Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
This amazing story probes into many aspects of fear, control, censorship, and the lives of our sisters and brothers in Russia. This book may be found in the juvenile fiction section of your library, but I would recommend this as a book discussion for Middle School - Adults.
1. In Yelchin's story, how does Sasha describe a hero? [Discussion leaders should look for answers that equate his father and communism as a hero]
2. Why is the description of his family home so important to this story? Describe the communal house and list important details.
3. How does the house relate to the social structure of Stalinist Russia?
4. What did all the families know that lived in the communal house? What is an informer? [Yelchin describes that one informant was purposely placed within a communal household. The problem was no one knew the informant's identity.]
5. Describe the Young Pioneers as told by Sasha. Why does Sasha dream of being a Young Pioneer?
6. How is Stalin described and what is his title? Why did they call him Father? What does that imply?
7. In Yelchin's story of young Sasha, is communism presently "here"? [Discussion leaders: This is a very important component in the tale. Look for responses referring to the future, the people were told communism is Coming. This is an extremely important distinction. This was the seed of hope (see question #10) that was planted. All will be better when communism is fully embraced and realized in the land.]
8. In a follow up question to the "...coming" discussion. What was promised to the people when the arrival was finally realized?
9. In the beginning of the story, Sasha talks about secrets. What does he say? What is a secret? Are secrets good, bad, or indifferent? When might you use secrets? When should you be fearful of secrets? [Discussion leaders should look for a shift in the idea of secrets. Sasha claims at the beginning of the story, that no one has any secrets - there are no secrets in Russia. Try to see if the group will bring these points to the discussion and discuss Sasha's claim.]
10. What seed of hope is planted in the Russian people? [Discussion leader should look for thoughts related to the idea of Coming of Communism, with its coming -- there will be food for everyone, employment etc.]
11. How does the boy Sasha see the relationship between communism and capitalism?
12. What happened to Sasha's mother?
13. Does the story become more tense as it progresses? Explain why you, the reader, feel tension during the reading.
14. How does fear and trust relate to each other? Describe how a Christian should respond to fear. Find a concordance and list verses regarding fear and trust.
15. Do you think Sasha's father felt fear? his mother? his neighbors? his aunt? Explain how each of these characters lived with fear.
16. What happens to a society when fear is taught and lived from generation to generation?
If you were running an imaginary country similar to the one in this book, how would you, as the leader break the cycle of fear? [Discussion leaders should look for answers that express an acknowledgment of the complexity of societal fear]
17. Where does the incident of "breaking Stalin's nose" come into the story? Why do you suppose the writer chose this as his title?
18. Describe the scene at the end with the woman waiting in line with Sasha. What is the line for? What does the woman offer Sasha?
19. At the end of the book, does the boy have a different view of a hero? Father Stalin? At the end of the story, do you suspect the boy places his hope somewhere else? What other ideas do you think have changed? Explain your answer.
20. Describe the black and white illustrations throughout the book. How did the illustrations impact the story? Did you feel different when you looked at the last illustration of the line Sasha was standing in? After the discussion, share the afterword information to the group.
Works Cited:
Yelchin, Eugene. Breaking Stalin's Nose. New York: Henry Holt, 2011. Print.
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