Andrew

Vaclav & Lena, the children of Russian emigrés, find comfort in their common origins, camaraderie in their attempts to navigate the English language, and purpose in their ambition to create a magic act in Brighton Beach. Then Lena disappears—and it’s not an act. The path to solving the mystery of Lena’s whereabouts will make you laugh and cry as Vaclav grows older and eventually uncovers the hidden truths behind the scenes of his friendship with Lena. Haley Tanner perfectly captures the wonder and possibilities of an imaginative childhood, one complicated by the incomprehensible, protective, and sometimes cruel behavior of adults.

Super Sad True Love Story is a piece of gushy, Russian-Jewish self-flagellating, romantically improbable, adolescent autostimulation. It is studded with many bits of highly irreverent cleverness, conceptual cultural criticism and socio-political commentary that beg to be read aloud: Such as intergenerational, cross-cultural visit to Lenny's parents' house and dinner with Eunice's parents; or the omnipresent äppärät pda which no self-respecting hipster is ever without, incessantly broadcasts its bearer's financial, cholesterol, and even sexual (“fuckability”) rankings to the world at large; or the aging generation's vain attempts to prolong their lives with wheatgrass beverages and cosmetic surgery via the seductive Post Human Services which promises to help them live forever—for a very large price. This novel is not for the meek. Like Lenny, Super Sad True Love Story, deserves to be loved with all its imperfections.

The Prospector is the story of a young man’s quest for his personal identity. Having grown up the privileged son of colonists in Africa, he turns to a life of traveling and adventure after his father dies and a hurricane destroys his plantation. In turns, he becomes a sailor, a treasure hunter, and a soldier in the trenches of France during World War I. A sweeping tale of the beginning of the century, The Prospector is also a highly recommended introduction to Nobel Laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio’s work.