Paper Poppies: A Memoir

First published in Russia to critical acclaim, and here presented in a vivid English translation, is a spiritual memoir by a Russian author portraying the journey of her youth as the orphaned child of a Jewish father and an Orthodox mother, both of whom chose Communist atheism. During World War II, her childhood included exile to Siberia, even though her Jewish father was a Soviet scientist. Written in a literary style, Marianna chronicles, in dream-like sequences, her search for truth, a journey of understanding the times, and of spiritual discovery. Vekhova's profound, poignant writing style expresses both the anguish and the wonder of her childhood as well as the mature insights given her beyond her age and circumstances. For readers interested in World War II, Russian and Jewish heritage, Russian ethos, spiritual journeys, triumph over adversity, and a view of the world from a perceptive woman's eyes from her childhood in a Siberian TB Sanatorium until the time she walked into a near-deserted Orthodox Church in Moscow and embraced the mystery of God. Literary allusions in Vekhova's story remind us of the recurring theme in Russian literature of suffering, often as a means of redemption. Paper Poppies shows an example of the suffering of the Russian people and an affirmation that the light of hope has not gone out.