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Yelena, nicknamed Alëna, is growing up in Leningrad in the 1970s. Though her life is circumscribed by the deprivation of Communist regime, it is also full: full of her family’s love, her friends, her school, the richness of her vivid imagination, and the legacy of her grandfather, Felix Lembersky, an artist whose celebrated paintings captured the beauty of the world around them.

Her life is upended when her grandmother emigrates to America, and her single mother, Galia, is unjustly incarcerated. Through Galia’s ordeals—a corrupt trial in a broken system, a stint in prison, and service in a labor camp—she remains a devoted mother to Alëna, her letters deepen their bond through their long and fraught separation.

Told in the dual points of view of both Alëna and Galia, Like a Drop of Ink in a Downpour is a clear-eyed look at the reality of life under Communist rule, giving us an insider’s perspective on the roots of contemporary Russia. It is also a coming-of-age story, heartfelt, moving, and funny, a testament to the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of art.

PRAISE

“A profound generosity of spirit connects the vibrant later works of Felix [Lembersky], despite Soviet repression, with Yelena’s optimism in the face of the challenges she and her mother faced.” —Herb Randall, Jerusalem Report

“This is a profoundly powerful and poignant memoir, both significant and stunning.”

—Ori Z Soltes, Teaching Professor of Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University

“Unsparing, with devastating clarity, this extraordinary mother-daughter memoir is like a drop of ink that seeps into every crevice of Soviet life in the 1970s and 1980s. It captures the fierce devotion of three generations of women to each other, their commitment to preserve Felix Lembersky’s art (including his rare Babi Yar paintings), and resilience through brutal imprisonment, painful family separations, and challenging obstacles to immigrate to the United States as Russian Jews. The honest, lyrical coming-of-age narrative intersects with the unflinching candor of a Soviet mother’s perspective, which together form an unforgettable story of heartbreaking truths and tender memories.”

—ChaeRan Freeze, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University