National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and author of Such Good Work Johannes Lichtman
returns with a novel that is strikingly relevant to our times-about an American who takes a job
in Ukraine in 2018 only to find that his struggle to understand the customs and culture is
eclipsed by a romantic entanglement with deadly consequences. Shortly after his thirtieth
birthday John Turner receives a call from an old college friend who makes him an odd job
offer: move to Ukraine to teach customer service agents at a start-up how to sound American.
John's never been to Ukraine doesn't speak Ukrainian and is supposed to be a journalist not
a consultant. But having just gone through a breakup and still grieving his father's death it
might just be the new start he's been looking for. In Ukraine John understands very little-the
language and social customs are impenetrable to him. At work his employees are fluent in
English but have difficulty grasping the concept of small talk. And although he told himself
not to get romantically involved while abroad he can't help but be increasingly drawn to one
of his colleagues. Most distressing however is the fact that John can hear through their
shared wall his neighbor beating his wife. Desperate to help John offers the neighbor 100 000
hryvnias to stop. It's a plan born out of the best intentions but one that has disastrous
repercussions that no amount of money or altruism can solve. [A] biting comedy (Vanity Fair)
that calls to mind Garth Greenwell's What Belongs to You Calling Ukraine reimagines the
American-abroad novel. Moving effortlessly between the comic and the tragic Johannes Lichtman
deploys his signature wry humor and startling moral insight to illuminate the inevitable
complexities of doing right by others.
