Lady of the Snakes

This intriguing novel focuses on two different marriages, a modern one between a Madison, Wisconsin couple, and a late nineteenth century one between a Russian couple who lived in the provinces. Jane, a Russian scholar, is married to Billy, a law student. According to Billy and sometimes Jane herself, she lives entirely too entangled in the life of her research subject, Grigory Karkova and his wife, Masha. The book opens with a vivid childbirth scene. Even while pushing her first child into the world, Jane can't help recalling the passage in Masha's diaries where she records one of her children's births. The other characters are colorful and interesting: beautiful Felicia, who owns a boa constrictor and is Jane's student and the family's babysitter, sly Seligman, Jane's office-mate who started the whole field of Karkova studies and thinks nothing of stealing documents, Greg Olen, the great-great grandson of the Karkovas who is a struggling writer, and last but not least, charming Maisie, Jane's and Billy's daughter, who pulls Jane back over and over into the real world. A delightful novel that examines important issues: how to raise a child, how to develop a sharing parenting relationship, how much time and energy to devote to work, and what to learn and not learn from literature. Recommended highly for all but the snake-phobic. A delightful novel about human relationships and the passion for knowledge.