By Vladislav Adelkhanovon April 9, 2017
BECOMING MALKA -5 STARS

Reading this book was like being at sea, feeling the waves that carry your boat. Some of them were long, high and breathtaking, some were gentle, just softly caressing, and basking under the sun that smiles from above. In either case you feel safe in the hands of an assured captain-author.

The book encompasses several genres. It is an adventure of a young adult, Molly, who, if grumpy at the start of her journey, then grows on you, as a person who is aware of her character traits and her development. It is also a fantasy-novel, a historical fiction, a family story, and much more. The philosophical discussions might remind the reader of Thomas Mann’s “Magic Mountain”, also author keeps their intensity and length in harmony with the book’s structure and style. I was particularly drawn towards one of the main characters, whose steady and rather calming presence has some commonality with her sister from ''Howards End'', Ruth Wilcox. Men of the novel are all appropriately different, with each to have their own paths and dreams.

Readers can find useful details while absorbing passages on family’s fashion in clothes, and on the house cuisine. The monologue of the house cook is really a special feature, elevated by her passion and deep knowledge of the subject. For a few times book also raises to the height of a true drama, where its characters open up from an unexpected angle, and the words are resonating with emotion. It was already said by other reviewers that the book is packed with the historical, sociological and folkloristic facts - I personally learned from it a great deal in this respect. Overall I found it an engaging, well written story, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.