Out of Line: Growing Up Soviet

Although the Iron Curtain is gone, the memory of the high drama, tragedy, and comedy that was life in the Soviet Union remains. It meant endless lineups in the cold — lineups enlivened by poetry and paranoia. It meant family life lived in two small rooms, but a family life that was rich in love and laughter. It meant trying to escape all-seeing eyes, especially those of the old ladies in their babushkas who guarded every courtyard.

Tina Grimberg brings color and perception to a life we think of as gray, impersonal, and foreboding. She was born in Kiev and grew up feisty, bright, and funny in a tiny flat with her parents and her older sister. Her descriptions of life in that grand and beleaguered city are by turn hysterical and heartbreaking. When Tina turned fifteen, the government, desperate for foreign wheat, traded “undesireables” for food, and that meant that many Jewish families like Tina’s could leave. Until they could leave on the hair-raising journey that would eventually bring them to Indiana, she was publicly shamed and cut off, but she never lost her affectionate and clear-eyed view of her homeland.

This brilliant collection of memories is an unforgettable look behind what was the Iron Curtain; at a way of life that was reality for millions of people in the twentieth century.

Although the Iron Curtain is gone, the memory of the high drama, tragedy, and comedy that was life in the Soviet Union remains. It meant endless lineups in the cold — lineups enlivened by poetry and paranoia. It meant family life lived in two small rooms, but a family life that was rich in love and laughter. It meant trying to escape all-seeing eyes, especially those of the old ladies in their babushkas who guarded every courtyard.

Tina Grimberg brings color and perception to a life we think of as gray, impersonal, and foreboding. She was born in Kiev and grew up feisty, bright, and funny in a tiny flat with her parents and her older sister. Her descriptions of life in that grand and beleaguered city are by turn hysterical and heartbreaking. When Tina turned fifteen, the government, desperate for foreign wheat, traded “undesireables” for food, and that meant that many Jewish families like Tina’s could leave. Until they could leave on the hair-raising journey that would eventually bring them to Indiana, she was publicly shamed and cut off, but she never lost her affectionate and clear-eyed view of her homeland.

This brilliant collection of memories is an unforgettable look behind what was the Iron Curtain; at a way of life that was reality for millions of people in the twentieth century.

Children's Literature

Shining a light on the customs of daily life in the former Soviet Union, Tina Grimberg uses childhood vignettes and family stories from her ancestors to recall her life in Eastern Europe before coming to the United States in 1979. The memoir pairs historical facts with these family stories to explain the difficulties of life as a Soviet Jew following WWII. Grimberg describes having to scrape by in a communist country and the reality of bribery as a necessary tool for survival in a place where free enterprise is nonexistent. She tells of endless hours standing in line for basic necessities, yet experiencing the joys of family and friends who support each other in spite of the difficult conditions. Because of her place in the Soviet society, Grimberg was not privileged to have consistent formal education, so she relied on the rich education she gained from her grandparents and parents. In her first published book, Tina Grimberg writes with passion and skill. Rich descriptive language invites readers to use all their senses to imagine the lives of those suffering under such harsh conditions. Apt similes and metaphors paint pictures of what life was like for the Soviet common folk in the twentieth century. As the family makes a courageous decision to leave the Soviet Union and venture to America, we find even more drama encompassing the family's exodus. Readers are kept wondering about Grimberg's future and wanting to follow the family as they make their new life in America. Reviewer: Rachel Hilditch

Rabbi Tina Grimberg developed a keen interest in Judaism and became involved in the American-Jewish community after settling in Indianapolis. Though her first career was in family therapy, her love of her Jewish heritage called her to pursue rabbinical studies at the Reform Movement’s Hebrew Union College, from which she graduated in 2001. Following her rabbinic work at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, Rabbi Grimberg moved to Toronto, and since 2002 she has served as rabbi for Congregation Darchei Noam, the city’s Reconstructionist synagogue. In all her professional endeavors, Tina has been able to help others through her unique storytelling abilities, which allow the listener and reader to make sense of the past, and dream about the future. Rabbi Tina Grimberg lives in Toronto with her husband, Moshe, and their son, David. Out of Line is Rabbi Grimberg’s first published book of collected stories.