Review of "Ilenka," by Lee Kingman

Review of

Ilenka, by Lee Kingman

Four out of five stars

 This book is about a girl named Ilenka that lives in the Soviet Union. The publication date is 1945, so the historical context is the last days of the Second World War in Europe, when the Soviet Union and the United States were still allies. While Ilenka lives very well for a child in the USSR, she is unhappy because she does not know what she is going to be when she grows up.

 She is depicted as living in a semi-rural setting, geese and goats wander in the yard and there are large buildings, advanced schools and a factory where her mother works, all within walking distance. Among other things, her father works on a farm.

 Fundamentally, this is a story about a child that is trying to determine what her career goals are. Ilenka’s thoughts move from interest to interest with no real passion for a specific field. A standard dilemma faced by most children growing up in a modern industrial state. Given the generic nature of the context, this book would simply not be that interesting if it were not placed in the Soviet Union. Even though there is no mention of the raging war with significant shortages of food and all other goods.

 There is also no mention of the different social or political structure in the Soviet Union, it is interesting that on the first page Ilenka is described as living in Russia rather than in the Soviet Union. This would have been a stronger book if there has been some mention of how Ilenka’s world was different from that of children in the United States.