Nina, the main character, in her old age, seems bitter, angry and withdrawn. I suppose that because of what she endured in Soviet Russia under Stalin, she deserves to be that way. Plus, the added burden she must endure having been a prima ballerina most of her life has made her body ache and throb, and she is confined to a wheelchair most of the time. But I just wanted to like her more and I just couldn't. Even as a young woman, I didn't find her character particularly sympathetic.
Her friend Vera, was the more sympathetic character for me. Her parents "disappeared" suddenly one day and she was pretty much an orphan for her whole life. Nina's mother takes a special interest in her, understandably, but Nina's jealousy of that situation didn't seem right to me, somehow.
Anyway, Grigory, the university professor, was the most real and sympathetic character, at least for me.
The ending? I was not even that interested to find out how these characters were connected.
PostScript: Just found this blog post and it's making me rethink my review.... or making me want to pick up the book again and try all over.
