One More Year

Sana Krasikov

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

The protagonists of Sana Krasikova's indelible stories are mostly women - some of them are new to America; some still live in the former Soviet Union, in Georgia or Russia; and some have returned to Russia to find a country they barely recognize and people they no longer understand. Mothers leave children behind; children abandon their parents. Almost all of them look to love to repair their lives, and when love isn't really there, they attempt to make do with a paler, lighter imitation of it, with substitutes for love.

'Krasikov's powers of observation are acute, and always aligned with the dramatic aims of the stories.'

'An exciting debut from an outstanding new writer.'

Review by Ben Macnair (280210) Rating (8/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Rating 8/10
The characters in Sana Krasikov’s short stories in One More Year are all looking for something, in between something. They may be between relationships, between stages in life, or even between countries. It is of people looking for a new life, or a new identity, both literal and metaphorical, but know the cost of what they are leaving behind.

We have parents who are seeking new connections with their children, or children wanting to get away from their families.

Companion sees Illona looking for a new love in America, but only meeting fellow Russians, and realising that for all of its promises, America only delivers in her mind. In Maia in Yonkers, Maia is settling into life in New York, whilst her family are initially impressed and excited, and then bored by her new life, and who she lives.

Better Half examines the life of two young, newly weds and how their reality does not live up to their expectations of life, whilst There will be no Fourth Rome sees Larisa considering her life as a new mother.

The tales are all subtly drawn, with dialogue that is both quality literature, but also real. The book looks at compromise, and how changing relationships is like changing countries, an act of emigration itself. These stories all tell stories of lives in flux, changing. They are little vignettes of existence, very well drawn and written, with characters and situations that have a wide appeal. This is Sana Krasikov’s first book, and promises much for her future.
Ben Macnair (28th February 2010)