Adrian

21 October 2016

Mr. Zsolt Girba

English Teacher
6851 Lampson Ave,
Garden Grove, CA 92845

Dear Mr. Girba:

Today I am here to inform you about the book, Away, by Amy Bloom. I have read 105 pages of
this book. This book is about a young Russian woman named, Lillian, who has came to America
alone. Since she is from Russia, she speaks Russian and Yiddish and a little bit of English so
sometimes she relies on her friend, Judith, to help her.

There are some aspects I would change in the book. I would give more information on some
characters and events that Bloom mentions in the book. Lillian has endured the murder of her
family (Bloom 6). I would change the fact that she doesnt give enough information about who
murdered her family and how they murdered her family early on in the story. The readers may
ask questions like, How did her family get murdered? or Who did she live with after her
family got murdered? I would change this because as a reader, I would want to know more
background knowledge on what happened to Lillians family so that I get a better understanding
of events or situations that happen later on in the story. Lillian has endured the loss of her
daughter, Sophie (Bloom 6).I would change the fact that Bloom doesnt give enough
information about Sophie. I would give more information about Sophie that could answer
questions like, How did Sophie die or How did Lillian react when Sophie died? I would
change this because its important for the readers to understand each and every character early on
in the story to get a greater understanding of situations that happen later on in the story. It would
also give background information which would make the readers less confused because they will
understand each situation more thoroughly.

There are many interesting characters in this story but I will analyze the main character Lillian.
Lillian is a determined character because she is determined to learn English. Meyer Burstein
says, Really miss, how is your English? And Lillian says, very carefully, I attend night
classes. She pauses and adds, And they go very well, thank you (Bloom 7). This shows that
she is taking her time to learn English so she is determined. I can compare myself to Lillian
because just like she had to take classes to learn English, I had to take classes to learn about the
catholic religion. We both were determined to learn something that we seeked for. Lillian has
gone through many tough situations so I can infer that she is a very strong person mentally.
Lillian has endured the murder of her family, the loss of her daughter, Sophie, an ocean
crossing like a death march, intimate life with strangers in her cousin Friedas two rooms,
smelling of men and urine and fried food uncertainty and need (Bloom 6). This shows that she
is a very strong person because to go through all of that, she had to have a strong mentality to not
let those things affect her. I can compare myself to Lillian because I have suffered losses in
baseball games that were tough at first but I stayed strong and didnt let it affect me.

Thank you for spending your time on reading this letter on the book, Away. I hope this gave you
a better understanding about what the book is about early on in the story.

Sincerely,

AdrianRuiz

Adrian Ruiz
English Student