Out of Line: Growing Up Soviet

Out of Line: Growing Up Soviet. By Tina Grimberg. Tundra Books, 2007. 128 pages. Tr. $22.95 ISBN 978-0887768033

Summary: Tina Grimberg’s memoir poignantly depicts life in Post-WWII Soviet Ukraine. Babushka Broyna, Tina’s maternal grandmother, was wrongly imprisoned, for it was mistakenly believed that she stole some food. Within Soviet Ukraine, essential commodities like food are scarce. Relationships play a fundamental role. Through her connections Tina’s maternal grandmother, Babushka Inna, manages to procure exotic foods for her family. Even with connections, however, people are forced to wait in endless lines to purchase essential commodities, including fish, clothes, and toilet paper. Tina reflects upon waiting in lines with her mother, by reciting poetry. She also remembers waiting in line to procure flowers for Mother’s Day.  Under Communism workers’ pay is scant. Bribery is rampant. Tina remembers attempting to visit her grandmother in the hospital. She illustrates the corruptness of the system. Under Communism, patient’s treatment depends upon the ability to pay hospital workers; without extra money, bloody bed dresses are not changed, and visitors are not able to visit. There is one perk to Communism, however. Since both men and women must work, the state must provide affordable, quality early-childhood education. All children attend state-run preschools, where women like Tina’s mother work as teachers. School is also run by the state, and curriculum is highly circumscribed. Students that are caught attending religious activities, or who engage in non-state approved tasks are liable for expulsion. This is exactly what happens to Tina, when she informs the school that her family will be leaving Ukraine once their exit papers have been procured.

Standard(s): California Grade 7 - 2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational Materials); Grade 8 - 2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics - Structural Features of Informational Materials 2.1 Understand and analyze the differences in structure and purpose between various categories of informational materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, instructional manuals, signs).  2.3 Write research reports: a. Define a thesis. b. Record important ideas, concepts, and direct quotations from significant information sources and paraphrase and summarize all perspectives on the topic, as appropriate. c. Use a variety of primary and secondary sources and distinguish the nature and value of each. d. Organize and display information on charts, maps, and graphs.

Suggested Age Range: 10-14 years

Annotation: Communism is brilliantly depicted in Grimberg’s memoir. Tweens learn about the positive and negative experience of life under Communism, especially the impact of state-controlled media, schools, hospitals and transportation. Grimberg’s prose captivates readers, dispensing an accessible entry into a bevy of political and historical issues.

Subjects/Themes: Jewish children – Ukraine – Biography; Ukraine – Social Conditions - Post WWII; Communism; Soviet Union

Reviews: School Library Journal (January 1, 2008)

            Voice of Youth Advocates (December 1, 2007)

            Booklist (December 1, 2007)

            Quill & Quire (October 1, 2007)

High Interest Annotation: A Jewish girl’s reminisces about life in Post WWII Soviet Ukraine.