Natasha and Other Stories
CBC Books | | Posted: February 17, 2017 7:55 PM | Last Updated: April 15, 2019
David Bezmozgis
This collection of sharply observed, linked short stories chronicles the experience of the Bermans, a family of Russian Jews struggling to adapt to a new life in suburban Toronto. Learning a new language and getting used to different customs prove a challenge for Mark and his parents, Roman and Bella. Both heartfelt and wryly humorous, Natasha and Other Stories offers a memorable take on the immigrant story.
Natasha and Other Stories was a finalist for Canada Reads 2007, when it was defended by Steven Page.
From the book
Goldfinch was flapping clotheslines, a tenement delirious with striving. 6030 Bathurst: insomniac scheming Odessa. Cedarcroft: reeking borscht in the hallways. My parents, Baltic aristocrats, took an apartment at 715 Finch fronting a ravine and across from an elementary school — one respectable block away from the Russian swarm. We lived on the fifth floor, my cousin, aunt, and uncle directly below us on the fourth. Except for the Nahumovskys, a couple in their fifties, there were no other Russians in the building. For this privilege, my parents paid twenty extra dollars a month in rent.
From Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis ©2004. Published by HarperCollins Canada.