Rivka's War ~ Marilyn Oser

There are books about young women coming of age during times of unrest. There are even novels about Jewish girls growing up in infernal locales. There are tales about Jews in Russia. There are books about Jews at war. There may even be books about Jews in the military during World War I (WWI). Possibly some of Jews during the Revolution in Russia as well. What is rare is a combination of all these things: a Jewish teenager woman enlists in the Russian military during WWI, fighting both on the front and against other Russians while political parties gain supremacy over the Tsar and his family.



Growing up in a small village in Russia, Rivka is a young woman with a yearning for adventure but is culturally limited in choices for her future, while her brother chooses academic pursuits rather than exploring how far the less rigid strictures of society might take him. Frustrated and depressed by what life has to offer her, Rivka is ecstatic when she is sent to visit her brother studying in Petrograd.

Almost immediately she meets with two women who will be the biggest influences on the rest of her life. Both encourage her to shed the notions that woman and especially Jewish women, cannot fight for themselves or their country. Coping with the challenges of becoming a soldier and the cultural differences existing between all the other fighting women, Rivka constantly questions whether she has found her calling and whether she should continue with her adventures.

Oser tells a compelling and empathetic story about a young woman struggling and manoeuvering within a landscape where prejudices and political sentiments change at the whim of the person speaking loudest. As we follow the protagonist through her self-doubt and triumphs we realise that self-determination, whether in times of conflict or not, is achieved through the trials and tribulations of every day life, and that finding 'home' is a desire for us all, regardless of what we do in life.

My only criticism is the sense of time and this has perhaps more to do with me than the author, but I felt that for Rivka time was 'long', even when it was only a few months or so. This story takes place over a period of about four years, but there were times where I felt like there decades between events, only to realise that WWI and the Russian Revolution were still each in their infancy. However, Rivka is quite young and I seem to recall time going slowly when I wanted something desperately, and quite quickly in those wondrous moments.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley

Review originally appeared on the now defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.