There Are Jews in My House

Innocence rounds the bend to experience in these beautifully shaped stories of Moscow and Brooklyn, which take up the worldview of the young and overlooked. The stunning Second World War story that opens the book is a masterpiece of ambivalence--about the simultaneous generosity and hypocrisy of Galina, a gentile Russian woman who offers safe harbor to a Jewish friend and her daughter during the German occupation. In Love Lessons--Mondays, 9 A.M., a young math teacher is assigned to teach a girls' sex education class, even though she herself is still awaiting her first kiss. And in Mistress, a boy newly arrived in this country bears witness to the intimate details of his grandparents' new and diverging lives: his grandmother's doctors' appointments, where he is charged with translating her myriad complaints into English, and his grandfather's clandestine courtship of another woman. Adept at both snapshots and long exposures, Lara Vapnyar, herself a recent immigrant, writes of life's adventures and possibilities, its disappointments and unexpected turns, with delicate humor, brilliant timing, and striking emotional honesty. She is a writer to relish and to watch. From the Hardcover edition.

Review :
"A remarkable collection . . . Eerie in its simplicity, stunning in its scope. Through her tender, insightful writing, Vapnyar's characters, battered by history and each other, emerge from the long Soviet night oddly radiant and whole." --Gary Shteyngart "From post-glasnost Russia, where drab, cold, cinder-block homes seldom evoke anything beyond the color gray, by way of an immigrant's New York, where no one has the heart to throw away beat-up samovars and abandoned meat grinders, has sprung a fresh, new, sprightly voice--a voice that is at once that of an adult who remembers childhood far too keenly and that of a child who watches the antic goings-on of adult sexuality with the baffled silence of the wise. One is tempted to name Anton Chekhov, or Nina Berberova, or Katherine Mansfield, but the book that springs to mind is --Andre Aciman "Lara Vapnyar is Jane Austen with a Russian soul. The blend of coolness and pathos in these perfect stories is uncanny." --Louis Menand "From the Hardcover edition." "These finely etched stories glow with the life-giving force of language newly acquired." --"Time Out New York "Shot through with coolly rendered details of exquisite beauty . . . Relish this small gem and hope for more" --"San Francisco Chronicle "Superbly written tales that continue the tradition of Russian realism. . . . One feels that a season is changing and the future has arrived." --"The Washington Times "Vapnyar's ambition, purity of prose and gift for concentrated emotion make this collection a standout-and the first move in what promises to be a long and interesting career" --"The Hartford Courant "A feat of linguistic achievement. Not only is [Vapnyar's] prose stark and carved in its fresh foreignness but her stories have the quality of memoir, which lends a naturalness to her subjects. . . . You must read these stories or have them read to you." -"Los Angeles Times "Beautifully wrought tales. . . . Nuanced and deftly written. . . . Superb." -"The Baltimore Sun "There Are Jews in My House has an exciting flawlessness, like a perfectly cut stone. . . . This book should become one of those slender classics, beloved especially among those who thrill to find the old-fashioned short story made so richly and authentically new." -"O: The Oprah Magazine "Vapnyar draws an indelible portrait of the land she left behind. . . . [She] conjures a country that is both alluring and oppressive and induces longing and dismay in equal parts." -"The New York Times Book Review "Richly written. . . . [Vapnyar's] gift is capturing zig-zag lives, alternate realities, the messy imperfection of people as they struggle to find a path." -"Miami Herald "Lara Vapnyar is a new American voice, whose stories come from her own background and experiences, and will now be woven into the literary fabric of her new country. We are the richer for it." -"Chicago Jewish Week "Beautiful. . . . Classically, skillfully written." -"Philadelphia Weekly "Vapnyar's handle on the wiles and whimsies of human relationships is remarkable. . . . [These stories] are rife with a humanity that knows no racial or cultural delineations." -"San Diego Union-Tribune "Sparkling. . . . [Vapnyar's] writing style is straightforward and intuitive, with understated humor, creating thoroughly engaging stories." -"The Jewish Week "There is a gentle warmth in Vapnyar's stories, and a great deal of talent." -"The Charlotte Observer "Stealthily engrossing, graceful prose. . . . This lovely collection very effectively captures the small moments that tell what it is to be human." -"Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Vapnyar's sensitive descriptions of Russian life here and abroad make her a writer to watch." -"Dallas Morning News "Told in a deceptively simple style, these stories open a fascinating window into the nuances of human emotions and the fragility of our relationships." -"Jewish Book World "Reading the stories in There Are Jews in My House" is a bit like what it might have been like to look over Tolstoy's shoulder while he examined a blade of grass, then another. In Vapnyar's fiction, details jut, simple and bright, until they pose a world." -"Chicago Tribune