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Moonlight in Odessa: A Novel
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Moonlight in Odessa: A Novel
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Moonlight in Odessa: A Novel
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Moonlight in Odessa: A Novel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

Odessa, Ukraine, is the humor capital of the former Soviet Union, but in an upside-down world where waiters earn more than doctors and Odessans depend on the Mafia for basics like phone service and medical supplies, no one is laughing. After months of job hunting, Daria, a young engineer, finds a plum position at a foreign firm as a secretary. But every plum has a pit. In this case, it's Mr. Harmon, who makes it clear that sleeping with him is job one. Daria evades Harmon's advances by recruiting her neighbor, the slippery Olga, to be his mistress. But soon Olga sets her sights on Daria's job.
Daria begins to moonlight as an interpreter at Soviet Unions(TM), a matchmaking agency that organizes "socials" where lonely American men can meet desperate Odessan women. Her grandmother wants Daria to leave Ukraine for good and pushes her to marry one of the men she meets, but Daria already has feelings for a local. She must choose between her world and America, between Vlad, a sexy, irresponsible mobster, and Tristan, a teacher nearly twice her age. Daria chooses security and America. Only it's not exactly what she thought it would be...
A wry, tender, and darkly funny look at marriage, the desires we don't acknowledge, and the aftermath of communism, Moonlight in Odessa is a novel about the choices and sacrifices that people make in the pursuit of love and stability.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 1, 2009
ISBN9781608191345
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Moonlight in Odessa: A Novel
Author

Janet Skeslien Charles

Janet Skeslien Charles is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Paris Library. Her work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. She has spent a decade researching Jessie Carson (Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade) at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and archives across France. Her shorter work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Sydney Morning Herald, LitHub, and the anthology Montana Noir. To connect, visit her website JSkeslienCharles.com, @JSkeslienCharles on Instagram, or @SkeslienCharles on Twitter.

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Rating: 3.921875 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book had a terrifically interesting premise, but unfortunately the somewhat slow moving narrative and difficult characters made it more of a job than a pleasure to read. Still, I found the storyline interesting enough that I did finish the novel. I wouldn't necessarily read more by this author, but would definitely read another book on this particular subject.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In trying to pursue the "American Dream" Daria lost all of the vivacity, wit, strength and humor that made her so interestingly "Odessan".

    She enters the questionable world of international mail order brides and her strength is further weakened and the situation worsens when her American husband is not the man he presented to her in their correspondence and brief meeting before marriage.


    "Give a man a centimeter and he'll think he's a ruler."

    "My job is to scream cockle-doodle-doo. Don't blame me if the sun doesn't rise."
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I usually seek out and enjoy reading novels about people in cultures unfamiliar to me. I'm really in the minority when it comes to my view of this book though. I didn't believe in the characters at all. Daria, the narrator, wasn't convincing to me in her Ukrainian persona. The other characters acted, it seemed, only to complicate and move along Daria's plot. They didn't seem to have motives and personalities of their own.I learned a little about Odessa, but not anything that I couldn't have read in a short descriptive article. It was interesting, but it's hard to believe that the author spent two years in the Ukraine. I found the writing style awkward.Looking at the reviews on LibraryThing and on Amazon.com, I can't help wondering what I'm missing here! Two stars for effort.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very Enjoyable!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I wanted more at the end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This one took a little while to get going. Setting up the story took quite a bit. But once the story got going I really did enjoy it. There's a lot of personality points that need to be made about Daria. I think had the story just jumped in it wouldn't have been nearly as good. I felt like the building was very necessary to the rest of the story. I like Daria and her Boba. Daria's a very strong woman. She knows how to get what she wants in her beautiful city of Odessa. The means she takes don't always seem to make sense, but it's mentioned a few times that that's how it's done with Odesseans. In Odessa Daria is well-past the appropriate age to marry, but she's not "normal" and has put her life before the life everyone else expects her to lead. Her main focus is her Boba and making sure that she can take care of Boba, her grandmother, the way Boba has taken care of her. There's a very strong bond between the two of them. When Daria & Boba's dreams finally come true, and Daria's approached by an American willing to move her to America with him she seems a bit torn. It's what she always wanted and yet she doesn't want to desert her Boba. But Boba pushes her out the door and Daria's on her way to America. The story is pretty good till this point, but once Daria reaches America is when the emotional ties really pulled me into this one. Janet Skeslien Charles has a great ability to explain people so that you feel as if you know them personally. I felt as if I've known Daria, Boba, and the whole lot of characters all my life. I understood how they think and was able to predict how they'd act as easily as I can my own family. It was amazing to be that drawn into a book. While this was a good piece of fiction I think the story is more of a look at how people interact, how cultures can clash and mesh, and how people can persevere even if they aren't given what they thought they were getting. It's about struggle, and the fact that we always have a way out. I would have given this one 5 stars but it did take a while to really get into the story. While I see the need for the build up of the back ground on the characters it was a bit daunting. By the time the book started to get good I'd almost given up on it. Although I'm glad I didn't!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received this book for review from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. When I received it, I really didn't know what to expect. I'd never read anything about the Ukraine, and very little about Russia (just Dr. Zhivago, which I loathed). But the premise sounded interesting and I thought I should give the region another chance.The book is about Daria, a young Odessan woman who is trapped in a miserable job, working for a pig of a boss, making almost no money as a secretary when she has a degree in engineering, with no possibility of escape on the horizon. While she has a love-hate relationship with Odessa (she loves its beauty and traditions, hates the fact that it is such a dead-end), she realizes that her only hope is to leave, to get out, find a better life elsewhere. But most Odessans never leave. The key for most Odessan women is to marry a foreigner (read: American) and move away for a better life. Odessan men are drunks and layabouts; American men promise freedom and an easy life.To supplement her income, Daria takes a job working for an internet matchmaking company called Soviet Unions (HA!), translating for the girls and their dates. While she initially loves the work, which allows her to use her beloved English more often, she comes to realize that she is, basically, trafficking in these women. When she meets Tristan, an American teacher, online through Soviet Unions, she has to choose between him and his promise of the American dream, or Vladimir Stanislavski, a local mobster and the uncertain future he offers. And what about her boss, Mr. Harmon?My favorite part was the first section. I love who Daria is, how fearless she is in taking charge at work, how she is able to stand up to Vlad. The second section, in which things change substantially, made me mostly very sad. (I'm being very vague on purpose, so as not to spoil the events of the book.) But I loved the end. It was a happy ever after (sort of), but open-ended, with a lot of questions unanswered. I kept thinking about Daria after the novel ended and wondering what happens to her next. I don't usually give quarter-Whatevers, but I couldn't decide between four and four-and-a-half. And its my blog, so I can do whatever I want. So I'm going to give this book four and a quarter Whatevers. Read it. It's fun, not too heavy, and I'm sure you will be glad you did.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This novel was a fictional account of the mail-order bride activity between American men and "Russian" women. The novel takes place in Odessa, Ukraine and San Francisco, CA and features a woman who is intelligient, witty and secure in herself. Yet, she decides that her future depends on an American husband and moves to the states to marry the stereotypical portrait of the ugly American guy.I liked part of the book and disliked the rest. There were some great scenes involving Daria and her boss in the Ukraine and there were other characters that kept my attention. However, the book would shift from a chick lit tone to a documentary one on mail-order brides and the ugly American men. This didn't really work for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    From the get go, Moonlight in Odessa is no ordinary story. Set in Ukraine, It’s a wonderfully woven tale of Daria, a young, headstrong Odessan woman who is looking towards the West. What is she in search of? The reader thinks that it’s a better life and even love but by the end of the tale, the main character and the reader are none the wiser. Moonlight In Odessa is a story about culture, language and one young woman’s quest for experience. The tale has an undertone that is not explored by the average joe. The Mail Order Bride Trade often times occur between Eastern European women, who are looking for an alternative to their economically challenge lifestyle and Western men who are single, financially stable and looking for companionship. According to Teddy Wayne in his article “The Mail Order Bride Trade is flourishing”- (Business Week online - January 6th 2011) the Mail Order Bride System or Match Making (as the term is often interchanged) “…….is now a growing segment in the US Online Dating Industry…….. racking up more than $2 billion in revenue…”. On top of that, up to 16,500 unions were sealed between the periods 1999-2007. Thus the subject matter provides Skeslien Charles with a solid foundation for Moonlight in Odessa. Skeslien Charles provides an insight in to The Mail Order Bride Trade through the eyes of Daria. It exposes the reader to the realities that these immigrant brides face. Much to my surprise, Skeslien Charles does not stick to the mold in Moonlight in Odessa. Daria is more of a heroine than a helpless, economically challenged victim and it was fun getting to know her.I loved the vivid, rich scenes set in Odessa. Sometimes the way in which Daria viewed Odessa felt like a double-edged sword. There were times where she would take pride in the character that Odessa had, the buildings and its people but at other times she admonished the public transportation or the bureaucracy that slowed growth and progress. However I saw this as embodying the discontent that any person (whether they live in a first world or third world country) would have. Further the way in Daria used poetry and irregular verbs to express herself was also interesting to read as much of her frame of reference came from Eastern European authors.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Sadly I did not find this book humorous or entertaining. It felt like a slog and I thought, "Nope, not doing this." So I didn't. I just couldn't find a way to care about the travails of the main character and the sense of place wasn't clear enough to suit me. Honestly, this book could've taken place anywhere and I found that very disappointing. Too much chick lit, not enough novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book already had many things going for it before I even opened to the first page -- it takes place, and has a focus on both Eastern Europe and San Francisco (two faves of mine). This book about Daria, a Ukrainian who runs off to America to marry a man she meets via the online matchmaking service she works part time at, had potential to be a very trite, predictable story, but the great main character, backed up by strong writing made this a really enjoyable book.I received this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Most of Janet Skeslien Charles’ debut, Moonlighting in Odessa is extremely well-written and substantially believable. Daria, the main character defies overwhelming odds in post-perestroika Ukraine, and with disciplined forethought, she not only achieves her goals, but also develops into a successful exception to what most of her peers seek, but never achieve. When her questioning relentless mind jumps into overdrive, her enchanting perception of the “American Dream” casts a meandering pale over her initial pragmatic viewpoint.Thus, we encounter another Daria, “the mail-order bride” whose previous chutzpah fizzles within the claustrophobic confines of an unfulfilling meaningless marriage where she becomes the “trophy wife” of a non-affluent, delusional American who desires not only to own and disparage the young woman he so ardently pursued, but also lacks the integrity to admit his deceptive misrepresentations.Should you read this book? The fascinating aspects of Odessa, its courageous people and its historical culture will undoubtedly capture your imagination. Comprehensive details recounting the bogus process which essentially exploits and often devastates the majority of Eastern European “mail order brides” will enlighten you. As a child, I believed in fairy tales, but I regret that I no longer do. So, the “neatly-wrapped-and-tied-with-a-bow” conclusion was an absolute disappointment.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewer program right after my birthday, when I'd just received a whole host of new additions to my bookshelves, so it took a bit longer than normal for me to have the chance to read and review this title.At first, I had a hard time getting in to this book--thought it was interesting learning about Ukrainian culture, it took awhile for me to be able to relate to the main character and her feelings and struggles. But I'm so glad I stayed with this story--I absolutely devoured the second half of this book in a single day.Janet Skeslien Charles has done a wonderful job of compiling a cast of eclectic characters that will transport you into their unusual world in a way that's equal parts believable and fascinating. The subtle themes that run throughout the story, particularly insights on the things that we all take for granted in our lives (both in our society--everything from a political and corporate climate in which corruption can be exposed, to the reliable availability of such simple essentials as electricity and the freedom to practice our own religion--and in our home lives--from partners who love and respect women to job opportunities that enable us to put our education to good use), will resonate with you long after you close the last page of this book. The story subtly points out the differences between the Ukrainian and American lifestyles without blatantly coming on too strongly with its themes; for American readers, it will enable you to step into the role of a tourist both abroad and right here at home.For readers who enjoy reading about other cultures, and appreciate stories that will encourage you to reexamine your own, I certainly do recommend this witty and engaging debut novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved this book! The writer has such a wonderful sense of humor and sense of language.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very talented writer. Had I not read it in an interview, I wouldn’t have known that Janet Skeslien Charles wasn’t born in the former Soviet Union. She gives her main character, Daria, a fantastically believable voice. The story is of email order brides and of perils of those unions, of new capitalist ventures and new post communist life in Ukraine. It’s set in Odessa and then in the United States. Written in a witty and entertaining style, it’s a quick, pleasant, and educational read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The main character was real and someone you could relate to. Though Daria is from Odessa she struggles with issues we can all relate to, bad job, financial insecurity, and finding the right person to spend your life with. The fact that she is someone the reader can relate to makes her very likable and you find yourself rooting for her throughout the novel. The plot was a bit formulaic. Overall, I felt this was an entertaining chick lit novel.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I was initially very intrigued with the description of the story and was excited to read the book. Altough, I found myself struggling to get through it about halfway through.We meet our beautiful, well-educated protagonist, Daria, while she is on a quest for a good paying position in Odessa...where the prospects are scarce. We are introduced to her as a wily, clever girl who manages to hold her own against a lustful boss who feels entitled to her "assets" and an Odessan mobster who pursues her relentlessly.Despite her overwhelming pride for Odessa and (some of) its people, she longs for more in her life. Through drama largely of her own making, she feels that she is no longer secure in her position with the shipping company she works for as a secretary and strikes out to find other employment. She lands a job with "Soviet Unions," a matchmaking service to pair Ukranian women with American husbands. Here is where her longing to go to America really becomes overwhelming. Although she originally does not want to use the matchmaking program the owner sets up, she reluctantly begins to correspond with Tristan, a "teacher" from "San Francisco."As her life becomes more unstable in Odessa - her former friend, Olga, becomes her boss's lover (at Daria's hand) and insists that Daria be fired so that Olga can take her job and Daria submits to the advances of the mobster with a heart of tarnished silver, Vlad, who leaves her in the lurch - she ramps up her online courtship with Tristant, arranging for a fiancee visa to America. Despite the warnings of her American friend, Jane, Daria steals off to the United States without telling anyone but her dear Boba where she is going. In America, the plot takes the expected twists and turns of a mail order bride and we're left with a rather rapid summary of how Daria resolves her dilema.Having no experience with Ukrainian or Odessan lifestyles, I had to take the author at her word for Daria's life in Odessa...although it did get rather tiresome reading about the third most beautiful opera house in the world right up until the end of the book. Of course, most people are biased towards their native countries, but I felt at points that I was being beaten over the head with it.I had trouble with Daria's narration of the people of Emerson, CA. She made it sound like a redneck little town with no couth and no sophistication. There are a great many farming communities surrounging the Bay area in California...perhaps protraying them as more "green" (and all that that implies) might have sat better with me than the author's descprition. Of course Americans have a reputation around the world as being loud, brash, unworldly and self-centered, so I think the author really played that up in illustrating the differences between the 'burbs and "cultured" San Fran.I was unsatisfied with the ending as well. There were many strings that were left dangling. Perhaps the author is planning a sequel?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the story of Daria, a youg Ukrainian woman, trained as an engineer but working as a secretary in a foreign-owned import company. And, as an interpretator for an agency which matches American men with Odessan "mail-order" brides. The plot is the basic "chick lit" variety: Daria is pursued by various imperfect men and eventually finds happiness after a series of set backs and misunderstandings.What I liked about this book was the setting in Odessa and learning about life there. I also liked Daria and the way her character, and that of Tristan and David, were developed. None were perfect but all seemed like real people witgh flaws, strengths, and motivations I could understand. Unfortunately, other characters (Boba, Olga, Vlad) were more two-dimensional.All in all, not bad. A light read with a main character you can cheer for and sympathize with.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this novel to be a bit slow-going at first, but it eventually became more engrossing. Protagonist Daria is attractive and smart, but she is struggling both economically and romantically in Odessa, Ukraine. She simultaneously feels love and pride for her home city, and a strong yearning to leave behind its poverty and uncertainty. At times, the book feels almost like a travel guide for Odessa, and it was a bit tedious to read over and over about the wonders of the opera house and about the Odessan love of humor. According to her bio, the author spent two years living in Odessa, and I kept wondering if this repeated tossing out of factoids was a result of the relatively short amount of time she spent there. Daria is an overall likable protagonist, more so for being somewhat flawed. I did root for her throughout the book, even when she made choices with which I didn't agree. However, her experience with "Soviet Unions," the international matchmaking service, didn't tell me anything new or different than what I had already heard about the mail-order bride business. This novel was a bit predictable, but still a quick and enjoyable read, with a satisfying ending. I think it's a promising debut.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well, if this hadn't been an Early Reviewer book, thus requiring a review in order for me to get more free books, I probably would have given up on it 1/3 of the way through. I soldiered on, and it got more readable, but never really engrossing. The problem: this is little more than a chick lit novel with a potentially intriguing setting/premise: Daria is gorgeous, bright, etc., but since she lives in Odessa, she's underemployed, underpaid, and single (oh, those creepy Odessan men...) Her boss hits on her, she plots escape via her second job as an interpreter to a marriage agency. The setting could have boosted this book above the genre (hey, I wasn't expecting a literary novel here), but every plot twist is so painfully predictable and most characters so two-dimensional and even downright unbelievable that I felt as if I was drowning in a sea of cliches.If the author knows the standard saying about showing rather than telling, that doesn't show up in the book, as Daria via the author is forever telling us things about Odessa which could have been interesting had they been delivered in a less heavy-handed way. Occasionally, the novel becomes more interesting, but rarely. The formula is clear, the path laid out -- the heroine shall have a few women friends she can count on; she shall have one steamy romance and one steadfast friend who may be a romantic interest; there shall be a scene where... -- well, you get the picture. Character act in improbable ways -- one of Daria's best friends changes not only her behavior but her entire character! -- and it's hard to believe that either Daria would badly misread another character as completely as she appears to or else that that individual would undergo such a complete metamorphosis.A chick lit novel can survive one of these flaws. But for me, at least, it needs to offer not just a quirky new backdrop but also some good writing, compelling characters, believable plot twists. For me this book didn't deliver, though it may appeal more to others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Moonlight in Odessa felt like two stories to me. One with Daria, the main character, while she was in the Ukraine, and the other when she found her way to America. I knew Daria would make it to America, and was sure she would find it quite different than what she had imagined, but the author left me guessing to the end as to who she would finally end up with and if she would stay in America or return to Odessa.I loved the characters of the book and the way the author seemed to give each one enough redeeming qualities so that the reader found it hard to completely hate any of them. I liked learning so much about the cultural lifestyles of Odessans and the comparisons to American practices and how so many stereotypes and misconceptions can be formed because of those differences. I also enjoyed the details about life in Odessa and the reality check of how much we take for granted in America. I will look forward to more books by this author. I liked her style and her story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved the main character of this book, Daria, even though she occasionally drove me crazy. But I consider this to be a sign of the author's skill in drawing a realistic protagonist.This charming book which takes place in Odessa in the mid-1990’s reminds me a great deal of the books western journalists churned out on “real” life in the USSR during its sunset years. It’s fun to read all the ways in which ordinary people got around the bureaucratic ossification that so constricted the country.Daria is 23 (“rather old,” she thinks) and wants a “normal” life. Although she loves Odessa, she longs to go to America – “a land full of eligible men, a land free of harassment at work.” She needs to support herself and her Boba (grandmother) with whom she lives. Thus she takes a job at an Israeli shipping company with a man who informs her, “Of course, sleeping with me is the best part of the job.” But Daria is full of spunk, and figures she can outwit her boss:"Chess. There’s a reason the former Soviet Union has more world champion players than any other country. Chess is strategy, persistence, cunning, and the ability to look farther into the future than an opponent. … In Odessa, life is chess. Moves. Countermoves. Feigns. Knowing your adversary and staying one step ahead of him.”Doria just barely stays a step ahead of David, her boss, as well as Vlad, the Russian mobster who comes to the firm to collect protection money. She figures that her only way out is to make even more money and go to America, so she begins to moonlight at a Russian/American matchmaking agency cleverly named “Soviet Unions.” As an experiment, she herself corresponds with one of the American men hoping for a Russian bride. And soon, she’s in a different sort of trap.Evaluation: Though this may sound a lot like a Soviet version of Bridget Jones’s Diary, it has a bit more depth, some nicely done subtle humor, and even a considerable amount of pathos. Still, it's a light read, and an enjoyable one.Rating: 3.5/5
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book kept me up way past my bedtime last night because I just had to finish reading it. It was that good. I think I was a little surprised that it was as good as it was, because, after all, the mail order bride business just doesn't sound like an exciting theme. The protagonist, Daria, is an educated, beautiful, young Ukrainian woman. But sadly, in her country many people who are educated work at menial jobs for little pay. She is pursued by her boss for sexual favors, has to deal with the mafia, and has back-stabbing friends. I learned more about the Ukraine than I ever knew. From some descriptions it sounded so dreary and oppressive, but then again, it was on the sea and had had the "third most beautiful opera house in the world."When working for a company that matches Russian women to American men, Daria begins an e-mail correspondence with one. He sounds so kind, so wonderful and co caring. But is the grass really greener on the other side?I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read something different with a strong female character. This book will not disappoint.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Moonlight in Odessa is the story of Daria, an Odessan woman searching for happiness. Though she loves Odessa she dreams of America, the land of true happiness. The book follows Daria's search for love and happiness and explores the differences and similarities of Odessan and American culture. It is an examination of love, family, friendship, and forgiveness. Well-written, wonderful characters. A very enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this book even more then I thought I would. The author's observations about Ukrainian and American society were very interesting and in themselves made the book worth reading. The plot itself was engaging and the characters for the most part well-written.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book had a special appeal to me. What amazed me the most was how keenly Ms. Skeslien Charles (being not Ukrainian but American) perceived the subtleties of Odessan society, the peculiarities of Ukrainian and/or Jewish personality and behavior, and the dying but still persistent psyche of the Soviet empire. I seriously had to look up the author's bio to make sure she is an American author - so vivid and deep her understanding of Odessan/Ukrainian culture is in her novel. On the other hand, she bravely describes the deficiencies of certain layers of American society as seen through Daria's eyes when she finally makes it to California. This objectivity in depicting the idiosyncrasies of both worlds (one her own and the other foreign) genuinely impressed me. I hope there will be a sequel!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Janet Skeslien Charles' "Moonlight in Odessa" is the story of Daria, a young Jewish Ukrainian who dreams of living in America. Qualified as an engineer, but working as a secretary for a lecherous Israeli, Daria spends her evenings translating for a matchmaking agency. So when an American client offers to marry Daria and take her away from Odessa, she ignores all the warning signs and takes a gamble.The strength of "Moonlight in Odessa" is the intriguing setting and characters. This is truly a new world for most Americans. But it is a rather dark world. I found the bleakness of the novel and the world in general to be off putting.The bottom line: An interesting novel, but not one that I enjoyed reading.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me a bit at the beginning, however once I got into it, I ended up finishing it over a weekend. It's a good read on a rainy day.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was rather pulled in by this book from the start. Daria was an engaging character, and the kind of girl I’d like to be friends with. Which made reading about her life and choices kind of difficult, I think I often would have had the same reaction to her that her American friend Jane had. I just felt so deeply for Daria, wanting the best for her, that I almost felt protective of her.Daria is a non-native English speaker, so there are little parts in the book where she conjugates words in English, such as “swim, swam, swum”. I found myself doing this in my actual life, in my head anyway, because it was just so charming! It’s the kind of thing I never think about in my own language, and realistically it’s probably good to get me thinking about the different forms of our words.I think the biggest thing about this book that spoke to me was that although Daria is from the Ukraine and is looking for a better life, this is kind of a comment on the life of a woman in general. Daria comes to America expecting a perfect, magical life, and it just doesn’t happen that way. But if you think about the problems she has throughout the book, they aren’t exactly things that are unique to the fact that she’s not from the US.If you look at the book from a woman’s point of view, many of us have the same concerns and problems that Daria has. Obviously, she has the added complication of relying on her link to the states, Tristan, to be able to stay here. But otherwise, don’t we all feel a little like we have to stay with a man to survive?Women in America are in a better position than we’ve ever been, but we still face plenty of struggles that men will never know. We often make less money than our male colleagues and partners, have fewer advantages simply because of our gender, yet we’re expected to run our households and raise our families. The attitude of the average man has improved, I’ll give you that, but it’s not uncommon to find a man who really expects everything at home to be handed to him by his wife.Am I generalizing? Absolutely. I know there are also plenty of really great men out there. But I have lived in the United States my whole life and the only time I’ve ever felt like I wasn’t required to live up to the expectations of the men in my life was…when I moved to a place where there were no men in my life. I think all you need to be able to see the sadness in Daria’s life and feel sympathy for her is look at your own past and reflect on how the men in your life have made you feel. If you can look back and don’t understand where Daria is coming from, please count your blessings.I had a hard time reading about Daria’s life with Tristan, just because I understand that feeling of thinking you’re trapped. Not knowing how to get out, forge your own life. I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to do that, and I hope that other women who feel that way are able to do the same thing.This is the sort of book I think I would have read in one sitting if I’d had time to do so, and I also feel like I’ll be coming back to it for rereads in the future. I hope the author writes a sequel to this book, because I’d really like to see what the future holds for Daria. Like I said, she feels like a friend, and who doesn’t want to stay caught up with their friends?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Moonlight in Odessa is a witty, insightful novel of Daria, a young Jewish Ukrainian's journey as she claws her way through life in a corrupt Odessa where waiters earn more than doctors and the mafia is more powerful than the government. Daria dreams of living in America where everyone is rich and everything works. The story follows Daria as she chases her dream of escaping to America. Life in both the Ukraine and America are presented in a balanced manner with each country having its good points and its flaws. I felt that the ending lacked the strength that had driven the story and Daria's various adventures. Overall, I found the story to be well written and an interesting glimpse into the world of mail-order brides.