Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova
A book about the struggles of new motherhood in modern-day Manhatten and surviving hostile living situations in the Ural Mountains circa World War II is not what comes to mind when one hears the phrase “laugh-out-loud funny”; however, that is the case for Maria Kuznetsova’s Something Unbelievable (Random House).
In her sophomore novel, Kuznetsova captures how stories are not the only things shared between generations. The novel oscillates points of view between Larissa, a no-bullshit grandmother in her eighties with an unforgiving sense of humor, and her granddaughter, Natasha, who finds herself drowning trying to balance new motherhood, the revival of an already lacking acting career, and her husband’s couch-surfing friend, Stas. Seeking brief moments of refuge, exhausted Natasha asks Larissa to share her tales of grim survival — and Larissa’s grandmother’s tragic death — after fleeing Kiev during the second world war. Larissa, unable to deny her granddaughter anything, obliges and the two spend hours over video calls linking the past to the present
Alongside the threat of starvation and loss, Larissa recounts her struggle to relate to her self-absorbed sister — with her “vapid beauty like that of a lobotomized swan” — and the love triangle she finds herself in between the Orlov brothers, both vying for her affection. Though the stories of Larissa’s survival and Natasha’s personal journey are years and continents apart, the two are inexplicably intertwined as the lessons both women learn are not so different. In fact, as the stories unfurl, both Natasha and Larissa find themselves faced with perspectives previously unexplored.
KUZNETSOVA’S VIBRANT STYLE AND SHARP DIALOGUE
Something Unbelievable continues the crescendo of Kuznetsova’s vibrant style, as seen in her debut, Oksana, Behave!, as well as her litany of previously published short stories. Kuznetsova’s strengths lie in her ability to weave real-life cruelty and kindness into her works. She discusses topics like war, death, sex, and the grimy reality of parenthood with the same unflinching ease as one would discuss going to the grocery store.
Her dialogue is sharp, filled with unrelenting dark humor as both main characters are willing to take a bite out of anyone who comes in their way, including themselves. Beneath the near tactless honesty, both characters are fueled by compassion, moved by their love for life and the people in it. Both women’s love can be likened to a kiss with a fist.
More than anything, Kuznetsova captures the exhaustion of being overly self-aware and disillusioned while also feeling lost and oblivious to the world in front of you. Larissa’s sense of duty and Natasha’s heart both leave them standing too close to the image to see the full picture. With the help of one another, they are able to recontextualize the hardships they have both faced.
I came to this novel with high expectations. After going through a hellish year (not that 2020 was anything but an apocalyptic year for the rest of the world), for some reason, Kuznetsova’s first novel, Oksana, Behave!, became a safety blanket for me. It was the book I kept by my bedside table for when I found myself in a rut of reading burnout, disinterested in picking up anything new because too much was going on in the world to find comfort in the unknown. I was worried the spell would somehow be broken if I read her second novel and found that it didn’t strike the same chords. I left the final page of Something Unbelievable thoroughly entranced.
