Maya and Natasha
Elyse Durham
Mariner Books
In 1941, as the Nazi German army closed in around the Soviet city of Leningrad, the world-famous Kirov Ballet corps was ordered to leave town. In the last hours before departure a young Kirov ballerina gave birth to twin daughters, only to die before rescue. Her daughters were taken in by her best friend, who named them Maya and Natasha.
The war years pass, the Kirov Ballet returns to Leningrad, and Maya and Natasha are enrolled in the prestigious Vaganova ballet school to be raised in the art. They grow up as close as any twin siblings can, sharing and enduring the years of grueling practice to be the very best of their class, because only the very best stand a chance of being selected to join the Kirov. In a country under a philosophical system where the state is both mother and father, Maya and Natasha are well cared for and never feel the lack of true parents. They have each other—until a change in government policy determines that only one of them will ever make it to the exalted ranks of the Kirov.
Cracks begin to appear in the girls’ relationship. Natasha becomes willfully defiant of the state’s codes of conduct. Maya seeks to subtly undermine her sister’s credibility. A shocking act of betrayal leads to estrangement. The twins go their separate ways, but are always mindful of the other’s presence. As the years pass and the Cold War turns colder, they’re exposed to the world outside of Soviet Russia. From the shallow excesses of the capitalist West to the often brutal and cruel Soviet system, through relationships both loving and indifferent, Maya and Natasha must navigate difficult courses before reconciliation can be theirs.
In Maya and Natasha Durham brings the world of classic Russian ballet to life with all its hardships and triumphs. The heroines are clear well-defined characters with whom the reader will empathize with and root for.
