This book is a collection of letters exchanged between an older English couple and a young Russian family. The exchange starts when Slava, the father in the Russian family is jailed for attempting to acquire a printing machine. He is jailed for this political crime for 5 years. While Slava is imprisoned, Harold Edwards in England joins an Amnesty International campaign to write letters to children of political prisoners. He writes to Marina Aidova, 7 years old, daughter of Slava and Lera Aidova. This letter starts an exchange of letters, packages and friendship between the Edward's family and the Aidova family that spans the next 20+ years and may even continue to this day for all I know, although Harold and his wife Olive passed away in the 1980's and Marina Aidova is now a grown woman with children over her own.
Although I felt that Slava never truly recovered from his time in the jail I did not feel that his family was "desperate". They were intellectual, employed, educated, healthy in their relationships with each other, and lived a life that was middle-class in many ways with yearly family vacations and money to buy books and goodies for their pen-pals in England and to post them. Of course, as Marina explains, the Russian system of exchange at that time ran on "blat" (who you knew who had influence and connections) as things were cheap but goods were scarce. The KGB was a constant irritant and danger, but as long as you didn't chafe too much (like trying to get a printing press in order to write your (subversive) opinion) it seemed you could get along alright, at least if you were not religious or didn't stand out in some way. I am not trying to minimize what Slava and his family went through while he was imprisoned, that must have been a very, very difficult time for them. And I am sure that the communication and gifts from England were a sort of lifeline for Lera (Marina's mother) at this time. I think that the friendship provided both families with comfort and love. And that is mainly what this book is about; it is a tribute to Harold and Olive Edwards from Marina Aidova with love and gratitude.

Caught for my: Virtual Biography/Auto-Biography/Humor Bookbox.

This book wasn't chosen in Round #3 of the Virtual Biography/Auto-Biography/Humor Bookbox so it's available.

My Review: I decided to read this one, while it's here. It's a very touching story, it's a series of letters between a family in communist Russia and a family in England. It takes place over 1971 and the mid 1980's. The Russian family sends books and the English family sends clothes, makeup, and other things the family can't find or afford in Russia. It's a very touching story.

This book is available.

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Left this book on the shelf when picking up some cheddar bagels for the family. Enjoy the book!