My Mother’s Secret
Love is the driving force in Alina Adams’s intimate novel My Mother’s Secret, set in Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union.
A firm believer in communism, Regina dreams of building a socialist Jewish society in Birobidzhan, the designated Jewish Autonomous Region in Siberia. Escaping the state police, Regina arrives in Birobidzhan without permission to relocate. She struggles to survive in Birobidzhan’s inhospitable environment, and her communist convictions begin to crumble.
In the power struggle between local leaders, Regina sides with Aaron and falls in love. Their plans to marry are thwarted when Aaron, who’s accused of anti-Soviet activities, is sent to the front to fight against Nazi Germany. To keep Aaron safe, Regina trains as a nurse and joins him. Their time together is limited, but Regina still becomes pregnant with their daughter, Lena.
Later, Regina locates Aaron in a prisoners’ camp in Poland, where she assists Tommy, an American dentist. Once the war is over, Regina marries Tommy to avoid being sentenced to a gulag for fraternizing with Americans. They move to the United States, and Aaron disappears into the Soviet Union. Decades later, Lena rummages through Tommy’s papers and stumbles upon Aaron’s name. Once again, Regina is forced to make a choice that will change her and Aaron’s lives.
There are anachronistic terms in the book that impede immersion in its narrative, though, as well as problematic descriptions of Jewish characters that emphasize their physiognomy. Still, Regina’s love for Aaron is the driving force of this vibrant story about people navigating their way through the maelstrom of world events. Taking place in a paranoid Soviet world of broken dreams, My Mother’s Secret is an intimate historical novel in which love equals survival.
Reviewed by
Erika Harlitz Kern
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
