Official Review: I Never Met My Mother by Zhanna Sosensky

[Julehart1]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "I Never Met My Mother" by Zhanna Sosensky.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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I Never Met My Mother is an autobiographical book written by Zhanna Sosensky. Zhanna was born in Moscow in July 1941. The author describes how her mother lost her life under mysterious circumstances while attempting to escape Moscow during the Second World War when Sosensky was just a few months old. Zhanna was raised miles away from Moscow by a village woman. By the time she was five years old, she was living in an orphanage. Sosensky considers her time spent in that orphanage as the happiest of her childhood. She was later found and taken to the home of her abusive father, who made her life unbearable. Her father’s cruelty made Janna run away from home when she was fourteen and find a job at a meat plant. This courageously written memoir sheds light on the way of life in the USSR during the Cold War years and provides numerous other personal experiences from Sosensky’s own difficult journey until the point of her emigration from the Soviet Union to Canada in 1974.

I really enjoyed the way Sosensky engaged the reader to relate and care about her journey. Zhanna was extremely brave and determined while overcoming the many obstacles that she faced in her life. She was very likable, and it was extremely easy to root for her to succeed. Likewise, the writing style of the book was simple and easy to follow. The book had good pacing and flowed together naturally.

Another factor in the book’s favor was that I related to parts of it on a personal level because my family and I also emigrated from the Soviet Union when I was a child. The part about needing to wear school uniforms and girls having both black and white aprons really brought back memories. I also read the parts of the book about the harsh living conditions and difficulties with living under the control of the Communist Party with great interest and some understanding. I was too young when we emigrated, so I have very limited personal knowledge of what life in the Soviet Union was truly like at the time. However, I have heard many similarly frightening stories from my parents and grandparents. Sosensky’s courageous and honest account of the corruption, suppression, and propaganda that existed in the USSR during those years needs to be commended.

The one issue that I had with the book was the fact that the memoir didn’t include what happened after Sosensky and her family emigrated from the Soviet Union. It would have been great to have at least one chapter focus on how Zhanna’s life turned out after her move to Canada.Another thing that could have been slightly improved was the organization of some of the chapters in the autobiography to give them more weight and direction.

I’m rating this book 3 out of 4 stars. I liked that throughout the memoir, Zhanna was shown to be sympathetic, easy to root for, and determined to overcome adversity. I could also relate to parts of the book because of my own personal experience of emigrating from the Soviet Union. Sosensky’s candid description of Soviet life was enlightening and, at times, horrifying. The professional editing of the memoir was a plus as well. I’m taking a star away because the book doesn’t reveal anything about what happened after Janna emigrated, so the memoir feels a bit incomplete until a sequel is written. Some of the chapters could also have been more organized. I would recommend this book to readers who like autobiographies about people who have overcome many obstacles and persevered. People who want to know more about communism and what life was like in the Soviet Union during the Cold War years will also like this book.

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I Never Met My Mother
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Priyanka2304]

The title of the book has a very saddening touch to it. I really enjoyed reading your review of the book. It was amazingly written.

[Sandy16]

Your review was well written and I am interested in reading this book. I am interested in finding out why Sosensky said that the happiest of her time was in the orphanage. I believe that many people have a negative thought about orphanages and this idea intrigued me.

[Siriusly_blank]

Look like a good read ...gonna come back to it soon!!!

[Siriusly_blank]

Look like a good read ...gonna come back to it soon!!!

[Teele]

I Never Met My Mother is an autobiographical book written

Autobiographies have so much to offer. Good job.