Notes
Review
★ "Darkly humorous... Yelchin's breezy pencil illustrations brim with a charm and childlike energy few artists can capture." - The New York Times Book Review
★ "The self-effacing narrative seamlessly blends in Cold War history, Soviet politics, and loving family interchanges, and Yelchin's sly illustrations appear on almost every page. There's not a lot of material about this time period, and this humorous, informative, and engaging memoir will keep readers entertained." - Booklist
★ "This memoir of [Yelchin's] adolescence is a forthright, darkly humorous and indelible portrait of an artist emerging... Yelchin, wonderfully, allows his text and pictures to interrupt each other with glee, reminding us how life begets art. It certainly does here." - The Horn Book
★ "Yelchin delivers a darkly humorous slice-of-life account of growing up in the Soviet Union... Humorous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful." - Kirkus Reviews
★ "In this frank, engaging memoir, Yelchin recounts his childhood in the U.S.S.R. as his boyhood self, Yevgeny, perceives and ponders it... At once comical and disquieting, the book is an illuminating introduction to a young life in the former Soviet Union." - Publishers Weekly
★ "The multitalented author/illustrator here turns his lens on his own life as a child in Soviet Russia during the 1960s and '70s... with any luck Yelchin will follow this with a second autobiographical volume." - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
★ "Yelchin has created an unforgettable portrayal of one family's experiences living in the Soviet Union during the Cold War in his ingenious memoir... Recommended for those who love captivating memoirs mixed with humour" - School Library Journal
★ "In this splendidly entertaining memoir of a bleak childhood in Cold War Russia, Yelchin turns a dark, drab world into a kaleidoscope of humorously enlightening anecdotes... Yelchin adorns the story with his distinctive art, perfectly complementing the text... Simply beautiful!" - Shelf Awareness
★ "Author Eugene Yelchin gives readers an honest look at what his life was like growing up in Soviet Russia... I believe this book definitely should be included in upper elementary and middle school libraries." - School Library Connection
★ "'The Genius Under the Table' is Eugene Yelchin's idiosyncratic illustrated memoir of boyhood behind the Iron Curtain, a chronicle that manages to amuse with its quirky details and disturb with the broad picture it paints of life under communism... wry and humorous artwork adds to the levity." - The Wall Street Journal
★ "Who knew you could pull a deft memoir this funny out of Communism?" - NPR
★ "Steeped in wry observations and black humour... A beautiful, layered memoir about how people thrive when their country is doing its best to stifle their dreams." - The Star Tribune
★ "With the same deadpan, comic style he used to great effect in 2011 children's novel 'Breaking Stalin's Nose,' author-illustrator Eugene Yelchin offers a poignant memoir of growing up in the Soviet Union." - The Buffalo News
★ "So many of the faces in Eugene Yelchin's illustrated memoir are doleful, but somehow his tale of curiosity and artistic passion — yes, he is the “genius” of the title — has lightness and humor despite the dark parts of his family's story... a strange, surprising and satisfying tale of growing up with not just artistic skill but also an ever-questioning sensibility that even his dour surroundings can't stifle." - The Virginian Pilot
★ "Yelchin's book, which was published earlier this year, deserves top billing among children's historical literature—and strong consideration as a holiday gift... The Genius Under the Table is filled with both history and heart. And who knows? Perhaps the independence of thought it fosters in children is the ingredient this modern-day, politically divisive world needs to address existential threats to humanity." - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
★ "A heartbreaking, yet amusing, exploration of what life was really like as a child, citizen and Jew in the Soviet Union. Despite the turmoil that Yelchin and his family went through, the book, which includes exaggerated caricatures of his story’s subjects, is also hopeful." - Jewish Journal
