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The Invention Of Exile: A Novel (2014)

by Vanessa Manko(Favorite Author)

3.23 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1594205884 (ISBN13: 9781594205880)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Penguin Press HC, The

review 1: Government policies kept a Russian immigrant, Ustin Voronkov, whose name was changed at Ellis Island to Austin, from living with his American wife, Julia. Although he was non-political, having a background in engineering, he had taken a proletarian job at a factory and frequented a Russian-emigree social club. However, when the U.S. government instituted the anticommunist Palmer Raids, Austin erred while being interrogated and confessed to being an anarchist and thus was deported,along with his wife who refused to be separated from him and in doing so gave up her U.S. citizenship. Their hardships in the Soviet Union did not diminish their love for one another and the two of them subsequently moved to France, and then to Mexico, with the three children born to them. The fam... moreily of five repeatedly applies for American visas but after many attempts, only the children and Julia are granted the same. Austin thought that in a short period of time he, too, would get a visa but that did not happen and he made a hard living repairing small appliances, such as clocks and radios while sending industrial designs to the U.S. Patent Office. A U.S. government official, "Jack" torments Austin by asking who his "contacts" are, "what "subversive" activities he is engaged in, etc. Austin has some letter contact with his American children, who eventually meet him in Mexico City, where they try to help him at the U.S. consulate to obtain a visa as he does not want to cross the boarder into the U.S. illegally.
review 2: This is one of those books you think about long after it's read. It's the story of a Russian family, torn apart when the husband is labeled an anarchist in 1920, and exiled to Mexico, while his wife and children remain in the United States. He has opportunities to leave the country ( illegally) but refuses, until he can apply and be an American Citizen. Years pass, his children grow up, while he languishes in Mexico, waiting in the shadows for redemption. This extraordinary novel is a first for this author who has brilliant writing skills. less

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