Maria Kuznetsova (novelist)

Last updated

Maria Kuznetsova is a Ukrainian American novelist [1] with two book publications, both from Random House. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Kuznetsova was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to the U.S. at five years old with her family. [3] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, her family became Jewish refugees in Alabama. [3] Upon moving, she learned English, and eventually attended Duke University as an English major. [4] She went on to receive master's degrees in creative writing from University of California, Davis and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. [5] She serves as an assistant professor in the English department at Auburn University. [5]

Writing

Kuznetsova's debut novel Oksana, Behave! was published in 2019 by Random House. [1] A bildungsroman about a young Ukrainian immigrant woman divided into "episodes" for chapters, the book was reviewed positively by Emma Straub in the Wall Street Journal, [6] Anya Ulinich in the New York Times, [7] O, The Oprah Magazine , [8] Kirkus Reviews , [9] and Publishers Weekly . [10] Kuznetsova wrote in an essay for Catapult that many readers assumed that the book was autobiographical. [11] The book's launch also led to author interviews with a variety of publications including Electric Literature , [12] Bookforum , [13] The Gazette, [14] and the Chicago Review of Books . [15] Kuznetsova stated that the Soviet dissident Sergei Dovlatov was an influence on the work. [13]

Following the success of her first novel, Kuznetsova published her second, Something Unbelievable, less than two years later, in April 2021. [16] The book centers a grandmother in Ukraine and a granddaughter in the U.S. discussing their Jewish family's history through and after the Holocaust. [2] Rachel Khong wrote that the book argues that "the everyday matters—how unspectacular moments can transcend their confines, how miraculous the ordinary can be" in the New York Times. [17] In an interview with Sanjena Santhian for The Millions , she said the novel began as a short story that she wrote for a class with Ethan Canin at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. [18] This story's grandmother character was based on her grandmother in life, which she wrote about in an essay for Guernica. [19] In an interview for Bookforum , she said that the second novel was different because it required more historical research than the first. [20] It also received positive reviews from the Moscow Times, [21] Bustle, [22] Ploughshares , [23] and the A.V. Club. [24] However, it received a slew of negative reviews, including from Publishers Weekly , which wrote that the book "tediously unfolds" and "there’s not enough to hold readers' interest." [25]

Kuznetsova has also published books reviews and other nonfiction, including essays in Slate about her experience having a miscarriage [26] and postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oksana Baiul</span> Ukrainian figure skater

Oksana Serhiyivna Baiul-Farina is a Ukrainian retired competitive figure skater. She is the 1993 world champion and the 1994 Olympic champion in ladies' singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Manzano</span> American actress

Sonia Manzano is an American actress, screenwriter, author, singer and songwriter. She is best known for playing Maria on Sesame Street from 1971 to 2015. She received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Hardwick (writer)</span> Novelist, short story writer, literary critic

Elizabeth Bruce Hardwick was an American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer.

Kathryn Harrison is an American author. She has published seven novels, two memoirs, two collections of personal essays, a travelogue, two biographies, and a book of true crime. She reviews regularly for The New York Times Book Review. Her personal essays have been included in many anthologies and have appeared in Bookforum, Harper's Magazine, More Magazine, The New Yorker, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Vogue, Salon, and Nerve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariya Kuznetsova (singer)</span> Russian opera singer

Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova was a 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oksana Zabuzhko</span> Ukrainian writer

Oksana Stefanivna Zabuzhko is a Ukrainian novelist, poet, and essayist. Her works have been translated into several languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Gilmore</span> American writer

Jennifer Gilmore is a Swiss-born American novelist.

Svitlana Pyrkalo is a London-based writer, journalist and translator who writes in Ukrainian, English and Russian.

Robert Anthony Siegel is an American writer and professor. He is the author of two novels and numerous short stories and essays, and has been recognized with O. Henry and Pushcart Prizes among other awards. He currently teaches in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Zambreno</span> American novelist, essayist, critic and professor

Kate Zambreno is an American novelist, essayist, critic, and professor. She teaches writing in the graduate nonfiction program at Columbia University and at Sarah Lawrence College. Zambreno is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow in Nonfiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toni Bentley</span> Australian-German dancer and writer (born 1958)

Toni Bentley is an Australian-German dancer and writer. Bentley was born in Perth, Western Australia.

Rachel Khong is an American writer and editor based in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oksana Markarova</span> Ukrainian politician and economist (born 1976)

Oksana Serhiyivna Markarova is a Ukrainian politician and the current Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States since February 2021. Markarova is also a former Minister of Finance in the government of Volodymyr Groysman and Oleksiy Honcharuk. She was acting Finance minister since 8 June 2018 after Oleksandr Danylyuk was dismissed on 7 June 2018 following a conflict with Groysman.

<i>Thank You, Omu!</i> 2018 Picture book

Thank You, Omu! is a 2018 picture book written and illustrated by Oge Mora. The story is about Omu, who cooks a stew and shares it with her neighbors; they show their gratitude by bringing her food. The book started as an assignment for a class of Mora's at the Rhode Island School of Design, where it was seen by an editor from Little, Brown. Thank You, Omu was well reviewed and a recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. The book's mixed media drew praise for their detailed depictions of characters and locations.

<i>Mr. Fox</i> (novel) 2011 novel by British author Helen Oyeyemi

Mr. Fox is a 2011 novel by British author Helen Oyeyemi, published by Picador in the UK and by Riverhead Books in the US.

<i>Grand Union</i> (short story collection) 2019 short story collection by Zadie Smith

Grand Union: Stories is a 2019 short story collection by Zadie Smith. It was published on 3 October 2019 by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Books.

Sanjena Anshu Sathian is an American novelist and journalist. Her debut novel, Gold Diggers, was published by Penguin Press in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kateryna Mikhalitsyna</span> Ukrainian poet, childrens writer and translator

Kateryna Mikhalitsyna is a Ukrainian poet, children's writer, translator and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyuba Yakimchuk</span> Ukrainian poet, playwright, and screenwriter

Lyuba Yakimchuk, also known as Lyubov Yakymchuk, is a Ukrainian poet, playwright, and screenwriter, living in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her work includes Apricots of Donbas (2015).

Bennett Sims is an American fiction writer with two book publications, the novel A Questionable Shape and the short story collection White Dialogues. He is an assistant professor at the University of Iowa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Maria Kuznetsova". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  2. 1 2 Khong, Rachel (2021-04-13). "And Now, a Case for the Ordinary". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  3. 1 2 "Maria Kuznetsova: "My Painting of Kyiv"". The Yale Review. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  4. ↑ Goff, Lydia. "Writing through Rejection: Maria Kuznetsova's Advice for Young Writers". Duke University Department of English. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  5. 1 2 "Maria Kuznetsova". Auburn University College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  6. ↑ Gamerman, Ellen (2019-04-03). "The 10 Books You'll Want to Read This Spring". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  7. ↑ Ulinich, Anya (2019-05-02). "Two Novels About Young Soviet Transplants in America". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  8. ↑ Cain, Hamilton; Haber, Leigh; Hart, Michelle (2019-03-13). "Happy Spring! 10 Fantastic New Books to Read in March". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  9. ↑ "OKSANA, BEHAVE!". Kirkus Reviews.
  10. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Oksana, Behave! by Maria Kuznetsova". Publishers Weekly. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  11. ↑ "On the Dangers of Autobiographical Writing | Maria Kuznetsova". Catapult. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  12. ↑ "Maria Kuznetsova Thinks You Should Go Ahead and Be Weird". Electric Literature. 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  13. 1 2 "Bookforum talks with Maria Kuznetsova". Bookforum. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  14. ↑ "Author profile | Maria Kuznetsova Writers' Workshop grad's debut novel explores misbehaving with a dose of humor". The Gazette. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  15. ↑ "The Goodness of Being Bad". Chicago Review of Books. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  16. ↑ "Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova: 9780525511908". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  17. ↑ Khong, Rachel (2021-04-13). "And Now, a Case for the Ordinary". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  18. ↑ "Immigrants Behaving Badly: Maria Kuznetsova and Sanjena Sathian in Conversation". The Millions. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  19. ↑ Kuznetsova, Maria (2019-03-19). "The Grandmother Character". Guernica. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  20. ↑ "Bookforum talks with Maria Kuznetsova about her new novel of family lore and motherhood". Bookforum. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  21. ↑ Crescente, Joe (2021-04-11). "Maria Kuznetsova's Second Novel is 'Something Unbelievable'". Moscow Times. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  22. ↑ "Looking For A New Book? Curl Up With One Of These Must-Read New Releases". Bustle. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  23. ↑ "The Tradition of Storytelling in Something Unbelievable". Ploughshares. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  24. ↑ "5 new books to read in April". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  25. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova". Publishers Weekly. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  26. ↑ Kuznetsova, Maria (2019-10-10). "My Ectopic Summer". Slate. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  27. ↑ Kuznetsova, Maria (2020-08-19). "The Unimaginable Hell of Postpartum Insomnia". Slate. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.