Description

Winner of the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award
Best Book of the Year – New York Public Library, Cosmopolitan, Independent Book Review

‘Pickhart’s story is powerful, boldly imaginative, rich in history and feeling, charged with events that have occurred since it was written – and which summon up the same force of the history that compelled an American author to write about this “foreign land”.’ The Times

2014 Kyiv, Ukraine. The city is poised on a knife-edge as tensions mount around a corrupt government’s increasing ties to Russia. As protests erupt across the city, the fates of four individuals come together. Katya is a Ukrainian-American doctor stationed at a makeshift medical clinic treating wounded protesters; Misha is an engineer originally from Pripyat, near Chernobyl, grieving the death of his wife; Slava is a fiery young activist whose past hardships steel her determination; Aleksandr Ivanovich, a former KGB agent, climbs atop a burned-out bus at Independence Square and plays the piano.

In this dazzling, inventive debut novel – set during the ‘Revolution of Dignity’ – Kalani Pickhart weaves together a rich tapestry of voices to create a moving story about beauty, love and survival during tumultuous times.

Publisher Review

Powerful debut ... an impressive feat of empathy ... a rich, multilayered story [that] will resonate with a wide range of readers, and provide illuminating insight for those hoping to learn more about the current conflict. * Guardian * Pickhart's story is powerful, boldly imaginative, rich in history and feeling, charged with events that have occurred since it was written - and which summon up the same force of the history that compelled an American author to write about this "foreign land". * The Times * An innovative and compelling debut... I Will Die in a Foreign Land is an illuminating and worthwhile read. * The Irish Times * This bighearted novel generously portrays the unforgettable set of characters through their determination to face oppression. It's a stunner. * Publishers Weekly, Starred review * Simply breathtaking in its scope. Pickhart's storytelling is flawless with nothing gratuitous or superfluous. She has taken a large, complex subject and rendered it both tragic and tender by reminding the reader that in the end, the individual life touched by conflict is what really matters. * New York Journal of Books *