Radiant as the Stars by Elaine Elinson follows young Ukrainian Jewish woman, Anna, just arrived back in her home country after living in America for a few years. It’s 1911, and rumblings of what will become the Russian Revolution are spreading across the country. Elinson’s debut novel opens with Anna on the train to her small village in Ukraine. This first section on the train is engaging in that Anna witnesses firsthand the pogroms that have happened in her absence, as well as her fortuitous meeting with Jewish artist Moishe, who has spent recent years in Paris. Anna and Moishe form a fast connection, but when they must part due to different destinations, I was a little baffled why they did not exchange addresses for future letter writing–nor do they even discuss it.
Back in her home Ukrainian village, Anna is reunited with her uncles, aunts, and most importantly, her cousin Chava. Anna and Chava have a close, sister-like relationship. It is Chava who gets Anna into the local Jewish Labour Bund meetings , a movement which seeks to spread the ideals of Communism across Russian. While Chava is deep into the movement, Anna is still learning not only the texts, but also the compartmentalized procedures of the comrades in executing their missions of spreading their beliefs. Anna is soon drawn into the dangers of working with this burgeoning, underground network.
I appreciated the fact that Elinson based this book on her grandmother’s diary written in both Yiddish and Russian. The author note explains that the real Anna was an interesting and formidable woman. The first portion of Stars was engaging, and learning about the early Jewish Labour Bund movement before the Russian Revolution was interesting, as I did not know much about it. That said, I felt the beginning with Moishe was setting up the story for something that never delivered, nor did he end up having much impact on the story. I appreciated the strong bond between Anna and Chava, and their involvement in the political movement, but I never felt Anna’s strong belief or passion in this movement. She seemed to be involved in the movement only because Chava was. As the story progresses, there are some ebbs and flows, but I never felt as if the situation was a high stakes as we were told it was. For some reason, I just felt something was missing. I also sadly felt that Anna did not have much character growth or arc, but was rather a spectator for Chava’s arc and journey.
Radiant as the Stars will be released August 28, 2026
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