Greater Understanding After The Interview with Eugene Yelchin

         I got the great opportunity to interview the author of "Breaking Stalin's Nose", Eugene Yelchin with my fellow group members. This was the first time I had spoken to an author of a book before, and it gave me insight about the reasons he wrote the book, and how it was such a personal story. From the beginning Eugene struck me as being very interesting guy, and that continued throughout the interview. One aspect of the interview that I found most interesting was the age group he targeted his book towards, and the reason he targets this age. Eugene feels that the age group "Breaking Stalin's Nose" targets is also the same age that kids begin to feel they can make their own decisions, and branch away from their parents' beliefs. When Eugene was growing up, he began to disagree with some of his fathers beliefs about the communist system, and in "Breaking Stalin's Nose" Sasha begins to doubt aspects of the communist system. When a younger reader reads this book they will get the impression that it is okay to have your own opinions even if it isn't in complete alignment with that of their parents. Eugene feels this is a very important time in a kids life and through using both the medium of art and writing, it creates an interesting and intriguing read, especially to younger and less experienced readers. Eugene saying this interested me, and if you think about it it really makes sense. The art in "Breaking Stalin's Nose" kept me alert and interested, it was a nice way of breaking the text, and giving the story a new depth.
          I made the connection of the mixture of pictures and words in a chapter book, that is demonstrated in "Breaking Stalin's Nose", to a book I read in middle school called "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". This book also combines the medium of art and writing to create a very interesting read. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" however contains more pictures than words, making it less work to read, and does't have the same depth that "Breaking Stalin's Nose". In my opinion Eugene found a good balance between keeping it interesting with pictures, while giving the novel greater depth through words. One aspect of adding pictures to a chapter book is it increases your ability to imagine the setting. I really like to be able to use my imagination while reading, and paint my own picture. The illustrations in "Breaking Stalin's Nose" were funky, and were not perfectly done drawings with perfectly proportioned bodies. The pictures didn't just show what was happening in the scene, but it accentuated the difference in power between Sasha and the principal, by using an extreme prospective, and also the size of each individual. A scene that sticks out to me showing this was the scene in the principals office with Four Eyes and Sasha, where the principal is very large, leaning over the two very small boys. The drawings didn't just show what Russia and what the school looks like, but it helped build tension and was used to show the difference in power. In a normal chapter book with no illustrations the ability to show the size or 'power' difference between the principal and Sasha is diminished. You can describe the way he peered down on Sasha, but when it is drawn out it has greater impact. The illustrations throughout the book help a younger reader engage with the situation, while creating stronger meaning. The combination of illustrations and words in "Breaking Stalin's Nose" caught my eye, quite literally, and given more time I would have liked to have asked Eugene if he had planned the message he hoped the image to convey.
          Away from the story and to current Russia. Eugene was born and raised in Russia, moving the the United States in 1983. Eugene learned Russian growing up and learned English at the age of 27. I asked about the situation between Russia and Ukraine, and if he saw it different being from a more Russian prospective. Eugene mentioned how he has greater access to information because he is able to understand what the Russians are saying, and because of this ability to understand the Russian media before it is interpreted, he felt he had a different and better understanding of the situation. Eugene also mentioned how there is information the Russians don't want us knowing, clandestine, and I would be interested to know what those things are, and how Russia keeping it secret effects our understanding of the situation.
           The interview with Eugene gave me insight to his reason for writing "Breaking Stalin's Nose" and the message he hoped to convey to people not only living in Russia, but all over the world, concepts I'm not sure I would have picked up on without speaking to him. I would highly suggest trying to get in touch with the author of a book you enjoyed and see if you gain a new depth to the story after talking to them. But make sure to thanks them!
Thanks Eugene!