Pomegranate Roads: A Soviet Botanist's Exile from Eden

Gregory M. Levin
Floreant Press (2006)
ISBN 0964949768
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (9/06)

Dr. Gregory M. Levin is a Soviet botanist who devoted his entire life to the amazing pomegranate plants, which are relatively unknown in USA. His book, “Pomegranate Roads,” is one part memoir, one part botanical lesson and one part fantastic commentary on the state of affairs in former USSR as well as the newly freed Turkmenistan.

His story begins with his childhood years, which he spent in the famous city of Leningrad during a German siege. The matter-of-fact descriptions of the suffering the people of Leningrad endured are chilling, yet they make it probably easier to understand how he was willing to accept just about any kind of conditions later in life, as long as he was permitted to follow his passion for the pomegranates. Reading about his treks across Central Asia and the Trans-Caucasus over more than forty years, many times on foot for days, many times in truly horrible conditions makes one really admire Dr. Levin’s determination and dedication. Intertwined with the story of the pomegranates are many words of wisdom, written in a deceptively simple form. Despite so many trials his spirit was never broken, as one can clearly see from his words in the last chapter, “I am not sorry about anything. It does not make sense to be sorry about the things that did not happen and are gone. I will not change. [….] It’s written that the loss of youth is the heaviest of trials, and that the life becomes a sum of losses. I don’t like to believe this. As always, I live thinking about tomorrow and new things.” Once USSR fell apart, the conditions at Dr. Levin’s research facility rapidly deteriorated and in the end he was forced into exile. He moved to Israel and had to leave behind his collection of 1,117 pomegranate plants. It is hard to even begin to imagine how excruciating it must have been to leave behind so much work and time investment, so much passion and so much caring.

Dr. Levin touches on all aspects of the pomegranate, from the simple description of the plant, the fruit, the areas where they grow and the description of the propagating of the plants to the history, art and culinary uses as well as the medicinal use of this enchanting globe. You will even learn how to make pomegranate juice, wine and liqueur. If you are anything like me, you’ll be dashing to the nearest grocery store to buy a pomegranate and enjoy the pleasure of breaking its thick, leathery, bitter skin just to get to the brilliant, glistening, red seeds with their tangy-sweet explosion of flavor.

Complementing Dr. Levin’s writing are a number of photographs and 11 color plates, some with absolutely beautiful pomegranate art, pretty enough to be framed.

Dr. Levin’s writing never gets too scientific to be enjoyable and I would highly recommend “Pomegranate Roads” to anybody who is interested in research, history or horticulture as well as any lover of memoirs.

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