When I first saw Pieces, I was very interested in reading it, as the writer's name is Greek. I don't often get the chance to read what Greeks abroad are writing, and I would be very interested to see to find out. Even though Maria Kostaki is originally from Moscow and spends her time between New York and Athens, she did make an excellent job of showing elements of Greek society, as the characters felt familiar to me.

When I started reading the book, I couldn't help thinking if it is autobiographical, or if there are some elements straight from the author's life. Sasha is from Russia and spends her first years of life with her grandparents there, before her mother comes to take her to Greece when she remarries. Once she grows up, she goes to New York City, and we see her move back and forth between these cities.

But apart from this element, the story fell a bit flat for me. Sasha writes this story to her stepdad, who we learn that has passed away. In this narrative, she goes through specific events of her life, her search for meaning in her life, what she really wants to do, and who she really wants to be with.

What really stroke me as weird is that even though Sasha writes this story to her stepdad, we never saw why she would be attached to him in the first place. There is only a scene where she goes from calling him Micheal to calling him dad, but overall, I didn't really get the connection. In fact, we didn't really see any real relationship with any of her family - her mother, her half-brother, her biological dad, and even her grandparents.

Another thing that I didn't really like was how disjointed it felt. There was barely any connection from one chapter to the next, it jumps time back and forward without a warning, or at least reason enough, and most scenes in each chapter felt surface-level.

All in all, Pieces was a struggle for me. I would be willing to overlook some of its flaws if I liked Sasha more as a character, but I did not. If you are interested in a coming-of-age story, and you enjoy a family drama, then you might find something you like in it.

This story about that girl, Sacha, who was left behind by her mother was an emotionally charged coming of age story. It was difficult to follow this story, alternating between the past and present. All the details were overwhelming to me, making it hard to follow.
The fragmented pieces of the woman who made so much time to assemble all the pieces together would definitely make readers to step out of their comfort zone.
It has some potential but it was at times too confusing to me.
Heartbreaking, engaging and jarring.

This book has its faults – it jumps about a bit too much in time and place, there are too many subplots that are never satisfactorily explained – but overall I found it a compelling account of a young woman’s struggle to make sense of her past and discover who she really is. Sasha is born in Moscow, where her mother leaves her with her grandparents to go and start a new life in Greece with her new husband. Five years later she comes back to reclaim her and Sasha embarks for a new, supposedly better, life in the west. Sadly that life turns out to have its problems and conflicts and Sasha has to struggle to reassemble her life from its pieces. Sasha as an adult seems as lost as Sasha as a child, and is torn between family, career and relationships. It’s a somewhat chaotic narrative, reflecting the chaos in Sasha’s mind, but I found it worth persevering with, and ended up rooting for Sasha and hoping she will find the love and security she craves.

"Pieces" was a difficult read; the subject matter will hit close to home for anyone who has suffered any kind of abuse, especially as a child. The story moves between the past and present of the main character, Sasha. As a child Sasha was abandoned by her mother and, even as an adult she is still dealing with the emotional trauma.

I wanted to like this book - I enjoyed the premise and Maria Kostaki's writing style very much but after a while, the the sad, negative tone was too much. There was absolutely no levity to Sasha and as a result, the book felt painful to read. I would be interested in reading another of Kostaki's books, this character and overall tone just felt too heavy and depressing after a while.