Jocelyn Parr (Author), Inez Summerville (Read by)
Uncertain Weights and Measures (Audiobook)
Duration: 13h 30m Unabridged
Published: September 07, 2021
BTC Audiobooks / Fiction / Novels / Historical Fiction
Digital Audio: 9781773102610 $45.00 SRP
Moscow, 1921. Tatiana and Sasha meet in a bookstore the night it is bombed and fall in love. Tatiana is a promising young scientist, who soon follows her mentor to the Institut Mozga to study the source of genius. Sasha is an artist, who drifts aimlessly in a world increasingly indifferent to his art.
When her mentor suddenly dies, Tatiana begins to speculate about the shadowy circumstances of his death. Disconcerted, she plunges into doubt — about her work as a scientist, her naïveté about the Revolution, her faith in the state, and her relationship with Sasha.
Published: September 07, 2021
BTC Audiobooks / Fiction / Novels / Historical Fiction
Digital Audio: 9781773102610 $45.00 SRP
Moscow, 1921. Tatiana and Sasha meet in a bookstore the night it is bombed and fall in love. Tatiana is a promising young scientist, who soon follows her mentor to the Institut Mozga to study the source of genius. Sasha is an artist, who drifts aimlessly in a world increasingly indifferent to his art.
When her mentor suddenly dies, Tatiana begins to speculate about the shadowy circumstances of his death. Disconcerted, she plunges into doubt — about her work as a scientist, her naïveté about the Revolution, her faith in the state, and her relationship with Sasha.
Uncertain Weights and Measures takes place in the heady days of post-Revolution Russia when belief in a higher purpose was everything. Jocelyn Parr’s beautifully incisive prose captures the ambiance of 1920s Moscow and the frisson of real-life events while also spinning a captivating tale of a love torn apart by ideology and high-stakes politics.
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Author
Jocelyn Parr was born in New Zealand, but grew up on Canada's West Coast. Her writing has been published in France, Germany, and Canada and in magazines such as Matrix, Grain, and Brick Magazine. She now lives in Montreal, where she teaches history at Dawson College.
Inez Summerville has narrated several audiobooks for CNIB. She lives in Toronto.
Inez Summerville has narrated several audiobooks for CNIB. She lives in Toronto.
Awards
Shortlisted: Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction
Shortlisted: International Dublin Literary Award
Shortlisted: Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Named a favourite book by The National Post
Winner: Quebec Writers’ Federation Concordia University First Book Prize
Shortlisted: International Dublin Literary Award
Shortlisted: Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Named a favourite book by The National Post
Winner: Quebec Writers’ Federation Concordia University First Book Prize
Reviews
"The story of a Russia—and a love—at the precipice, poised between dreaming and giving in. As in Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels or Bellow’s Seize the Day, Parr’s characters seem to move under the surface of the page—breathing, changing, flawed, and resilient." — Sean Michaels, author of Us Conductors
"An illuminating and assured debut. Parr deftly incorporates her historical research into an affecting story about a young woman grappling with the tense intersections between art and science, politics and idealism, duty and love." — Catherine Cooper, author of White Elephant
"A historical novel that feels refreshingly contemporary, Uncertain Weights and Measures exposes the tensions between ideology and conviction, politics and art, truth and power. This remarkable debut novel is both a compelling love story and a thoughtful exploration of the human heart and mind." — Johanna Skibsrud, author of Quartet for the End of Time
"Could very well be read as a cautionary allegory of our own 'brave and visionary time.'" — The Walrus
"In this confident and accomplished novel, Parr creates a detailed portrait of a world haunted by the past but uncertain of its future direction." — Atlantic Books Today
"Uncertain Weights and Measures goes for it and gets there." — Quill & Quire
"A great book for lovers of history and science." — The Waterloo Region Record
"Parr's penetrating, incisive prose places the reader amid the thrilling, frightening milieu of real-life 1920s Moscow... This debut novel bodes well for a strong fiction-writing career for Parr." — The Winnipeg Free Press
"An illuminating and assured debut. Parr deftly incorporates her historical research into an affecting story about a young woman grappling with the tense intersections between art and science, politics and idealism, duty and love." — Catherine Cooper, author of White Elephant
"A historical novel that feels refreshingly contemporary, Uncertain Weights and Measures exposes the tensions between ideology and conviction, politics and art, truth and power. This remarkable debut novel is both a compelling love story and a thoughtful exploration of the human heart and mind." — Johanna Skibsrud, author of Quartet for the End of Time
"Could very well be read as a cautionary allegory of our own 'brave and visionary time.'" — The Walrus
"In this confident and accomplished novel, Parr creates a detailed portrait of a world haunted by the past but uncertain of its future direction." — Atlantic Books Today
"Uncertain Weights and Measures goes for it and gets there." — Quill & Quire
"A great book for lovers of history and science." — The Waterloo Region Record
"Parr's penetrating, incisive prose places the reader amid the thrilling, frightening milieu of real-life 1920s Moscow... This debut novel bodes well for a strong fiction-writing career for Parr." — The Winnipeg Free Press
