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Uncertain Weights and Measures
Winner, 2017 Quebec Writers’ Federation Concordia University First Book Prize
Shortlisted, 2017 Governor General’s Award for Fiction
Shortlisted, 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Named a Favourite Book of 2017 by The National Post
Moscow, 1921. Tatiana and Sasha meet in a bookstore the night it is bombed. In the aftermath of the explosion, Sasha grabs Tatiana’s hand and together they run to safety. They fall in love.
A promising young scientist, Tatiana follows her mentor, Dr. Bekhterev, to the Institut Mozga, established to study the source of genius. She thrives in the state-sponsored research institute, but Sasha, an artist, feels left behind in this new world where his art seems without place or function. A rift between them grows.
When Bekhterev suddenly dies, Tatiana is prompted to speculate about the shadowy circumstances of his death. Disconcerted and unable to find answers to her questions, she plunges into doubt — about her work as a scientist, her naiveté about the Revolution, her faith in the state, and her relationship with Sasha.
Provocative and compelling, Uncertain Weights and Measures takes place in the heady days of post-Revolution Russia, when belief in a higher purpose was everything. Written in beautifully incisive prose, Jocelyn Parr vividly captures the ambiance of 1920s Moscow and the frisson of real-life events while also spinning a captivating tale of a love torn apart by ideology and high-stakes politics.
“The story of a Russia—and a love—at the precipice, poised between dreaming and giving in. As in Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels or Bellow’s Seize the Day, Parr’s characters seem to move under the surface of the page—breathing, changing, flawed, and resilient.”
“An illuminating and assured debut. Parr deftly incorporates her historical research into an affecting story about a young woman grappling with the tense intersections between art and science, politics and idealism, duty and love.”
“A historical novel that feels refreshingly contemporary, Uncertain Weights and Measures exposes the tensions between ideology and conviction, politics and art, truth and power. This remarkable debut novel is both a compelling love story and a thoughtful exploration of the human heart and mind.”
“Uncertain Weights and Measures goes for it and gets there.”
– Quill & Quire
“In this confident and accomplished novel, Parr creates a detailed portrait of a world haunted by the past but uncertain of its future direction.”
– Atlantic Books Today
“Could very well be read as a cautionary allegory of our own ‘brave and visionary time.'”
– The Walrus
“A great book for lovers of history and science.”
– The Waterloo Region Record
“Parr’s penetrating, incisive prose places the reader amid the thrilling, frightening milieu of real-life 1920s Moscow… This debut novel bodes well for a strong fiction-writing career for Parr.”
– The Winnipeg Free Press
“An illuminating and assured debut. Parr deftly incorporates her historical research into an affecting story about a young woman grappling with the tense intersections between art and science, politics and idealism, duty and love.”
“A historical novel that feels refreshingly contemporary, Uncertain Weights and Measures exposes the tensions between ideology and conviction, politics and art, truth and power. This remarkable debut novel is both a compelling love story and a thoughtful exploration of the human heart and mind.”
“Uncertain Weights and Measures goes for it and gets there.”
– Quill & Quire
“In this confident and accomplished novel, Parr creates a detailed portrait of a world haunted by the past but uncertain of its future direction.”
– Atlantic Books Today
“Could very well be read as a cautionary allegory of our own ‘brave and visionary time.'”
– The Walrus
“A great book for lovers of history and science.”
– The Waterloo Region Record
“Parr’s penetrating, incisive prose places the reader amid the thrilling, frightening milieu of real-life 1920s Moscow… This debut novel bodes well for a strong fiction-writing career for Parr.”
– The Winnipeg Free Press
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Details
Dimensions:
380 Pages
8in * 5in * 0.866in
432gr
Published:
September 19, 2017
Publisher:
ISBN:
9780864929822
9780864929839 – EPUB
9780864929846 – MobiPocket
Featured In:
Language:
eng
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