The story is set in Kiev, where Masha lives with her grandmother in an abandoned trolleybus called Icarus. One night, an electrical storm causes Icarus to take off, transporting her to an impossible place where she can make a wish for her heart’s desire. But will she make the right decision, so that she can rescue her long-absent mother from Uncle Igor’s strange hold over her?

Although this book is for the 9+ age-group, there’s an unspoken dark thread running beneath it which older readers may pick up. Masha lives with her grandmother in the trolleybus because, four years previously, her father returned to Kamchatka and never came back. It’s unclear whether he split up from Masha’s mother, died, got involved with the Mafia or the Russian authorities, but the result was that they lost their home and were very hard up. Then Uncle Igor – who isn’t a real uncle – appears on the scene, and finds Masha’s mother work in Turkey. The work is never spelled out, but the suspicion is that she’s been a prostitute. But this darkness is very subtle, and Masha’s magical obsessions with tigers and Cossacks are the real flavour of the book. It’s a struggle to escape the clutches of Uncle Igor, who wants Masha as a companion for his spoilt daughter Anastasia, finding Masha’s mother, and getting granny out of hospital.

There’s a lot of folklore and a little magic woven into the story, and some lovely descriptive writing. I’ve been to Ukraine a couple of times, and the whole feel of the country and the people and their heritage rings very true. The book has a happy ending, and it’s an unusual and memorable read.

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2008-08-03