This review is written with thanks to the author for my copy of Eagle In The Fridge.

Blurb:

The most revolutionary thing you can do is live.Rasa is a young wife and mother, taking care of home and family against a backdrop of a crumbling Soviet economy. In 1987, it’s a world where the most valuable currencies include fresh flowers and real coffee, and Rasa’s negotiation skills are challenged when she seeks solutions in the fight for her youngest son’s life.It’s a busy life. Yet she – like others from her homeland of Latvia – yearns for more: to see her small nation regain its independence from the USSR. And while the Iron Curtain may be crumbling from within, a superpower doesn’t fade away without a fight.The Latvian people cling to their heritage, daring to raise their flag and sing their nation’s anthem in defiance of communist rule.As tensions spiral, Rasa learns that revolution isn’t always fought and won with guns. Sometimes a song can be stronger than bullets.

Review:

The Eagle In The Fridge is set in Latvia in the late 1980s and early 1990s during Latvia’s fight for independence from the USSR. This period is a period I know absolutely nothing about, so it was a joy to be educated by Zenta Brice. She describes everything in great detail to help the reader understand the conditions in which Rasa and her family lived, but I never felt that there was too much information or that her tone was in any way patronising. Her writing style is beautiful and I was immediately drawn into the surroundings.

The descriptions of Rasa’s family are wonderful and I immediately fell in love with them all. Rasa’s desire to protect her family and the children’s ability to add humour to even the darkest situations made me root for them and hope that their living conditions would improve.  There is a sub-plot surrounding the theme of disability and how Rasa comes to terms with it and I found this fascinating.

As the conflict in Latvia escalates, the sense of danger heightens and I was concerned for Rasa and her family. There is a lot of tension in the final few pages and I wanted to know how the book would finish.

Eagle In The Fridge is available from Amazon.