This is a story as much about longing for food as it is enjoying it. Growing up in the '60s and '70s in Soviet Russia before emigrating to Philadelphia, Bremzen learned about hunger and desire, not unlike her mother Larisa who longed for truly Russian foods she’d only known from books. Most endearing is that, once settled in Philadelphia, Bremzen and Larisa decide to eat and cook their way through each decade of the Soviet experience, turning Mama Larisa’s kitchen into “a time machine and an incubator of memories.” Sometimes the Russian terms are confusing, but for the most part this is a poignant depiction of politics, culture, food, and family written in a sardonic and smart style that leaves you longing for more. Kathleen Gati’s Eastern European accent sounds authentic to untrained ears, though sometimes she lays it on a little thick. Grade: A-
(Read by Kathleen Gati, Books on Tape Library Edition; 10 CDs, 12.5 hours)
