Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Velchin

 

 

Bibliography

Yelchin, Eugene. Breaking Stalin's Nose. New York: Henry Holt, 2011.

ISBN 9780805092165

 

Plot Summary

          Pure devotion for his people, his country, his Leader, and especially for his hero father shines through the eyes of 10-year-old Sacha as he prepares to take his first step to becoming a Communist and wear the “triangle of simple red cloth that every Pioneer must wear” (15).  In the space of two days, Sacha experiences upsets and setbacks to achieving his dream.  What he naively accepts as the Communist way of living and dealing with other people is called into question the moment he accidentally damages a statue of his beloved Leader.  His action creates circumstances which force him to make decisions he hadn’t ever considered.  In his first historical novel, Breaking Stalin’s Nose, Eugene Yelchin, author and illustrator, provides a simply written yet wrenching look in prose and picture at the Communist way of life through Sacha’s eyes.  Will more be broken than just a plaster nose in Sacha’s life?

 

Critical Analysis

          The first historical fiction novel by Russian born and educated Eugene Yelchin, Breaking Stalin’s Nose is an authentic portrayal of Stalinist Russia in the first-person voice of 10-year-old Sacha Zaichik.  Yelchin details two days in the life of young Sacha which change the boy’s optimism to a kind of numb acceptance of his existence.

          Yelchin’s includes a note to his readers, a simple yet complete explanation of his experience and his rationale for writing his novel.  These sincere revelations create a touchstone between author and character that breathes truth into the narrative. 

          The elements of fiction are addressed with an eye to revealing the true face of Communism to the reader.  The plot is compressed, yet it’s symbolic of how quickly life can change.  Yelchin presents Communism in terms a young person can absorb.  Communal living and an ever-present sense of surveillance, both characteristics of Communism, are evidenced in the daily life of all Yelchin’s characters.  No one has much or if he does, he’s shamed.  The carrot Sacha nibbles is a treat, and he’s “so embarrassed we [he and his dad] live in luxury” (14).  Luxury?  When his dad is arrested and the informer moves into Sacha’s portion of the communal house, all their belongings fit into a bundle made of “my dad’s bedsheet” (30), and Sacha is left homeless.  The theme is that of a young boy’s struggle with the realization of what is right and what is wrong, right with his father’s innocence and wrong with asking someone to spy.

          Setting and style complement each other in Yelchin’s narrative.  Stalin’s regime maintained its grip on the Russian people through a poverty that was considered patriotic and a pervasive sense of fear.  In two days, the reader experiences the lack Sacha endures for his Leader, “When hunger gnaws inside my belly, I tell myself that a future Pioneer has to repress cravings for such unimportant matters as food” (10).  Sacha’s teacher tells students, “Remember, class, our great Leader and Teacher is always watching us from the Kremlin” (122).  Concerning style, the phrasing and its underlying menacing tone, chills the reader to think children can’t be happy and playful; they must sing Communist songs, march, and be ready to rat on their friends or be sent to Lubyanka, the prison where Sacha’s dad has been taken. 

It is Yelchin’s characters which will interest young readers the most.  When Sacha’s father makes mysterious comments, Sacha nods agreement but is “not sure what he means” (4).  Sacha’s aunt Larisa won’t take a chance to help him after his father’s arrest, saying “If we take you in, they’ll arrest us, too” (42).  Children will identify with Borka Finkelstein, alias Four-Eyes, at school and sympathize with him as he volunteers that he broke Stalin’s nose so he could go to Lubyanka to see his parents who were also arrested. 

It is Sacha’s character which makes the reader turn the pages to see what happens next.  He’s idealistic and eager to become part of something larger than himself.  He says his “greatest dream has always been to join the Young Soviet Pioneers” (2).  Then he becomes, in effect, an enemy of the state by association with his father but will be given reprieve if he agrees to be a snitch.  What will his decision be?  Sacha’s indomitable spirit in informs his response.  He may have broken Stalin’s nose, but he’ll have to decide if Communism will break his heart.

 

Review Excerpt(s)

2012 Newbery Honor Book (ALA)

2012 Junior Library Guild Selection

2012 Distinguished Work of Historical Fiction Award (Children's Literature Council of Southern California)

2012 Women’s National Book Association’s Judy Lopez Memorial Award

2013 KS William Allen White Award 

The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by the Horn Book Magazine

The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by Washington Post

2012 Capitol Choices Book, Noteworthy Books for Children

2012 Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth by Booklist

2012 NY Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year

2012 Finalist for California Book Awards

2012 Michigan Library Association Mitten Award

2011 Editor’s Choice by Historical Novel Society

2011 Nominated for Cybills Children’s and YA Bloggers’ Literary Awards

2011 Nominated for Best Fiction by Young Adult Library Association

 

 

“Although the story takes place over just two days, it is well paced, peeling off the layers of Sasha’s naivete to show – him – and young readers – the cynicism of the system he trusted.” – THE HORN BOOK MAGAZINE, starred review

 

"Yelchin’s graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha’s steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale." —KIRKUS REVIEWS

 

"Yelchin skillfully combines narrative with dramatic black-and-white illustrations to tell the story of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin." —SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

 

"Picture book author/illustrator Yelchin makes an impressive middle-grade debut with this compact novel about a devoted young Communist in Stalin-era Russia, illustrated with dramatically lit spot art." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

 

Connections

·        Read similar fiction:

Animal Farm – George Orwell

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

          The Road of Bones – Anne Fine

·        Do a unit in social studies on the “isms:”

Capitalism            Socialism

Fascism                Communism

·        Write what you notice is different about life in Stalinist Russia from life in the United States.