The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra (Hogarth Press, 2015)

★★★★☆

A collection of interconnected stories, all set in Russia and Chechnya over the last century, examining family, legacy, and love against a backdrop of war and oppression.

A strong, well-researched “mixtape” that weaves compelling individual stories into a larger emotional arc. I enjoyed Marra’s writing style and felt invested in the characters, and the interrelated structure was deftly done. Favorites: the opening story, “The Leopard,” concerning a government artist/censor who, after informing on his brother, attempts to atone for his guilt by painting him into the photographs he retouches; and “Wolf of White Forest,” one of several entries about the lengths to which parents will go to provide better futures for their children.