BREAKING STALIN'S NOSE by Eugene Yelchin

Historical Fiction, Soviet Union, Communism, Parents

140 pages

Description

In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs." (Follett)

"Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six:
The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism.
A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to conscience.
A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings.
But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway. And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.

This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and heartbreaking in its plausibility." (Publisher)

My Comments

I was immediately drawn into this spare and chilling story. Sasha's story portrays the trust, fear, and anxiety during the era of Stalin rule. The deep tragedy of shattered lives is communicated through the eyes of a ten year old similar to the innocent perspective of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (2016). I do wish Sasha's character was a few years older to broaden the audience. It would be useful if elementary and middle school students learned something about this time period prior to reading this book for some historical context and deeper appreciation of the story.