Moscow, 1921. Tatiana and Sasha meet in a bookstore the night it is bombed and fall in love. Tatiana is a promising young scientist, who soon follows her mentor to the Institut Mozga to study the source of genius. Sasha is an artist, who drifts aimlessly in a world increasingly indifferent to his art.

When her mentor suddenly dies, Tatiana begins to speculate about the shadowy circumstances of his death. Disconcerted, she plunges into doubt — about her work as a scientist, her naïveté about the Revolution, her faith in the state, and her relationship with Sasha.

Uncertain Weights and Measures takes place in the heady days of post-Revolution Russia when belief in a higher purpose was everything. Jocelyn Parr’s beautifully incisive prose captures the ambiance of 1920s Moscow and the frisson of real-life events while also spinning a captivating tale of a love torn apart by ideology and high-stakes politics.

Inez Summerville