More Than I Love My Life

Gary Shteyngart described Grossman’s 2017 novel, A Horse Walks into a Bar, as a blend of pathos and difficult hope. In many ways, that combination characterizes Grossman’s entire bibliography (e.g., Falling Out of Time; To the End of the Land). Here, Grossman unspools the unintended consequences of shielding your children from family secrets and the generational scarring that remains. Nina, who’s estranged from both her mother Vera and her daughter Gili, is diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. In an attempt to reconnect to her family and preserve memories for her future self, Nina suggests filming a documentary about Vera’s life on her 90th birthday. With Gili directing, the three women set sail for the island of Goli Otok, a former labor camp off the coast of Croatia where decades ago Vera was imprisoned for several years, on suspicion of being a Communist sympathizer. As Vera recounts the stages of her life, her maternal decisions echo through the lived experiences of both Nina and Gili and shatter the emotional walls between the three generations of women.