About this Event
P&T Knitwear is pleased to welcome Mary Kay Zuravleff for a reading of her novel, American Ending, along with a talk, audience Q&A, and book signing. In this immersive novel, Zuravleff weaves Russian fairy tales and fables into a family saga within the storied American landscape. American Ending is a poignant reminder that everything that is happening in America has already happened: that the challenges facing immigrants—and the fragility of citizenship—are just as unsettling and surprising today as they were 100 years ago.
Mary Kay Zuravleff will be joined in conversation by Kate Manning, author of the critically acclaimed novels My Notorious Life, Whitegirl, and Gilded Mountain. After the talk, Mary Kay will sign copies of her book.
AVAILABLE TO SHIP MOST PLACES
PRAISE FOR AMERICAN ENDING
“American Ending is an exhilarating new take on the great American immigration story, a coming-of-age and getting-of-wisdom tale about what this country promises and withholds. Its young heroine is a funny, smart, and heartbreaking guide to a world full of cruelties and wonders. Mary Kay Zuravleff has given us a vivid, unforgettable portrait of an immigrant community and the wry, richly colored, and darkly enchanting stories it tells itself to survive.” — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker staff writer
“It’s small acts of inventiveness, generosity, and love that keep individuals going when hard times close in. This is the wisdom and warmth of American Ending, which resurrects a community of immigrants from a century ago in magical, living detail to tell a story that rings true in the present." —Oprah Daily
"How I loved spending time with Yelena in her vivid, terrible and—most astonishingly—joyous time and place. [American Ending] manages to capture all the struggle and the grief endured by this particular, unsung set of immigrants without ever veering into caricature or melodrama. In Yelena’s clear-eyed telling, in her honesty and love, every painful obstacle to attaining that intractable American promise of a better life is made unique—wholly fresh and achingly believable. Oh, and the food! Gorgeous.” — Alice McDermott, author of The Ninth Hour and Charming Billy
“Did Mary Kay Zuravleff time travel to write this book? It’s as if she truly lived in the past—all the details so vivid, and real—to bring us a novel of the moment. It is the old and forever new story of immigration.” — Jane Hamilton, author of Map of the World
AVAILABLE TO SHIP MOST PLACES
A woman growing up in a family of Russian immigrants in the 1910s seeks a thoroughly American life.
Yelena is the first American born to her Old Believer Russian Orthodox parents, who are building a life in a Pennsylvania Appalachian town. This town, in the first decades of the 20th century, is filled with Russian transplants and a new church with a dome. Here, boys quit grade school for the coal mines and girls are married off at fourteen. The young pair up, give birth to more babies than they can feed, and make shaky starts in their new world. However, Yelena craves a different path. Will she find her happy American ending or will a dreaded Russian ending be her fate?
- This is a free in-store event with limited amphitheater-style seating
- We encourage all guests to wear masks.
- The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed at P&T Knitwear events must be purchased from P&T Knitwear. If you would like a signed copy and cannot attend the event, we're happy to take your pre-order. We ship most places!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
is the award-winning author of , inspired by all four of her grandparents, Russian Orthodox Old Believers who lived in the Appalachian mining town of Marianna, Pennsylvania, and made their way to Erie. Her third novel, Man Alive!, was a Washington Post Notable Book, and she is the winner of the American Academy’s Rosenthal Award and a multiple recipient of the DC Artist Fellowship. Born in Syracuse, raised in Oklahoma City, and educated in Houston and Baltimore, she lives in Washington, DC.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
is the author of the critically acclaimed novels , Whitegirl, and . A former documentary television producer and winner of two Emmy Awards, she has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, TIME, Glamour, and The Guardian, among other publications. She has taught creative writing at Bard High School Early College in Manhattan, and lives with her family in New York City.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
P&T Knitwear Books & Podcasts, 180 Orchard Street, New York, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 62.00