists struggle with their private turmoil and fears behind the iron curtain.
Her flashbacks are expertly cast in the present tense.
So much of what is beautiful in this world-ballet, poetry, music, love, creative expression, hope-is intertwined with betrayal, fear, loss, poor health.
Detailed descriptions of the jewelry to be auctioned are uniquely placed between chapter headings.
Kalotay has a way of bringing simple images to life with phrases like "a squadron of hairpins.
" "Dancers must remember everything.
" Retired ballerina Nina Rebskaya, who has defected to the United States and seeks to sell her jewel collection to benefit the Boston ballet, suffers such a fate.
Nina, who visualized the optimum performance of the next step in her choreography as she felt the floor beneath her feet, becomes the retired benefactress, body rigid and wheelchair-bound, tracing the lines of the past in her memories.
The career of a ballerina is ephemeral but the value of a gemstone endures.
Intrigue seduces.
Art is transforming.
Ponder all of this in the captivating novel, Russian Winter.