Each of Lara Vapnyar's six stories invites us into a world where food and love intersect, along with the overlapping pleasures and frustrations of Vapnyar's uniquely captivating characters. Meet Nina, a recent arrival from Russia, for whom colorful vegetables represent her own fresh hopes and dreams. . Luda and Milena, who battle over a widower in their English class with competing recipes for cheese puffs, spinach pies, and meatballs. . and Sergey, who finds more comfort in the borscht made by a paid female companion than in her sexual ministrations. They all crave the taste and smell of home, wherever — and with whomever — that may turn out to be. A roundup of recipes are the final taste of this delicious collection

A profound and dazzlingly entertaining novel from the writer Louis Menand calls "Jane Austen with a Russian soul" In her warm, absorbing and keenly observed new novel, Lara Vapnyar follows the intertwined lives of four immigrants in New York City as they grapple with love and tumult, the challenges of a new home, and the absurdities of the digital age. Vica, Vadik, Sergey and Regina met in Russia in their school days, but remained in touch and now have very different American lives. Sergey cycles through jobs as an analyst, hoping his idea for an app will finally bring him success. His wife Vica, a medical technician struggling to keep her family afloat, hungers for a better life. Sergey’s former girlfriend Regina, once a famous translator is married to a wealthy startup owner, spends her days at home grieving over a recent loss. Sergey’s best friend Vadik, a programmer ever in search of perfection, keeps trying on different women and different neighborhoods, all while pining for the one who got away. As Sergey develops his app — calling it "Virtual Grave," a program to preserve a person's online presence after death — a formidable debate begins in the group, spurring questions about the changing perception of death in the modern world and the future of our virtual selves. How do our online personas define us in our daily lives, and what will they say about us when we're gone?

Five noted writers and thinkers profile five of the world's leaders. For some of us, these leaders are heroes; for others, villains; for all of us—strongmen. In this short book, five brilliant artists and writers confront five strongmen: • American playwright Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) burrows beneath the skin of Donald Trump. • Danish Husain, Indian storyteller and actor, finds himself recounting the story not only of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also of the ascension of the extremism of the Sangh Parivar. • Burhan Sönmez, Turkish novelist, ferrets about amidst the bewildering career of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. • Lara Vapnyar, Russian-American novelist and journalist, ponders the Stalinist origins of the Supreme Leader of All the Russias. • Ninotchka Rosca, Filipina feminist novelist, unravels the macho world of Rodrigo Duterte. These essays do not presume to be neutral. They are by partisan thinkers, magical writers, people who see not only the monsters but also a future beyond the ghouls. A future that is necessary. The present is too painful

In her newest novel, award-winning author Lara Vapnyar — "a talented writer, possessed of an ample humor and insight and a humane sensibility" (The New York Times Book Review — tells a provocative tale of sexual awakening, youthful romanticism, and the relentless search for love."Don't say 'the rest of your life!' it fills me with such horror!" Though only thirty-eight, Lena finds herself in the grips of a midlife crisis. She feels lost in her adoptive country, her career is at a dead end, and her marriage has tumbled into a spiral of apathy and distrust — it seems impossible she will ever find happiness again. But then she strikes up a precarious friendship with Ben, a failed artist turned reluctant academic, who is just as lost as she is. They soon surprise themselves by embarking on an impulsive weekend adventure, uncharacteristically leaving their middle-aged responsibilities behind. On the way to Ben's remote cabin in Maine,... 

Лара Вапняр считается одним из самых заметных молодых авторов Америки. Первый сборник ее рассказов вышел в 2002 году, а спустя несколько лет появился роман «Мемуары музы» — о русской эмигрантке в Нью-Йорке, одержимой идеей стать музой для нового Достоевского. Книги Вапняр неоднократно получали литературные награды и переведены на несколько языков. Помимо книг, Лара пишет для журналов The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vogue и преподает писательское мастерство. Рассказ о русском программисте, приехавшего покорять Нью-Йорк

Четверо друзей познакомились еще в юности, в России, а теперь живут в Америке. Они продолжают общаться, но жизнь у всех складывается по разному. Регина скучает в браке с состоятельным американцем, Вика мечется между работой и домом и мечтает о лучшей жизни, Вадик ищет идеал и меняет работы, квартиры, девушек. Сергей, банковский служащий, надеется разработать приложение, которое сможет имитировать присутствие умершего человека в социальных сетях. И эта тема становится главной в их разговорах. Как изменилось в современном мире представление о смерти? Какими мы предстаем в онлайн-мире при жизни, как будут доноситься отголоски нашего виртуального “я”, когда мы умрем?