Support H-Net | Buy Books Here | Help Support the NBN and NBN en Español on Patreon | Visit New Books Network en Español!
- African Studies
- African American Studies
- American Politics
- American Studies
- American South
- American West
- Asian American Studies
- Australian and New Zealand Studies
- British Studies
- Canadian Studies
- Caribbean Studies
- Central Asian Studies
- Chinese Studies
- East Asian Studies
- Eastern European Studies
- European Politics
- French Studies
- German Studies
- Iberian Studies
- India Studies
- Indian Ocean World
- Iranian Studies
- Irish Studies
- Israel Studies
- Italian Studies
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Studies
- Latino Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Mexican Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Native American Studies
- Pacific Studies
- Polish Studies
- Russian and Eurasian Studies
- Southeast Asian Studies
- South Asian Studies
- Turkish Studies
- Ukrainian Studies
- Western European Studies
- World Affairs
- Animal Studies
- Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Business, Management, and Marketing
- Media
- Critical Theory
- Disability Studies
- Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
- Education
- Economics
- Finance
- Geography
- Gender Studies
- Genocide Studies
- Higher Education
- Human Rights
- Journalism
- Language
- Law
- LGBTQ+ Studies
- National Security
- Philosophy
- Policing, Incarceration, and Reform
- Political Science
- Politics & Polemics
- Public Policy
- Sex, Sexuality, and Sex Work
- Sociology
- Sound Studies
- Sports
- Urban Studies
- Big Ideas
- Celebration Studies
- Co-Authored
- Cover Story
- Historical Materialism
- History Ex Silo
- Invested Investor
- Landscape Architecture
- Mormonism
- NBN Book of the Day
- NBN Seminar
- Postscript
- Practical History
- Preparing for Life After Grad School
- Psychology and Climate Change
- Interpretive Political and Social Science
Jun 7, 2022
At the End of the World, Turn Left
Summary
Today I talked to Zhanna Slor about her novel At the End of the World, Turn Left (Agora Books, 2021).
19-year-old Anna’s parents won’t pay her college tuition if she studies art, the one thing she loves most. She’s been drifting from one class to another, one boyfriend to another, and can’t stand being stuck in Milwaukee. When she receives an online message from a woman in Ukraine claiming to be a long-lost sister, Anna responds despite all the warnings that she’s being scammed. She also meets a handsome ‘train-hopper’ who lures her into his risk-filled life. Anna’s sister Masha, a linguist who has been happily living in Israel, receives a one-way ticket from her father when it becomes apparent that Anna has disappeared without leaving a message. Masha hacks into Anna’s computer and starts following the trail – had she flown to Ukraine? Hopped a train with her blue-haired druggie boyfriend? And why was she wanted for questioning by the police? This is a novel about linguistics, identity, and the meaning of home, especially for the children of immigrants.
Zhanna Slor was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the Midwest in the early 1990s. She completed her undergraduate degree at University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and her master’s degree at DePaul University. She has been published in many literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Another Chicago Magazine, and Michigan Quarterly Review, as well as contributing to the popular news publication The Forward. Her debut novel, At the End of the World, Turn Left, was called "elegant and authentic" by NPR and named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Crime Debuts" of 2021. Her second novel, Breakfall, a mystery/thriller set in Chicago, is due out in Spring 2023. When she’s not writing, Zhanna spends most of her free time chasing her three-year-old daughter or doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com).
Your Host
G. P. Gottlieb
G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com).