Reviews
"An awesome intercontinental whirlwind, funny and smart. Go Ukraine!" -- Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Little Failure "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." -- Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and co-author of The Strain "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." -- Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and The Lost Book of Mormon "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." -- Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "An unforgettable coming-of-age memoir of a boy from Soviet Ukraine that entertains as it conveys insight into the meaning of America in today's turbulent world." -- Jack F. Matlock, Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and author of Reagan and Gorbachev and Autopsy on an Empire "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." -- Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade "Golinkin convincingly portrays the miseries, and rare joys, of his bullied, furtive childhood, and the limits it put on him....[He] has created a deeply moving account of fear and hope." -- Publishers Weekly "An ex-Iron Curtain refugee-turned-American citizen tells the emotional story of how he and his parents fled the Ukraine two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union...Unflinching honesty. A mordantly affecting chronicle of a journey to discover that 'you can't have a future if you don't have a past.'" -- Kirkus Reviews "Golinkin's early memories are touchingly true to those of a youngster, and he reports on his family members' fears, troubles, persistence, and patience with a keen eye and a memorable voice...Eye-opening for those who come to the U.S. and for those who help them do so." -- Booklist , "An awesome intercontinental whirlwind, funny and smart. Go Ukraine!" --Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Little Failure "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." --Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and (forthcoming) The Lost Book of Mormon "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." --Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and co-author of The Strain "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." --Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "An unforgettable coming-of-age memoir of a boy from Soviet Ukraine that entertains as it conveys insight into the meaning of America in today's turbulent world." --Jack F. Matlock, Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and author of Reagan and Gorbachev and Autopsy on an Empire "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." --Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade "Golinkin convincingly portrays the miseries, and rare joys, of his bullied, furtive childhood, and the limits it put on him....[He] has created a deeply moving account of fear and hope." -- Publishers Weekly, "An awesome intercontinental whirlwind, funny and smart. Go Ukraine!" -- Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Little Failure "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." -- Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and co-author of The Strain "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." -- Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and The Lost Book of Mormon "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." -- Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "An unforgettable coming-of-age memoir of a boy from Soviet Ukraine that entertains as it conveys insight into the meaning of America in today's turbulent world." -- Jack F. Matlock, Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and author of Reagan and Gorbachev and Autopsy on an Empire "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." -- Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade "[Lev] Golinkin's personal tale of childhood in the Ukraine has the specificity of his own story at its heart, and becomes more than just a woeful yarn about repression in the Soviet Bloc. It can be heartbreaking, but in unexpected and nuanced ways...When he catches up with the present, the narrative fractures, skipping between his return voyage to the Ukraine to answer his own questions about leaving and accounts of his family's early experiences in their new country. All these strains are working at once in the story, as they are in his mind, as he digs up repressed memories and reassembles fragmented ones. Golinkin's memoir travels along at a confident clip, giving readers not just an immigrant story, but also a detailed look at how the mind wraps itself around a complicated life." --Biographile.com "Golinkin writes with dry humor about his experience but connects emotionally... A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka blends memoir and history into an intimate tale of personal growth." -- BookPage "Golinkin convincingly portrays the miseries, and rare joys, of his bullied, furtive childhood, and the limits it put on him....[He] has created a deeply moving account of fear and hope." -- Publishers Weekly "An ex-Iron Curtain refugee-turned-American citizen tells the emotional story of how he and his parents fled the Ukraine two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union...Unflinching honesty. A mordantly affecting chronicle of a journey to discover that 'you can't have a future if you don't have a past.'" -- Kirkus Reviews "Golinkin's early memories are touchingly true to those of a youngster, and he reports on his family members' fears, troubles, persistence, and patience with a keen eye and a memorable voice...Eye-opening for those who come to the U.S. and for those who help them do so." -- Booklist, "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." --Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and (forthcoming) The Lost Book of Mormon "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." --Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and The Strain "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." --Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." --Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade, "An awesome intercontinental whirlwind, funny and smart. Go Ukraine!" -- Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Little Failure "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." -- Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and (forthcoming) The Lost Book of Mormon "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." -- Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and co-author of The Strain "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." -- Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "An unforgettable coming-of-age memoir of a boy from Soviet Ukraine that entertains as it conveys insight into the meaning of America in today's turbulent world." -- Jack F. Matlock, Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and author of Reagan and Gorbachev and Autopsy on an Empire "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." -- Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade "Golinkin convincingly portrays the miseries, and rare joys, of his bullied, furtive childhood, and the limits it put on him....[He] has created a deeply moving account of fear and hope." -- Publishers Weekly "An ex-Iron Curtain refugee-turned-American citizen tells the emotional story of how he and his parents fled the Ukraine two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union...Unflinching honesty. A mordantly affecting chronicle of a journey to discover that 'you can't have a future if you don't have a past.'" -- Kirkus Reviews, "Golinkin convincingly portrays the miseries, and rare joys, of his bullied, furtive childhood, and the limits it put on him....[He] has created a deeply moving account of fear and hope." -- Publishers Weekly "There's a gem on every page of A Backpack, A Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka . Lev Golinkin has the skill and vision necessary to tell the story of a crumbling empire, and the soulfulness and flair to capture that story in the saga of one man. He's an alert, and witty, and humane storyteller. I will eagerly read anything he writes." --Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books and (forthcoming) The Lost Book of Mormon "Outstanding, original, and deeply moving." --Chuck Hogan, bestselling author of The Town and The Strain "Golinkin came to America as a Ukrainian child refugee with only what he and his family could carry. But he's found his family fortune in their exodus story--a soulful tale that is both incredibly beautiful and wickedly funny, a tale of being lost, being found and finding home." --Helene Stapinski, author of Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History "An unforgettable "coming-of-age" memoir of a boy from Soviet Ukraine that entertains as it conveys insight into the meaning of America in today's turbulent world." --Jack F. Matlock, Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and author of Reagan and Gorbachev and Autopsy on an Empire "In Lev Golinkin's skillful memoir, A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, we share his family's traumatic flight to freedom from Soviet Ukraine, and then a young man's brave attempt to build a meaningful life in the United States." --Peter Eisner, author of The Pope's Last Crusade
