Ninochka : a novel / Svetlana Boym.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boym, Svetlana, 1959-

Series:

SUNY series, the margins of literature.

SUNY series, the margins of literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women detectives--France--Fiction.

Women detectives.

Americans--Russia (Federation)--Fiction.

Americans.

Americans--France--Fiction.

Russians--France--Fiction.

Russians.

Russian Americans--Fiction.

Russian Americans.

Women immigrants--Fiction.

Women immigrants.

Conspiracies--Fiction.

Conspiracies.

Russia (Federation)--Fiction.

Russia (Federation).

Paris (France)--Fiction.

Paris (France).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A Russian émigré living in New York travels to Paris to try to reconstruct the secret life of another Russian woman who was murdered there on the eve of World War II.

Contents:

In which the murder takes place

In which you catch a glimpse of my green card and sample immigrant crêpes

In which I try to examine Nina's diary but speak with the strangers instead

In which we observe emigres on the beach and learn everything we need to know about potential murder suspects

In which we revisit Nina's childhood and play hide-and-seek in the summer gardens

In which the detective gets unexpected mail

In which we finally learn about the men in Nina's life and meet "the Eurasian genius"

In which we attend the Eurasian tea party and lose all respect for Attila the Hun

Which might make you blush

In which we learn about the "other woman" and read the Manifesto of the Kinipeople

In which we all go to a Hungarian party and learn about Soviet missile launchers

In which I finally see Ninotchka and wonder about the consequences

In which I spend some time in the Bibliotheque Nationale and stumble upon a conspiracy theory ciphered in the script of Ninotchka

A digression on common fears and on the importance of dusting, preferably with a wet rag

In which the best part happens behind the scenes, so the anxious reader can just skip this chapter altogether

Hardly a chapter at all, a couple of loose pages from my computer diary

Which tells you how to cure a common cold with roasted salt and potato steam and how to remove stains on your red Pioneer tie

In which the detective misbehaves in the movie theater while watching a film with Gerard Depardieu

In which we finally meet Nina's last lover Lionel, learn of his desire to become a great American writer and read his sketch about Russian roulette

Which tells you what to do when you run into your lover's wife in the supermarket

In which we learn how Ninotchka was conceived and what made Greta Garbo laugh

In which a mysterious character from the third row packs his bags and makes a confession

Up in the air

In which we travel to Russia and watch a musical dedicated to the Soviet Constitution

In which my beautiful grandmother takes her last stroll in Paris

In which I invite you to come home with me but Tram No. 30 runs very slowly

In which I bury my grandmother

Which offers you seven elephants of happiness

In which we dispel our sad thoughts and learn what Ninel Markovna really did in Paris

In which you meet my English professor and drink the cheap wine of our youth

In which we taste a fruit drink and cabbage pirogi at my Alma mater and learn what happened to Boris Krestovsky in Russia

In which we stop making Eurasian jokes and explore the double life of Yuri Poltavsky-Rizhsky

In which you follow me to Moscow and have a pickle treat

In which we eavesdrop on Comrade Kaganovich

In which we watch The lilac sunset and listen to Kachalsky's songs

In which I meet Cossacks and have a romantic escapade at the Pizza hut

In which the murderer makes a scene

In which we get homesick in Gorky Park

In which we leave Russia and bid farewell to Rabonovich and Anka the machine gunner

Which tells you that there is no place like home

Greta Garbo's last smile.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-7914-8651-6

1-4175-3611-X

OCLC:

61367780