Out of Line: Growing Up Soviet.

For Rabbi Tina Grimberg, who emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States at age 15 and later moved to Toronto, feeling “out of line” was not the experience of living in a new place, but rather of living in her former country, where families lived in small rooms and freedom of thought was not permitted.

In this charming, heartwarming, and amusing collection of stories, Grimberg reflects back on Jewish history as well as the painful experiences of those who, wanting to leave the Soviet Union for a better life, were deemed “traitors” of the official “party line.” There are her memories of Jewish neighbours Fanya and Gutnik, who leave honey cake for young Tina and reveal the rituals of her heritage in a society that forbids it. And of Zina, who has Down syndrome—in the Soviet Union families with such children are isolated and left to fend for themselves. “Tinochka” comments on the two sides of her lack of privacy with the old babushkas looking like “birds on electric powerline”—“the watchful eye of gossip” that knows everyone’s business also protects a teenage girl from trouble. In the endless shop lines, the young Tina recites poetry to pass the time.

Like the Russian Matryoshka doll nestled in a collection of cups on the book’s cover, memories of Grimberg’s family members and friends are nestled within this memoir. Out of Line will not only help young readers better understand the circumstances of immigrant families, but also the value of relationships. Recommended.