Elyse Durham’s debut novel, “Maya & Natasha,” hooked me with its premise: Twin sisters vie for a single spot on the famed Kirov Ballet in Leningrad.
It’s the peak of the Chilly Warfare, and the Soviet Union and america are locked in a battle of wills. It’s not a stretch to say that the 2 sisters, like the 2 superpowers, each want and resent one another.
The twins are 18 years previous after we meet them, of their last 12 months of coaching earlier than auditioning for the Kirov. Durham skillfully builds the insular world of a prime Russian ballet college, and the ambiance bristles with competitors, flirtation, and intrigue. She makes use of supple language to convey how our bodies transfer and join with music.
Why We Wrote This
Inventive expression thrives when folks belief and depend on one another. However in repressive societies, religion in others usually erodes, as people compete for restricted freedoms.
Maya and Natasha rely on one another; their mom, a dancer, died by suicide shortly after their beginning, and so they don’t know who their father is. The absence of household impacts them in a different way: Maya initially comes throughout as self-pitying and needy, envious of Natasha’s abilities. Natasha appears headstrong and careless of her sister’s emotions.
The stakes are excessive. Nationwide fame and journey alternatives accrue to a Kirov dancer, whereas anonymity and isolation await the sister left behind – or a minimum of that’s what each thinks. The Soviet Tradition Ministry has dominated that just one member of a household can settle for a place on the Kirov, which sends touring firms abroad. That is to discourage defections, which have change into a PR nightmare for the Kremlin.
Durham faucets into the desperation of artists hemmed in by an authoritarian system that gives for his or her coaching however warps their humanity. A rupture happens that sends the 2 younger ladies spiraling into completely different orbits. Reconciliation appears practically unimaginable.
With verve and drama, Durham attracts us into the swirl of Soviet dancers, defectors, filmmakers, and politicians. “Maya & Natasha” is an eloquent and well timed reminder in regards to the toll of authoritarianism, the corrosive impact of selfishness, and the starvation for forgiveness.
