What Language Do I Dream In?: My Family's Secret History (Paperback)

Complex, heart-warming, profound Elena Lappin can absorb new languages like a sponge absorbing water: a useful gift, since a life begun in Russia soon swept her from country to country, and she could live comfortably in each of them. But in which could she go that one step further, and find her true self as the writer she knew herself to be? This book is her story of her search for that special language. It is a captivating book, so sparkly with vitality, humour and genuine charm that English readers have to love it - and feel lucky. Because the language Lappin finally homed in on is theirs! Lappin presents a thoughtful migrant's memoir that will speak to all those of us who find their lives suspended between nations, cultures, languages; between past and present selves; between rival identities and loyalties; to all those who live with a hyphen at the centre of their life stories. Which is to say, to nearly everyone Her supple prose is infused by warmth, tenderness and ebullience . . . An uplifting story This intriguing memoir throws a unique light on the fortunes of a young woman - her travels, her cultural inheritance and, most of all, her languages. Elena Lappin's tale is an archetype of post-war political upheaval, her travels and migrations a reflection of world events . . . [a] remarkable memoir This beautiful exploration of what it means to be European in the twenty-first century has never been more necessary . . . In characteristically elegant prose, Lappin takes readers on a brave personal journey as she uncovers painful family secrets set against a backdrop of political cruelty and perpetual motion. Her warmth, humanity and above all understanding of the need for communication shimmer throughout, making this a book full of optimism, deeply resonant with today's world of global dislocation Elena Lappin is a marvellous writer. Her riveting memoir describes living in five languages and as many countries. The family relationships and the political upheavals which so often shape them are complex, yet her writing is as readable and warm as a letter from a friend What Language Do I Dream In? is full of literary discoveries, connections and allusions . . . It's refreshing to see a memoir that doesn't make a song and dance about family secrets, but instead uses them as landmarks for locating the author's own personality Lappin creates an acute sense of tension, and the way she loops explosive events in her life - discovering that her father was not, in fact, her father - into the philosophy around art and language is skilful and riveting