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One Ukrainian Summer

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What to expect

'A memoir that captivates and delights. Fabulous' - Nina Stibbe

Autumn 1993. The former USSR. Viv is about to turn 21 and is on a study year abroad, supposedly immersed in the language, history and politics of a world that has just ceased to exist: the Soviet Union.

Instead, she finds herself immersed in Bogdan Bogdanovich - the lead guitarist of a Ukrainian punk rock band. As the temperature drops, he promises that if she can get through the freezing Russian winter, he will give her "one Ukrainian summer." But is he serious about her? Or is she just another groupie?
At parties, gigs and dive bars, Viv and her new friends argue over whose turn it is to buy cigarettes, the best places to find Levi's jeans and whether beer counts as a soft drink. No-one debates the merits of speaking Ukrainian over Russian, the precise location of the border or the undeniable brightness of the future. Of course good times are here to stay. Because the Soviet Union is finished. Isn't it?
A poignant and often comical account of coming-of-age in the time after the Cold War and before Putin, One Ukrainian Summer is a love letter to a unique moment in history.

ALL AUTHOR EARNINGS FROM THIS BOOK WILL BE DONATED TO PEN INTERNATIONAL

Critics Review

'Levi's, black bread, dumplings and the glorious naivety of youth. A travel memoir that captivates and delights. Fabulous'
Nina Stibbe
'Tender, delicate, romantic and utterly redolent of a singular time and place'
author of Under Another Sky
'Funny, painfully honest and filled with intriguing nuggets, I loved this tender and unique book'
author of Black Sea
'A lovely and modestly scaled memoir ... the charm of the book isn't to be found in Groskop's journey from A to B. Instead it's in the book's openness and lightness of touch ... it is also frequently funny'
The Spectator
'Gorgeous, tender, funny, sharp'
author of How to Be a Heroine
'One Ukrainian Summer evokes the excitement and confusion, the enchantment and disenchantment of a youthful encounter with another culture, another world. It is a beautifully told story of a young woman's coming of age and a personal glimpse at a pivotal moment in modern history, the aftershocks of which reverberate to this day'
Boris Dralyuk, poet and translator
'Passionate, hilarious, joyful'
The Sunday Telegraph on The Anna Karenina Fix
'Delightful'
The Times on The Anna Karenina Fix
'Enchanting'
The Observer on The Anna Karenina Fix
'Ms. Groskop is a skilled raconteuse who brings people--and the page--to life'
The Wall Street Journal on Au Revoir, Tristesse

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