MOTHER TONGUE

A coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the 2004 Beslan school siege.

Eighteen-year-old Darya lives with her father; younger brothers, Boris and Igor; little sister, Nika; and ghost of a mother in the Ossetian region of Russia. With their depressed mother in a state of semiawareness, the running of the household and Nika’s care have fallen to Darya; the line between sister and mother blurred, much to her anguish. When Nika is taken as a hostage on the first day of school and subsequently killed, everything Darya knows and hopes for is turned on its head. Her mother regains lucidity, blaming Darya for Nika's death, while her brothers militantly seek revenge on Chechens and Ingush. Meanwhile, her father retreats into work and spending time with his young lover, bringing home an unwelcome suitor for Darya. The arrival of aid workers and an American journalist allows her to hope for more than the quotidian, and she leaves for Moscow in pursuit of a new life. Darya in her desperation is sometimes cruel and manipulative, and her behavior in Moscow feels unconvincing and inconsistent. Mayhew (The Electrical Venus, 2018, etc.) references Russian classics and fairy tales in an attempt to add cultural texture. Unfortunately the characters are drawn in such a way that it is difficult to become emotionally invested in them, weakening the impact of the story.

An ambitious effort that falls flat.