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A Train to Moscow: A Novel

Elena Gorokhova
Chapters (59)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. ACT 1 IVANOVO
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. ACT 2 MOSCOW
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. ACT 3 LENINGRAD
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. ACT 4 IVANOVO-LENINGRAD
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 41
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  58. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  59. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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ALSO BY ELENA GOROKHOVA

A Mountain of Crumbs: A Memoir

Russian Tattoo: A Memoir

TITLE PAGE

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COPYRIGHT PAGE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2022 by Elena Gorokhova

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Lake Union Publishing, Seattle

Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Lake Union Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

ISBN-13: 9781542033879 (hardcover)

ISBN-10: 154203387X (hardcover)

ISBN-13: 9781542033862 (paperback)

ISBN-10: 1542033861 (paperback)

Cover design by Holly Ovenden

First edition

DEDICATION

For Marina Maltseva,

a great Russian actress

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

ACT 1 IVANOVO

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

ACT 2 MOSCOW

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

ACT 3 LENINGRAD

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

ACT 4 IVANOVO-LENINGRAD

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACT 1 IVANOVO

ACT 1

IVANOVO

1

1

She immediately knows something is wrong. The door to Marik’s house is ajar, and there is a black car blocking the street just a few meters away. Not really a car—there aren’t many cars in Ivanovo. It looks more like the wagon that plucks drunks off the sidewalks on holidays and deposits them at the sobering station in the town’s center.

Who is this wagon waiting for? Not for her friend Marik, for sure. Marik is seven, like Sasha, and no driver would waste time plowing through snow all the way to the edge of Ivanovo to stand by while a first grader pulls on his itchy uniform and tosses his books into a schoolbag. Despite the dusk of early mornings, Sasha has always savored this hour before school, from the moment she plunges out of the clouds of frost and into the warmth of Marik’s house to see his father leaf through Pravda over a glass of tea to the minute she curls her fingers around the piece of sucking candy his mother stuffs into her hand before they leave for class. But all those safe mornings, she can sense, are now in the past. Today, everything is different.