An elderly Russian ballerina who defected to the west decides to put her jewels on auction. She thinks to put her demons to rest, but instead, the repercussions bring her past vividly alive.A professor, adopted as an infant, inherited an amber necklace from his true birth parents. He once approached the ballerina, knowing it was similar to a set among her jewels. She forcefully turned him away. News of the auction, while he's still recovering from his wife's death, convinces him to try again to find out more about his origins.A young woman with the auction company is researching all the jewels, to provide color and history of the jewels to entice bidders. She becomes an accomplice in chasing down the provenance of the amber set and his necklace.This is a lovely read, made more enjoyable by the descriptions of the ballerina's jewels before different chapters. I remained engrossed as sections seamlessly went back and forth between the past and present.Good read. This was an interesting book but I was disappointed in the lack of dance. It was more about their lives outside of the theater - interesting but not what I expected. That said, I believed the portrait of a dancer who was willing to walk away when she could, even though it meant leaving her love behind. The secondary story was ok. But the picture it painted of life under Stalin seemed real to me. A nice read.
Do You like book Russian Winter (2010)?
This is a wonderful story based in Russia about a ballerina, her life, and her final escape.
—kenny
jedna od onih koje se pročitaju u dahu...
—Destiny
