Up-and-coming novelist Lara Vapnyar is a Russian-born author of short stories living in the United States. She moved from Moscow to Brooklyn, New York, with her husband in 1994. Her stories tread what is for her familiar territory -- the lives and small ambitions of Russian émigrés living in New York and have been published in such magazines as The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine, as well as in the publication There Are Jews in My House. She also published two novels, Memoirs of a Muse and Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love.  To read Ms. Vapnyar's article in the New York Times, please click here. 

Here are some excerpts of reviews of her latest novel:
"Ms.Vapnyar has created here six elegant gems which cover the hopes, dreams and disappointments in the Russian emigree community. However, despite this focus on the Russian community in America these stories are universal, which is what makes them most memorable."

"Another book from the author who grips with witty and creative writing. My favorite thing about Lara Vapnyar's stories is how masterfully she blends true life with fiction. While a lot of her ideas are drawn from the memories of growing up in the Soviet Union and later immigrating to the US, in the end they always make you wonder where exactly the transition was, and at which point a story took that sharp turn into the world of creativity..."

Doors open at 6:30pm.  A light reception will precede the event. After the interview, there will be a Q&A session.

Contact 202-687-4245 or cjcinfo@georgetown.edu .

Sponsor: Program for Jewish Civilization