A Bend in the Stars

A Bend in the Stars is the story of female doctor Miri Abramov and her scientist brother Vanya.  It takes place in Russia in 1914, the year a solar eclipse occurred over Kiev.  At this time, Albert Einstein was attempting to prove his theory of relativity, that gravity bends light.  Vanya Abramov wanted to beat Einstein by proving the theory before him.  In order to do that Vanya needed to photograph the solar eclipse.

The publisher's summary:

"In Russia, in the summer of 1914, as war with Germany looms and the Czar's army tightens its grip on the local Jewish community, Miri Abramov and her brilliant physicist brother, Vanya, are facing an impossible decision.  Since their parents drowned fleeing to America, Miri and Vanya have been raised by their babushka, a famous matchmaker who has taught them to protect themselves at all costs:  to fight, to kill if necessary, and always to have an escape plan.  But now, with fierce, headstrong Miri on the verge of becoming one of Russia's only female surgeons, and Vanya hoping to solve the final puzzles of Einstein's elusive theory of relativity, can they bear to leave the homeland that has given them so much? 

Before they have time to make their choice, war is declared and Vanya goes missing, along with Miri's fiancé. Miri braves the firing squad to go looking for them both.  As the eclipse that will change history darkens skies across Russia, not only the safety of Miri's own family but the future of science itself hangs in the balance."

I enjoyed the book but at the halfway point feared that the Abramovs' scattered flight across Russia was not going to help them escape.  They started out traveling together but quickly split up as each one of them had a different agenda to complete before they could consider leaving Russia.  They did not learn their babushka's teaching that they should always be prepared for disaster.  Neither brother nor sister cared enough about the family as a whole but rather their own interests.  While their haphazard flight seemed suspenseful, I could not stop thinking about how they handled their earlier lives by always being prepared for the enemy and then when it counted, neither Miri nor Vanya acted in any planned way.  In fact, they both changed their plans several times while they were traveling across Russia.

1. A Bend in the Stars was a fast and relaxing read.  I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.