Shh, the Genius is Working!

I’ve been working on my book.

You know, about the whole immigration to NYC from Leningrad.  My writing partnerette told me that I need to start referring to it as my MS.  Which I really hope stands for manuscript. I’ve had to practice saying it a lot because right now when I say it, I sound like a real pretentious asshole. I sure hope that weareths off.

So last night my kids asked me how it was going, mostly because I was sighing dramatically and saying things like “working on a book is a lonely life, children.  Well, besides the tweeting and the emailing and the blog updating.  A life of solitude. No one asks you how it’s going.”

And I had to tell them that I was stumped about the title.  And my son suggested “Leaving Russia”. Which seems too blunt.   My daughter suggested “My Memoir About Leaving Russia and Coming to NYC”.  Which tells the whole story, so there’s nothing left for the inside part of the book.  They’re no help and I probably won’t dedicate the MS to them.

So I’m writing my MS (which probably stands for masterpiece) and then I realize that I can totally infuse some historical significance into it because I’m writing about how cold it was in Leningrad, and I decide to mention that Russian winters are so cold, it made even the German army retreat.  My memoir can be taught at school.  In history.

But then, I’m plagued with doubt.  So I email Husbandrinka.

Hi, is it fair to say that the Nazis gave up on the whole Siege of Leningrad thing because it was super cold?

What could be simpler than just saying “absolutely!”  Because this is the response that I got:

Re the siege of Leningrad, I think it’s an oversimplification to say the Germans couldn’t stand the Russian winter and gave up.    I don’t have the exact sequence in my head, but the Germans invaded Russia in the summer of 1942, I think, and then made it almost to Moscow by the time winter set in.  Their supply lines were stretched very thin and the generals wanted to retreat, but Hitler wouldn’t let them.  He also had this sort of three-pronged strategy, where they would attack in the North (Leningrad), in the center (Moscow) and also in the South so as to take control of oil fields in the Caucasus.  The generals were very against this, since they believed in a traditional war theory that one had to control the enemy’s political capital.  At any rate, they dug in and held out for the winter of 1942-43.  I think this is when they started the siege of Leningrad.  The following year, the Soviets regrouped and started attacking them, culminating in the battle of Stalingrad in the South, which the Germans lost.  After that, they started retreating from all their positions in Russia, which is when the siege of Leningrad ended.  I could be making all this up, though, so why don’t you google it or something.

Er?

It’s really hard to write a lighthearted memoir with political references if people are going to start throwing in things like “traditional war theory” (which, by the way, I thought was more along the lines of “kill everyone”) and implying that my premise that the Nazis retreated because it was brrr-y is not accurate.

So, if you know any Nazis, could you ask them, please?  Because this creative process is hard enough without the added stress of historical research.

One year ago ...

• I Have Alarming News - 2011