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Nadia Kalman

The Cosmopolitans Hardcover – December 1, 2010

by Nadia Kalman (Author)

21 ratings

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An immigrant Russian family living in Connecticut clash with each other about tradition, search for true love, and struggle to integrate into the new culture.

Print length

239 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Livingston Pr
Publication date

December 1, 2010
Dimensions

6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1604890665
ISBN-13

978-1604890662
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Nadia Kalman is a brilliant writer and her novel, The Cosmopolitans, is one hell of a debut. It's a cultural epic, a family saga, and at least three different love stories, all served up in this one slim volume. Kalman's writing is crisp, her design elegant, and the book is astoundingly funny, too. I feel lucky that I got to read this terrific novel. You'll feel lucky, too. --Victor LaValle, author of Big Machine, The Ecstatic, and Slapboxing with Jesus

The Cosmopolitans takes some time-honored themes -- immigrant families in America, a trio of very different sisters negotiating an almost Austenian maze of suitors and marriage, the dreariness of Stamford, Connecticut -- and transforms them into something freshly felt and incredibly entertaining. I'm not sure exactly how this alchemy is achieved, but it has something to do with Nadia's Kalman's mordant wit and graceful style, as well as her respect for the human in all of her characters. Throw in a little magic realism, Brezhnev- style, and you've got a hilarious, moving debut. --Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask, Home Land, Venus Drive, and The Subject Steve

Her prose is knowing, strange, whip sharp, wild but controlled, and humane. --Salvatore Scibona, author of The End

From the Inside Flap

Equal parts Jane Austen and Gogol, The Cosmopolitans casts a sharp and sympathetic eye on the foibles and rewards of family and life in America.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Livingston Pr (December 1, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 239 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1604890665
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1604890662
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #7,337,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #113,698 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #263,308 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #370,419 in American Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

About the author

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Nadia Kalman

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As a child, Nadia Kalman emigrated with her family from the former Soviet Union. Formerly a teacher and editor with Cambridge University Press, she now works as a writer-in-the-schools with Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City. She was a two-time fellow of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and has published stories in Subtropics, the Canadian magazine The Walrus, and elsewhere.

Customer reviews

5 star		41%
4 star		12%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		28%
1 star		19%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Anne Kadet

We are all Cosmopolitans

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2010

Verified Purchase

I was just re-reading parts of The Cosmopolitans. What really struck me is that while I remember the book being funny, to the point where I laughed out loud a lot (and laughed until I cried more than once), the truth is that just about every single individual sentence in the entire novel is funny all by itself. Which is an amazing feat. And I don't mean funny as in trying really hard or being full of jokes--the writing just has an effortlessly insightful and sharply observant quality that makes for good humor.

I'll leave it to other folks to summarize the plot and structure and themes. For me, th book served as a very delightful, entertaining and thoughtful catalogue of human frailties: the thousand and one ways that clever and well-intentioned people make themselves ridiculous. In almost every scene, these characters are making goofy efforts to prop themselves up and fit into the world, and they never quite succeed. But the book never degenerates into snarkiness. Kalman's portrayals are sympathetic and tender. And while none of these characters do anything grand or heroic, in the end you sort of end up admiring them for their persistence and determination.

I loved this book, it is mucho recommended.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

merle

Not a favorite

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have decided that Russian novels are not my favorite genre. I do not enjoy the short clipped style of writing dialog. I found this novel sad and did not enjoy the characters. It is a disturbing portrayal of how immigrants fit into American society.

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have kept reading this book because I saw the author speak before bought it and read it. I don't know what i was thinking! Actually, I don't know what she was thinking when she wrote it. I have 2 masters degrees, and this book has so many characters and jumps around so much, making nonsensical references that I have no idea who these characters are, nor do I care about any of them. What a waste of time.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tanya J. Feldberg

Pretty Awesome Book

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

As a Russian emigre, I could really relate to this book. It really gives one a glimpse into the thoughts and culture of this segment of society. Nadia captures it beautifully.

One person found this helpful

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Eric Sasson

Funny and sharp

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2010

Verified Purchase

Haunting and Lyrical...a tour de force...luminous...a triumph of the human spirit.

Forget those cliches. This book rocks because it's funny and strange while still very real. Nadia Kalman has a biting, dry wit that both humanizes and satirizes her cast of characters with aplomb. It's also blissfully concise. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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rvm

Thumbs-up from a Russian Immigrant reader

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

The book does an outstanding job describing a family like mine :). Wondeful parallels between the old and the new worlds, the old and the new generations. I recommend The Cosmopolitans for its warmth, wit, and a great plot, too!
I am looking forward to more wrting by Nadia.

3 people found this helpful

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Bubbie Reader

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

I have a hard time following Russian American literature and this was no exception. Too much Russian used without translation. Structure had too many narrators which made it very confusing. A modern day Fiddler on the Roof but without music it lacked excitement

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2012

Verified Purchase

I'm in the small minority but I had a hard time getting into this book. I thought it would be an entertaining romp and insight into a group of assimilated Russian Jews living in the Northeast. I was disappointed to read the vignettes without getting a better understanding of relationships between the people in the book. I had a hard time getting the story line, and did not enjoy reading about these people. We are reading it as part of our Temple book group, and I am seriously thinking of not completing the book.

5 people found this helpful

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The Cosmopolitans Hardcover – December 1, 2010

Editorial Reviews

Review

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Product details

About the author

Nadia Kalman

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

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