Away by Amy Bloom
What the Reviewers Have to Say
I had high expectations for this book, and was slightly disappointed. While I enjoyed reading about Lillian Leyb, a 22-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant to New York, I felt the characters were not quite fully developed, or rather that 
they were developed and then dropped. I liked the characters and how they influenced Lillian’s life in New York and once she decides to travel to Siberia to find her presumed-dead child, they become reduced to a footnote explaining their fates. While this seemed like a clever plot device, it did not seem effective or satisfying to me. Lillian’s travels throughout the country are harrowing and amazing. How close she comes to achieving her goal is impressive and the ending is bittersweet. The writing is excellent and I did like the novel for the most part.
Read and listen to what other reviewers had to say about Bloom’s book. Critics from The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World and National Public Radio’s Fresh Air differ in their reviews of Bloom’s latest novel, commenting on her narrative and her skill in telling one immigrant’s story.
-Reviewed by Donna Bacchiocchi, manager of technical services at the Bentley College Library.
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