Rating: 
Summary: Good start, doesn't do justice to the immigrant experience
Review: The book is a nice effort to capture the essense of the complex Russian Jewish immigrant experience (which happens to be near and dear to my heart). However, I found the language choppy and the storylines less than engaging.The first couple of stories left me wishing for more depth in the characters and more vivid detail in the surroundings. Granted, many of the details are implied for the narrator. For instance, there is reference to an old Soviet chair in one of the stories - what does this mean? It fails to conjure up an image even for someone like me who familiar with the setting. Perhaps by adopting another perspective, or making his narrator more aware and articulate, the author could have painted a stronger, more engaging story, which is what the subject matter deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: Great short stories
Review: The critical hype surrounding this collection is well deserved. Bezmozgis is a fantastic writer whose stories are suffused with humor and sympathy. These stories present the experiences of the Berman family, Jewish Russian immigrants in Toronto. Stand outs are the title story, which simultaneously captures the experience of being a teenager and the painful realities of life; and the brief "The Animal to the Memory", which is one of the most powerful stories I have ever read about the importance of history. I look forward to DB's future writings.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant piece of work!
Review: This is a brilliant piece of work. All of the stories in Natasha and Other Stories are connected and narrated by the son of a Russian-Jewish family from 1970s Toronto. The stories of their struggles with wanting a new life. The language is sharp and evocative -- the descriptions vivid and beautiful. And the stories are thought provoking and poignant. My favorite stories are "The Strongest Man" and "Minyan." Reading about this family gave me the impression that David Bezmozgi was writing about his own experiences. It doesn't matter, for this is a brilliant short-story collection that I read in one sitting. I wish I had taken longer to read it and savored the experience. Natasha is going to my re-read pile. I cannot recommend this book enough...
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