Despite the Falling Snow

Book excerpt: “A perfectly balanced novel of love and tragedy.” ---Waterstone’s Books Quarterly (UK) In present-day Boston, seventy-year-old Alexander Ivanov has built a successful business empire. A kind, passionate man, he has managed to bury the tragic memories surrounding his early life in post-Stalinist Russia with his charismatic late wife, Katya---or so he believes. Into his life come two women: one will open up the heart Alexander has protected for so long; the other is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to Katya all those years ago. Despite the Falling Snow journeys back to the snowbound streets of 1950s Moscow, revealing a city of secrets and treachery, a world of true love lost and friendships betrayed. For only by confronting the past can Alexander move on to his future. “At its core an unforgettable love story. Yet it is also a political novel of the highest order. Sarif understands, as Arthur Koestler did, the human cost exacted by totalitarian systems. And like Graham Greene, she knows that the worst betrayals are those committed by the ones we love. Her novel is immensely powerful---and deeply moving. ---Steve Yarbrough, author of Prisoners of War and Visible Spirits “Explores love and tragic loss with the pace of a thriller and a style that is gentle and flowing, a hypnotic combination that eases between the United States and 1950s Moscow. . . . A pure delight, highly recommended.” ---The Bookseller (UK) “An intriguing story of love, betrayal, anguish, and despair. . . . An enthralling read.” ---Daily Dispatch (UK) :An engrossing story that moves effortlessly between present-day Boston and Soviet Russia, dealing with terrible emotional violence and passionate love.” ---Writing Magazine (UK)