Mother Tongue

June 3, 2019
Based on the 2004 terrorist act that killed scores of schoolchildren in the town of Beslan, Russia, Mayhew’s novel details the trauma that overwhelms the community. Darya, 18, has served as mother to her beloved seven-year-old sister, Nika, ever since their own mother took to her bed following Nika’s birth. Nika’s first day of school is interrupted by shootings and the students being taken hostage as Darya and other family members regard the violence with disbelieving fright. The tragedy rouses Darya’s mother, adding to Darya’s shock as she’s supplanted in her role as grieving caregiver. By the time Nika’s body is found, media and charities have descended on the devastated town, bringing a glimpse of the outside world to Darya and instilling a dream of escaping her sorrow. In exchange for her story, an American journalist teaches her English and facilitates her journey to Moscow, and Darya falls in love with him. Mayhew (The Big Lie) constructs a vividly detailed Russian world in Darya’s stifling countryside town and in her experience of cosmopolitan confusion and solitude in Moscow. Darya’s self-honesty and resilience as she learns to survive the unbearable creates a raw, compelling read. Ages 14–up.

June 15, 2019
A coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the 2004 Beslan school siege. Eighteen-year-old Darya lives with her father; younger brothers, Boris and Igor; little sister, Nika; and ghost of a mother in the Ossetian region of Russia. With their depressed mother in a state of semiawareness, the running of the household and Nika's care have fallen to Darya; the line between sister and mother blurred, much to her anguish. When Nika is taken as a hostage on the first day of school and subsequently killed, everything Darya knows and hopes for is turned on its head. Her mother regains lucidity, blaming Darya for Nika's death, while her brothers militantly seek revenge on Chechens and Ingush. Meanwhile, her father retreats into work and spending time with his young lover, bringing home an unwelcome suitor for Darya. The arrival of aid workers and an American journalist allows her to hope for more than the quotidian, and she leaves for Moscow in pursuit of a new life. Darya in her desperation is sometimes cruel and manipulative, and her behavior in Moscow feels unconvincing and inconsistent. Mayhew (The ElectricalVenus, 2018, etc.) references Russian classics and fairy tales in an attempt to add cultural texture. Unfortunately the characters are drawn in such a way that it is difficult to become emotionally invested in them, weakening the impact of the story. An ambitious effort that falls flat. (afterword, Russian terms, Russian names, references) (Fiction. 14-18)

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