In this account of two decades in the life of an immigrant household, the fall o
f communism and the rise of globalization are artfully reflected in the experien
ce of a single family. Ironies, subtle and glaring, are revealed: the Nasmertovs
left Odessa for Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with a huge sense of finality, only t
o find that the divide between the old world and the new is not nearly as clear-
cut as they thought. The dissolution of the Soviet Union makes returning just a
matter of a plane ticket, and the Russian-owned shops in their adopted neighborh
ood stock even the most obscure comforts of home. Pursuing the American Dream on
ce meant giving up everything, but does the dream still work if the past is alwa
ys within reach?
