Away: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

I had never read this author before but through a special promotion I received an advance copy of this novel (this did not influence my feelings for the book, but I do think it should be fully disclosed). This is an extraordinary story of a young woman who comes to America from Russia after her family is destroyed. Young Lillian Leyb arrives in 1920's New York City and is taken in by a famous impresario and his movie star son. Lillian however, gets news about her daughter Sophie. This chain of events sends Lillian on a trip across America all the way to Alaska! Lillian's pluck and guile serve her well in this odyssey, of which Bloom paints a surprising picture of 1920's America. I won't ruin the story but the plot is epic and the characters jump to life, especially Lillian who is one of my favorite female literary characters.

If your idea of a good novel is one that has a highly moral and talented protagonist who overcomes all obstacles to find the love and satisfaction sought and deserved, you'll be deeply disappointed with Away. Amy Bloom portrays a different kind of world, one in which great loss may simply lead to a mere desire to survive . . . beyond any sense of moral limits. There's little to appeal to those who like to read romantic novels in this book, even though it is about how love influences us. As my librarian friend warned me when I checked the book out, this is a dark novel.

Away is a book that challenges readers to leave their sense of settled, safe lives to examine what would happen if survival was a major challenge, whether from neighbors, friends, enemies, strangers, wild animals, or the elements. That leap will be difficult to make for most because Ms. Bloom favors showing what characters do rather than exploring how they think or what they are thinking. I found myself slow to step into the protagonist's shoes for that reason.

Lillian Leyb is an ordinary young Jewish mother in Russia, aged twenty-two, when frenzied neighbors invade her home and begin murdering everyone. Feeling that she is a sole survivor, Lillian leaves for America hoping to escape there with her life. The horrifying experience strips her of any desire other than doing what it takes to survive. Nightmares about that experience haunt her nights and linger into daytime. She proves to be a gifted survivor, tutored in the exigencies of doing whatever it takes. She learns a little English, how to sew, and how to apply for a job where the owners may be more interested in what the women look like than how they sew. As a result, she soon escapes from sharing a bed with another underfed woman into sharing a bed for a father and son who find her sexual charms to be valuable to them, one for physical purposes and the other for appearances. Life seems peaceful and settled when she learns that her daughter survived the attack . . . and is somewhere in Siberia. How will she save her daughter?

From that moment on, the power of maternal love overcomes the desire to merely survive. Lillian follows an astonishing route across North America towards Siberia that causes her to ally herself with others skilled in survival. The book moves into being an adventure story that displays the demi-monde of America and Canada in the early 20th century. It is almost like combining two books. Through her suffering Lillian comes to develop a moral sense again as she becomes confident in her ability to survive and views those who may not with increasing pity and kindness.

Those who enjoy reading about psychological healing will probably find Away to be an interesting variation on how such novels are usually written. I was impressed with the detailed research that must have gone into writing a story based so much on what the artful dodgers are doing.

But there's no great epiphany here, more like a slow melting away of guilt and ties to the past. Perhaps that is how many people heal. Those who are feeling great pain about family tragedies will probably find solace in this book's message that one must move on.

Ms. Bloom is a talented writer, a wonderful story teller, and a person who wants to challenge the reader to think and feel differently. I think she'll succeed in affecting you . . . if you can get past your false expectations for what this book is like.

I found the book's main weakness to be in the opening where the action moved faster than my ability to step into Lillian's mind and life. Also, Lillian's amoral approach didn't quite sink in right away either. As a result, I felt like I was suspended above the action for quite a long time, which is another way of saying that the book didn't affect me very much at first. The book's other weakness is that the problems that Lillian experiences in the trip across North America are overdone, some might say that part of the story is over the top.

Ever since reading Come to Me: Stories, one of the finest short story collections I have ever come upon. This is her best piece since then. This is a story of amazing breadth and depth. Bloom takes both Lillian and the reader on an incredible journey. With few words, she creates characters who come alive on the page, and prose so extraordinary, that some passages practically burn their way into your mind. Her psychological sophistication is what makes it all come together in such a powerful and beautiful way. I could not recommend a book more highly!!! I would also recommend, if you missed reading TINO GEORGIOU'S masterpiece--THE FATES, go and read it. With fascinating and brilliantly created characters in `THE FATES' coupled with two intertwining plots makes for a completely enjoyable and page-turning read.