Soviet Milk - Nora Ikstena

Spanning fifty years in the life of a nation, from the end of�World War Two to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Soviet Milk gives�voice to a Latvian mother and daughter swept up in the tide�of history. The mother, a gifted fertility specialist, is exiled to a�rural village after defending a patient from abuse by a Soviet�officer. Stripped of her career, she sinks into depression. Her�daughter grows up with her grandparents, struggling with her�mother's distance and the pressure of a society that leaves�little room for autonomy. Finding hope in poetry and her dreams�of a better future, the daughter moves towards both personal�and national liberation, even as her mother slips further into�despair. This is the story of three generations of women marked�by Soviet rule and the love between a mother and daughter.