Let's preface this by saying my high-school history classes woefully underprepared me for any historical background of the USSR. I'm not actually confident I ever heard a professor use the term "USSR" or mention a single leader, from Gorbachev to Brezhnev. The anti-Russia (or USSR, in this case) propaganda in the States is intense, and I assume mine was even more so as I went to high school in Texas. They're sort of famously anti-Communist, which is strange when living far enough outside of a city usually looks like a commune (Emma's criticisms of the New Hampshire New People literally made me think of growing up in a rural area where the nearest neighbor was a quarter mile away - everyone's so obsessed with self-sufficience that public services get grossly underfunded).

The amount of research the author put into the politics, scene-setting, and characterization was breathtaking. The section set in 1950s America was pretty simple for me to understand. For better or worse, the 1950s in America were exrtremely simplistic in terms of politics, yet Adams manages to make this story exceedingly fresh (that scene in the Harlem club with Rose and the white woman is going to haunt me, thanks). When it moves to the USSR I'm afraid my historical knowledge was a bit inadequate but it wasn't overwhelming at all. She balances Rose and Emma's views of the USSR so well. I constantly felt torn between their perspectives, especially once Libby showed up. On to Rojava, I was born only six months before 9/11. I have no memories of that time, yet grew up surrounded by its legacy. It was too new to learn about in school history, and the consequences of it never sank in until I was much older, because to me it was just a part of my life. Not only was this book well-written, it opened up new avenues of history I only vaguely understood. I had never heard of Rojava. The only thing I was taught about the USSR was "Communism bad." This book was layered, it was informative, and the narrative hit me so hard at the crux of each part, especially the reuse of the phrase "go on pretending" (and their COMPLETELY different meanings). The ending was so beautiful. It's literally a choice I can imagine my grandmother making, had I decided to leave the US for revolutionary work instead of medical work. Immigration is hard. Learning your country is not always good is hard as well. Do we remain cynical, or do we try to make it better? Is it more productive to strike out somewhere new or remain? Of course, there isn't a right answer. There is only the choice you will make.

“ ‘Go on Pretending’ is the truth about a variety of real-life events and real-life characters as seen through the eyes of imaginary people. It is as honest of a story as possible to create…while pretending.”

-Alina Adams

In 1939, seventeen year old idealist Rose Janowitz volunteered for the International Abraham Lincoln Brigade, to defend Madrid during this Spanish Civil War. “She had been eagerly anticipating the opportunity…to prove herself an equal of the brave women who’d come before her.” To this end, Rose trained in weaponry and was prepared to fight. The commanders were unwilling to use women as combatants. Rose rebelled “in the midst of a rebellion.” The war ended before she was able to engage militarily.

After returning to New York City and finishing her education, she applied for a job at the corporate offices of the Procter & Gamble Company and met with Irna Phillips, “the woman who had single-handedly invented radio soap operas in the 1950s. Irna needed a supervising producer. All scripts would continue to be created solely by Irna. She stated, “Films end…If you make a bad decision in a film…it stays forever. Serials offer chance after chance to get life right daily…”. Presently, soap operas were broadcast over the radio. A new role of a ne-er-do-well was being cast by Rose. She chose Columbia educated Jonas Cain, sight unseen, after hearing his smooth voice and excellent interpretation of a script. It was a gutsy decision adding a Black actor to the cast. Just as silent movie actors sometimes did not transition well to the small screen, the American public was not ready to accept Jonas in the infancy of television. For the longest time, Rose and Jonas had to pretend their burgeoning love was non-existent. Any attempts to create a new vehicle for Jonas was met with resistance. Irna Phillips, with her protege Agnes Nixon were the pioneers of the soap opera world.

In 1957, Rose and Jonas accepted an invitation to the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow, having written a script to showcase Jonas’ acting talent and Rose’s directorial abilities. Being lauded in Moscow was a far cry from their experiences as an interracial couple in the US. They married and settled in the USSR accepting the perception that “every worker was an equal…” A television satellite discussion highlighting the lives of Rose and Jonas after 30 years in the USSR painted a rosy picture. Rose’s pretense would emerge full of holes.

Raised in Moscow, Rose and Jonas’ daughter Emma married and traveled to the US with her husband. What a surprise! Emma might wear her hair many different ways, not just in braids. Harlem boasted residents that looked like her. She discovered jazz and poetry readings. Circling back to Rose’s initial determination to embrace a cause, her granddaughter joined the Women’s revolution in Syria in 2012.

“Go on Pretending” was written by Alina Adams who immigrated to the US from the USSR in the 1970s. It seemed that watching soap operas was one of the ways to learn and increase English vocabulary. After 25 years, P&G Studios will soon be releasing a new soap opera about “a powerful and prestigious multi-generational family…that is Black Royalty.” This remarkable novel denoting 1950s segregation, the collapse of the USSR and the Women’s Revolution in Rojava is masterfully detailed in this intergenerational historical novel of three women trying to navigate a path of freedom and self-worth. Kudos to Alina Adams!

Thank you Alina Adams and Colin Mustful @ History Through Fiction for the print ARC in exchange for an honest review.