Panoramic in scope, Away is the epic and intimate story of young Lillian Leyb, a dangerous innocent, an accidental heroine. When her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom, Lillian comes to America alone, determined to make her way in a new land. When word comes that her daughter, Sophie, might still be alive, Lillian embarks on an odyssey that takes her from the world of the Yiddish theater on New York's Lower East Side, to Seattle's Jazz District, and up to Alaska, along the fabled Telegraph Trail toward Siberia. All of the qualities readers love in Amy Bloom's work-her humor and wit, her elegant and irreverent language, her unflinching understanding of passion and the human heart-come together in the embrace of this brilliant novel, which is at once heartbreaking, romantic, and completely unforgettable. From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
vulgar and disgusting:
I was very disgusted with this book. It was the first book I read by Amy Bloom and it will be the last. My book club picked this book as our book for November from a Book club companion guide we receive from Random House readers circle. Everything they had to say about the book made it seem like a good choice, but one thing you don't know about a book until you start to read it is the language, tone, and sexuality of the book. I think this book was written using very vulgar language and describing sexually... more info
READ THIS BOOK!:
I LOVED this book. I picked it up at the airport before a long flight because...wait for it...I liked the cover. I was transported. It is unlike any book I have ever read, and I've read a few. It was spare and neat, and yet at the same time, beautifully and heartbreakingly descriptive. I loved that every time you thought you had it figured out, and knew what was going to happen next, you were surprised. It was a revelation!
I wanted to like this story but couldn't.:
I started out liking the story of poor immigrant Lillian Leyb who beats out her friend for a seamstress job at the theater. She does what she must do to survive in a new country living in poverty. As it went on though, it became more and more unbelievable. This book is written in a very unusual style for historical fiction. I think that may have been the reason I found the story disjointed and difficult to follow. There are plenty of robust and colorful characters to hold your interest. But their... more info
Pleasure to read:
I read this book in a day and a half. Ms. Bloom's writing style is very good and she is excellent at creating memorable images. The book is also fairly well researched and tells a lot of history without lecturing. The main character is a very likeable Jewish girl (not Russian for G-d's sakes! Wake up reviewers: lovely Russians hacked to death her entire family). Thanks to Lilian's adventures, the reader gets to see the country in the 1920s through her eyes: all the way from Manhattan to Alaska. Besides... more info
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