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Synopsis
A young woman's heady encounter with the new Russia, as she and the country thrill to their first taste of freedom
It is September 1991 and the dismantling of the Soviet Union is under way. In Voronezh, a provincial town famous for its loamy black earth, a sense of lightheartedness-part fear, part exhilaration-pervades. The people conquer uncertainty, hunger, and -20 degree temperatures by drinking huge quantities of black-market vodka and reveling in their new-found sexual freedom.
Black Earth City is Charlotte Hobson's record of this tumultuous time. An irresistible guide, she brings us into the cramped, rundown Hostel no. 4, where international students and locals congregate. We meet Yakov, who blows half-a-million rubles on a taxi to see a girl in Minsk; Lola, who sleeps with her peers for a share of their dinner; Viktor, with his brutal memories of military service; and Mitya, Hobson's wild and optimistic lover whose gradual disillusion-and dissolution-mirrors his country's dramatic lurch from euphoria to despair.
At once loving and sharp-edged, tender and brave, Black Earth City reveals a world and a woman as they open up to life.
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Review
Charlotte Hobson arrived in the Russian city of Voronezh just in time to witness the Soviet Union careening toward its last day of existence. There she found a city exploding from 70 years of pent-up desire. In Hostel No. 4, her fellow students plunged into a sexual revolution ribald even by American standards. With sudden shortages and hyperinflation, Hobson and her mates lived on cheap vodka, the imperative to escape the tedium of the Soviet era, and the fever of a transition from an oppressive government to one full of risks, decadence, and the unknown. In this tender and poignant memoir, Hobson immerses herself in the beautiful, impenetrable, and dark lexicon of the Russians--the old superstitions, the brutal military service, the vibrant and tempestuous loves nurtured by minus-20-degree temperatures--and evokes a bittersweet passage full of excitement, mayhem, and despair. --Lesley Reed
About the Author
Charlotte Hobson spent much of the nineties living and working in Russia. She now lives in Cornwall, England, and divides her time between translating and working on her first novel.
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- PublisherMetropolitan Books
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0805069321
- ISBN 13 9780805069327
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages224
- Rating
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Black Earth City : When Russia Ean Wild (And So Did We)
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Black Earth City : When Russia Ean Wild (And So Did We)
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0805069321
ISBN 13: 9780805069327
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Black Earth City: When Russia Ran Wild (and So Did We)
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ISBN 10: 0805069321
ISBN 13: 9780805069327
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Hardcover. Condition: USED_ASNEW. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. First US Edition. Type: Hardback First US Edition. First published by Granta, London, UK, 2001. Hardcover Book and Dust Jacket As New. Pristine ivory cloth over spine with copper titles, copper cloth over boards; tight, solid and square volume. Internals as new. Charlotte Hobson spent much of the 1990s living and working in Russia. This is her record of this tumultuous time, when the dismantling of the Soviet Union is taking place. In Voronezh. a provincial town known for its loamy black earth, the people feel fear and light-headness, exhiliration, uncertainy, hunger--in minus 20 degree weather. They cope by drinking large quantities of vodka and reveling in new-found sexual freedom. The story unfolds as the country is introduced to freedom--and eventually goes from euphoria to despair. 206 pages. 5.75 x 8.5 inches. 2002, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, New York. Seller Inventory # 026449
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Black Earth City: When Russia Ran Wild (And So Did We
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Black Earth City: When Russia Ran Wild (And So Did We
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Hardcover. Condition: USED_FINE. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition/First Printing. "Black Earth City" is Charlotte Hobson's record of the tumultuous time when the dismantling of the Soviet Union was underway. In Voronezh, a provincial town famous for its loamy black earth, a sense of lightheartedness - part fear, part exhilaration - pervades. The townspeople conquer uncertainty, hunger, and minus-twenty-degree temperatures by drinking huge quantities of black-market vodka and reveling in their newfound sexual freedom. At once loving and sharp-edged, tender and brave, "Black Earth City" reveals a world and a woman as they open up to life. Seller Inventory # 6951
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