I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS

Following upon his acclaimed illustrated middle-grade memoir, The Genius Under the Table (2021), Yelchin switches to a graphic format to continue his account of growing up in the Soviet Union.

This entry covers events from 1980 to 1983, when the young artist received hard-won permission to depart for the U.S. In spare text and grayscale illustrations, this episodic narrative records a period of tumultuous emotional ups and downs. On the one hand, Yelchin experienced the triumph of finding professional work in stage design and the thrill of an increasingly close, if sometimes awkward, relationship with visiting American student Libby, who changed his life. He also experienced the shock of losing a refusenik Jewish friend to what was likely a KGB assassination and was confined in a Siberian psychiatric hospital, where he was heavily drugged and physically restrained, after tearing up draft notices. In the artwork, blurry background scenes of snowy streets and photos of Leonid Brezhnev’s jowly face on TV strongly evoke the feeling of living in a repressive, authoritarian state, while figures, particularly those with speaking roles, stand out against the drab backdrops. The young leads make a particularly engaging couple—one small, pretty, and expressive, the other lanky, hunched, and limp-haired. Yelchin has such a gift for depicting faces with distinctive character that everyone here, from struggling artists to scowling soldiers and functionaries, will leave as strong an impression on readers as the oppressive setting.

An exceptional work: atmospherically illustrated and underpinned by strong but restrained feelings.