The England We Know: Russian Voices Abroad is based on a series of interviews, recorded between 2019 and 2021, with twelve Russophone immigrants-those who have achieved success and those who haven't, the well-educated and the blue-collar-interpolated with the author's memoir. Each story invites the reader into the intimate world of these men and women who have built their lives in England, the destination and dreamland for those who have arrived here from various corners of the former Soviet Union: Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Whereas, for others, the UK has become their third or even fourth home, these stories take readers on a journey to Canada, Italy, France, and New Zealand. These vividly reconstructed stories give voice to the so-often voiceless revealing family secrets and the trauma of generations. They are the stories of lives transformed. In The England We Know: Russian Voices Abroad Olga Kenton provides readers with a deep and empathetic understanding of the immigrant experience. These deeply personal stories-filled with moments of joy, sorrow, struggle, and triumph-explore themes of identity, belonging and the search for a new home.
Olga Kenton holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University of Birmingham, where she currently teaches in the Department of Modern Languages. Born in Moscow, she moved to New Zealand in her early twenties and has lived in Hong Kong, France, and the UK, where she currently resides. As a prose writer and journalist, Olga has taught Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham and published articles with leading Russian and Eastern European filmmakers, theatre directors, actors, writers, and artists. In addition to her published creative works, Olga's publications include reportage about the Christchurch earthquake (Discovery) and interviews with Andrey Zvyagintsev, Nikolas Pasternak-Slater, and Dolya Gavanski. Her novels include At the Edge of the World and The Girl from the House on Embankment.
"I'm very impressed by this powerful and brilliantly written project. The spy story is extraordinarily compelling, but the tales of ordinary and everyday struggles are equally fascinating and affecting. By turns deeply poignant, complex, funny and sad and ultimately so life-affirming. I feel enriched for having read it."Professor Luke Kennard, University of Birmingham "All in all, I found this a unique and fascinating account of the lives of Russian emigres. What fascinated me most were the back stories of these emigres, their lives as children, the memories and histories of their parents and grandparents and the very different world from which they emerged to the one they came to inhabit. An easy and appealing read."Tim Kelly, Coventry University "The episodic recurrence of memoir sections within the polyphonic structure is very effective. These sections are sensorily evocative and particularly well-written, with deceptively simple and conversational style."Dr Ellen Wiles, University of Exeter
