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My Russian |
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| My Russian by Deirdre McNamer Ballantine Books 278 pages, July 2000 ISBN 0345439511 Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams Under the pretense of vacationing in Greece, Francesca Woodbridge dons a disguise in order to spy on the life she left behind. This life includes a husband recently shot by an intruder, a son at the height of teenaged angst, and a group of pretentious friends and neighbors. Francesca's first person introspection is given in an attempt to see her life through unbiased eyes. The product of her carefully planned spy mission is a walk down memory lane, as Francesca studies not only her life at present, but also the experiences that have shaped her over the years. Among these is a short, though passionate affair with her Russian gardener, who disappeared suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Francesca is desperate to achieve control over the life she sees spinning wildly away from her. It is a vastly intriguing character study, delving into the depths of Francesca Woodbridge and the people she chose to surround her. Unfortunately for the character of Francesca, she has chosen an extravagant, picture-perfect life. Whatever mistakes she made that brought her to that point are minimal and ordinary. The character of Francesca offers little for the average woman to sympathize with. The life she studies from afar is usual in its stresses and heartaches. This theme of ordinariness can easily produce empathy in readers who feel the sometimes emptiness of everyday life. Unsuccessfully, McNamer chose to create the unusual in Francesca's life, taking her spying from introspective searching to a desperate search for the shooter of her husband. The final revelation, meant to be a culmination of Francesca's searches, fell flat and unconvincing. Despite this diversion in the plot, there are many artfully written passages. McNamer does indeed have a gift for description, offering many sultry scenes through the eyes of memory. The most interesting of Francesca's brooding occurs through her memory, coloring each remembrance with the bias of age and time. In this sense, My Russian is successful - in creating the foggy images of life gone by, through the eyes of the person who lived it. Francesca's memories are poignant, enriching and utterly crucial to the incarnation of her self. My Russian offers a fascinating perspective on how each individual views his or her life. The narrator is implicitly an untrustworthy source of her own story, engendering a natural mistrust by the reader of the words she relates. This New York Times Notable Book encourages the reader to ponder and examine Francesca's decisions and mistakes. Through her narration, Francesca is seeking forgiveness or retribution, of which she finds neither. It is highly unsatisfying a read, though this may be the way of the world. |
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