Tina's Review: One More Year

written by Sana Krasikov

This is a book of short stories. I found it most incredible how well I, as the reader, was able to get to know and understand the characters in each of them in such a short length of time. The writer masterfully reveals characteristics in the fewest possible words. I found the stories held my attention quite well, making me want to keep reading.

Unfortunately, they didn't make me feel ... happy, but rather depressed. This was somewhat disappointing. I get the impression from the sadness in these stories that the writer, too, has had a sad and painful life or seen pain in other people's lives. I'm not saying I don't ever like reading sad stories. In fact, after a bad day, reading about something sad can help me feel I'm not the only one; someone else out there understands. But when books and movies are an escape from reality, especially necessary when life and reality become difficult or painful, I look for something uplifting. This book would not provide that. Nor are the stories like anything I could relate to. Each involves an immigrant struggling or having struggled to succeed.

Having said that, these stories reveal a very real truth about the difficulty immigrants face. They make the decision to leave their home country, generally a 3rd world nation, often leaving loved ones behind, in hopes of finding success and a better future. It is only in learning of the many people experiencing these hardships that we become more sympathetic to others and learn to appreciate how fortunate we are to have been born, raised and lived in a country so many dream to immigrate to. It is their hopes and dreams that drive them to continue despite all the trials and odds against their success.