Lara Vapnyar Libri

As a young girl, Katya Geller learned from her mother that math was the answer to everything. Now, approaching forty, she finds this wisdom tested: she has lost the love of her life, she is in the middle of a divorce, and has just found out that her mother is dying. Nothing is adding up. With humor, intelligence, and unfailing honesty, Katya traces back her life’s journey: her childhood in Soviet Russia, her parents’ great love, the death of her father, her mother’s career as a renowned mathematician, and their immigration to the United States. She is, by turns, an adrift newlywed, an ESL teacher in an office occupied by witches and mediums, a restless wife, an accomplished writer, a flailing mother of two, a grieving daughter, and, all the while, a woman caught up in the most common misfortune of all—falling in love. Award-winning author Lara Vapnyar delivers an unabashedly frank and darkly comic tale of coming of age in middle age. Divide Me by Zerois almost unclassifiable—a stylistically original, genre-defying mix of classic Russian novel, American self-help book, Soviet math textbook, sly writing manual, and, at its center, a universal story with unforgettable lessons for us all.

Exploring the lives of Russians in both Moscow and Brooklyn, this collection of poignant, humorous stories delves into their aspirations and experiences. The narratives weave together the complexities of identity and culture, creating a vibrant literary landscape that captures the essence of the characters' struggles and triumphs.

Lara Vapnyar, author of the acclaimed story collection There Are Jews in My House, presents a poignant and humorous debut novel featuring a sincere modern muse. We meet Tanya, a typical Russian girl living with her bookish professor mother in a drab Soviet apartment. As a teenager, she becomes captivated by Dostoevsky and resolves to be the companion of a great writer. Her memoirs recount her immigration to New York after college, the stifling expectations of her Brighton Beach cousins, and a pivotal moment in a bookshop on the Upper West Side, where she attends a reading by Mark Schneider, a Significant New York Novelist. Tanya moves in with Mark, eager to inspire him, but finds herself frustrated by his distractions—gym sessions, therapy, and literary gatherings—where she feels out of place. As she struggles to learn English to better understand Mark’s work and her role as Muse, Tanya discovers unexpected truths about the destiny she envisioned. With Vapnyar’s enchanting prose and vivid storytelling, this novel reflects the rich tradition of Russian realism. It serves as a lively exploration of female empowerment, the complexities of artistic inspiration, and the profound experiences of immigrants in New York City.