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The Brothers
The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy | Masha Gessen
8 posts | 11 read | 9 to read
An important story for our era: How the American Dream went wrong for two immigrants, and the nightmare that resulted. On April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three people and wounding more than 264 others. In the ensuing manhunt, Tamerlan Tsarnaev died, and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, was captured and ultimately charged on thirty federal counts. Yet long after the bombings and the terror they sowed, after all the testimony and debate, what we still havent learned is why. Why did the American Dream go so wrong for two immigrants? How did such a nightmare come to pass? Acclaimed Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen is uniquely endowed with the background, access, and talents to tell the full story. An immigrant herself, who came to the Boston area with her family as a teenager, she returned to the former Soviet Union in her early twenties and covered firsthand the transformations that were wracking her homeland and its neighboring regions. It is there that the history of the Tsarnaev brothers truly begins, as descendants of ethnic Chechens deported to Central Asia in the Stalin era. Gessen follows the family in their futile attempts to make a life for themselves in one war-torn locale after another and then, as new migrs, in the looking-glass, utterly disorienting world of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most crucially, she reconstructs the struggle between assimilation and alienation that ensued for each of the brothers, incubating a deadly sense of mission. And she traces how such a split in identity can fuel the metamorphosis into a new breed of homegrown terrorist, with feet on American soil but sense of self elsewhere. From the Hardcover edition.
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review
kimmypete1
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Mehso-so

Meh. Not sure what I was hoping for, but it wasn‘t this.

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EmilieGR
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Pickpick

This book was not really about “the bombing” per sae, but rather a dissection of immigrant life in America and an exploration of what it means to be a refugee in America and in the USSR. Gessun is intelligent, knowledge, and sympathetic and looks at the culture and history of a people, as well as the individuals. Highly recommend.

4 likes1 stack add
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Anton
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Pickpick

A fascinating look at the events leading up to and fallout from the Boston Marathon bombing. Gessen excels at writing about subjects she can't interview, crafting stories from public record and the thoughts of those who knew the people she writes about. This book is thought-provoking and challenges a lot of what Americans have accepted about the 'radicalization' of terrorists, as well as the perceived successes of the War On Terror. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

readordierachel Sounds like a great read 👍 7y
5 likes1 comment
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Anton

It was called, tellingly and absurdly, the War on Terror, an emotion all nations would like to declare war against if only that were possible. Instead, they waged war on the Muslims.

It was always the Muslims.

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Anton
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Been wanting to read something nonfiction, and I enjoyed both of Masha Gessen's previous books.

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MyNamesParadise
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Pickpick

Fascinating book about the familial history of the Tsarnaevs! I couldn't stop listening! It's interesting how the violence after the fall of the USSR had a trickle down effect on The Tsarnaev Brothers. The book doesn't provide answers to WHY they did it, but it paints the portrait of what led to the Boston bombing. I'm surprised more info on Tamerlan's wife post bombing wasn't given. Highly recommended! The audience makes their own conclusions.

29 likes1 stack add
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LeahBergen
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I just want to show how restrained I was while shopping the Book Outlet Boxing Day Sale (Smallest order ever. I'm surprised that my credit card company didn't call to verify it was really me making the purchase). Circling the Sun is coming up in one of my book clubs and Jane Steele is ALL YOUR FAULT. #BookMail

jpmcwisemorgan Woo hoo to a book order coming in!!! 8y
BookBabe 😂😁👍🏻 8y
LibrarianRyan You did better than I. 22 I believe. 8y
See All 31 Comments
jessberk13 Good restraint!! I sadly did not order anything during that sale 8y
Suet624 😂😂😂. Your credit card company comment cracked me up. 8y
Dolly I really liked Circling the Sun. I wish I could sit in on the book club.🛩 8y
Graciouswarriorprincess Great stack! 8y
christineandbooks Loved Jane Steele! 8y
Reviewsbylola Circling the Sun and Jane Steele are great scores!! 8y
BethFishReads Hope you love them! 8y
Anton The Brothers has been on my list since it came out. Her book on Pussy Riot was fantastic. 8y
bio_chem06 @LeahBergen I have Jane Steele on my kindle and have tried to read it a couple of times, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. It's been tough trying to decide but I'm going to keep trying and hopefully get past that hump. Was that a pick for you or just a chance purchase? 8y
LeahBergen @LibrarianRyan 22? That made me laugh! 8y
LeahBergen @jpmcwisemorgan Yeah!! 👏🏻 8y
LeahBergen @BookBabe 😀😀 8y
LeahBergen @jessica Ooo, I'm impressed! 8y
LeahBergen @Suet624 😀😀 8y
LeahBergen @Dolly Oh, good to hear! 8y
LeahBergen @christineandbooks Oh, good! 👍🏼 8y
LeahBergen @Reviewsbylola Oh, good! 👏🏻 8y
LeahBergen @BethFishReads Thanks! 😀 8y
LeahBergen @Anton I heard it was great! (and "she" is actually a "he". I just looked at the author photo and was surprised ?) 8y
LeahBergen @bio_chem06 I haven't read it yet. It seemed to be getting a lot of Litsy love so I took a chance. 😀 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @bio_chem06 I went back and forth on Jane Steele too. It's still kind of a mixed bag for me, honestly. 8y
Anton @LeahBergen Photo notwithstanding, Masha Gessen is definitely a she. I've seen her in quite a few interviews. I think her given name is Maria, Masha is a nickname. 8y
LeahBergen @Anton OMG. I just looked again!!! I'm such an idiot. 😂😂 (and laughed out loud in my silent house). Thank you for correcting me. I should glance over new purchases a little better in the future! 8y
Anton @LeahBergen Haha, I won't tell her if you don't. (edited) 8y
LeahBergen @Anton Shhhh! (and I was always mistaken for a boy when I was little so I should be more careful 😂) 8y
LibrarianRyan @LeahBergen yep. Not being able to buy books for a library has hampered my checkbook. Now to find time to read them all. 8y
113 likes1 stack add31 comments
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Soscha
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It's late and this is going to become my second read for #24in48. I have the audio version so I can get through a few chapters before I nod off.