cover image Kife: The Lives and Dreams of Soviet Youth

Kife: The Lives and Dreams of Soviet Youth

Nancy Traver. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (252pp) ISBN 978-0-312-02938-8

Traver's first book contains timely and engrossing information gathered during a recent stay in Russia where she had earlier been Moscow correspondent for Time. Kife , she explains, is a slang word that means ``having it all.'' In conversations with men and women under the age of 35 in 15 Soviet states, Traver found them impatient for reforms beyond those evident since glasnost. Rebelling against their elders--survivors of WW II--this new generation has a strong influence on Soviet arts and media: according to the author films now feature rock stars and others formerly abused as nonconformist by the police and society; the first erotic film to be released depicted family life as sordid. Readers will agree with Traver that youth is the force pulling the U.S.S.R. into the 21st century, but with uncertain results so far. Photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)