MY GRANDMOTHERS BRAID by Alina Bronsky

4.5

Europa publishing

ARC

Now available

About

Sharp and tender at once, a humourous take on family dysfunction and human weakness seen through a young boy’s eyes.

Max lives with his grandparents in a residential home for refugees in Germany. When his grandmother—a terrifying, stubborn matriarch and a former Russian primadonna—moved them from the Motherland it was in search of a better life. But she is not at all pleased with how things are run in Germany.

His grandmother has been telling Max that he is an incompetent, clueless weakling since he was a child. While he may be dolt in his grandmother's eyes, Max is bright enough to notice that his stoic and taciturn grandfather has fallen hopelessly in love with their neighbour, Nina. When a child is born to Nina that is the spitting image of Max’s grandfather, things come to a hilarious if dramatic head. Everybody will have to learn to defend themselves from Max’s all-powerful grandmother.

My take

Just finished my third novel by  Alina Bronsky, a five star read for me.

Her novels might be an acquired taste, perhaps not for everyone. Women are strong protagonists who do not shy away from expressing themselves, often without censor but always hiding a generous heart.

We meet grandmother, a refugee from Russia accompanied by her husband "Tschingis" referred as grandfather and, "Maxi" their grandson.

Soon life takes many turns more or less successfully until we meet "Nina" and, "Vera", her daughter.

Such begins life for our Russian emigrants