1. Unexpected. 2. Funny. 3. Therapeutic.
1. Unexpectedly. This hasn’t happened to me in a long time. I couldn’t tear myself away from this book. I started reading at night, continued in the early morning, packing my suitcase with one hand, then got on the plane and … laughed all the time. Because Masha Traub wrote a book on behalf of her own tiny daughter Sima, a year and a half. Which, of course, is a literary convention, but very advantageous.
2. Funny. The look of a little girl turns what seems so important and serious for adults into a theater of hilarious absurdity. On the stage of this theater there is always an excited and emotional mother, a father somewhat frightened by what is happening, as well as a hooligan grandmother who passionately loves pyrotechnics, knives and grandson Vasya, Sima’s older brother. All of them either pull Sima out of the washing machine, where Vasya stuffs her, because mom said that it’s time for Sim to wash, then they take off the girl’s panties in blue elephants, bought by her grandmother in the general store, then they unanimously smear mom with brilliant green.
Masha Traub, a writer, continues her great autobiographical family saga with this book. Previous books – “The Diary of a First Grader Mom”, “Bad Mother” (AST, 2009, 2010).
3. Therapeutic. It all depends on the angle of view – the main lesson of this not only fun, but also wise book. Any disgrace, horror-horror and a small family hell turn into a fun adventure and heavenly paradise, if you only look at everything with the innocent eyes of a child, and also, hmm … just love each other, which is what all the characters in this humorous family idyll do. And this book is especially for those who are tired. From sleepless nights, the sight of your own kitchen, children’s poop, cracking budget planning and other joys of family life. This book is truly refreshing.
EKSMO, 320 p.
Maya Kucherskaya