 "A most witty, funny, irreverent, and extremely touching and entertaining story." Renita Last, Jewish Book World "Nadia Kalman expands the boundaries of Soviet-Jewish immigrant fiction...Skips between hilarious and bittersweet...Between the parents—the hapless Osip and his no nonsense wife Stalina, named for the dictator as misguided protection against anti-Semitism—and their three daughters, the Molochniks straddle the expanse of fears, hopes, and resentments that immigrants so often experience. And, in Kalman’s hands, they do so with refreshing humor, helping expand the sub-genre in which Kalman will invariably be included. She swaps restraint for the farcical, without forfeiting intimacy or gravity, and the trade is delightful." Sara Ivry, Tablet Magazine"Mischievously funny Kalman launches her rambunctious first novel with Tolstoy’s oft cited line, “Happy families are all alike.” The Molochniks, Jews who fled the Soviet Union and landed in Stamford, Connecticut, are unhappy in droll and aberrant ways. Passive Milla, the eldest of three daughters, finds herself engaged to the spoiled only son of snooty Manhattanites. Yana is a bossy feminist, and poor Katya suffers from a bizarre ailment: she unwillingly channels the voice of Brezhnev. Their imposing mother, Stalina, strives for pragmatism but finds herself bogged down by sentimentality thanks to her “Russian Soul,” which strangely enough resides in a lace handkerchief. Outnumbered and baffled by females, father Osip thinks, “America was the freedom to admit that you didn’t know what you were doing.” As each daughter stumbles into marriage (Yana’s union with an exchange student from Bangladesh makes for particularly hilarious cross cultural satire), Kalman, waggishly skewers social and sexual mores. Composed of shrewd comedic vignettes encapsulating epic confusion, alarming disclosures, and bumbling luck, Kalman’s rollicking novel offers a piquant take on family life complicated by the trials of immigration." Donna Seaman, Booklist
"Kalman exploits absurdist techniques and traditions with ease and subtlety, creating a fantastical yet utterly familiar world of Jewish domestic life...brings depth, humor, and an intimate kind of grandeur to her genuinely lovable characters." Sonia Isard, Lilith "One of the greatest accomplishments of the narrative is its treatment of emigration. Kalman has tremendous insight into the particulars of Soviet Jewish immigrant families. This is not to say that she stereotypes or generalizes, but rather she uncovers the fine print of what daily existence is like for Russian immigrants...The Molochniks disagree and second-guess themselves and each other in Kalman’s portrait of a family to which readers can relate despite its unusual qualities and experiences." “Kalman’s witty and nuanced prose examines the lives of Osip and Stalina Molochnik, Jewish Russian immigrants living in Stamford, Connecticut, and their three very American daughters…The conflict between tradition and progress proves to be alternately heartbreaking and hilarious. The book explores Russian traditions, the Reform Judaism of Upper East Siders and the Bengali customs of Yana’s husband, but the desperate and relatable attempts by parents and children to fulfill their dreams cross all cultures.” Molly Labell, Bust "Masters at the comedic in literature are only so if they are also masters at everything else: style, seeing, empathy. Bravery, most of all; writing that tries to be funny and fails is spectacularly bad. But maybe that's why when it's good, it's sublime. And Nadia Kalman's The Cosmopolitans is a sublimely funny novel. Perhaps those writers who have a fine sense of humor are specially able to help us not only to understand, but to bear the joys and pains of the world...Kalman's supreme authorial confidence, filled with honesty and grace, lets all of her characters bask in the warmth of her humor, even as she lets no one off..."
"Her prose is serrated with tender wit, and her characters are at once, in a very human fashion, full of knowledge and none at all. What makes The Cosmopolitans a startling debut is its accurate reflection of the human heart, which transcends any religion, region, or race. All in all, the novel is at its core the sentiment of cosmopolitanism itself: the economy and exchange of love, and the universalism of understanding." "Kalman recasts Austen for the 21st century…Lev feels unambiguous affection for the people he describes; even as see their foibles and documents their absurdities, he allows us to care for them, to enter fully into the generous spirit of the book, with is always comic, occasionally madcap, never castigating...” Yevgeniya Traps, Rain Taxi "Jewish Literature 101: Recommended Jewish fiction and poetry books of 2010..." "Year in Review: Round-up of good reads proves talent thrives on Outer Cape..." "Smart, funny, wise, and entertaining..." "PICKS OF THE MONTH. For a very different, decidedly upbeat story, I think you will enjoy The Cosmopolitans by Nadia Kalman...takes the theme of immigrant families in America, a trio of very different sisters, a Jane Austen-like maze of suitors and marriage, the dreariness of Stamford, Connecticut, and tramsform them into something free and very entertaining. Drawing in her life when her family immigrated from the former Soviet Union where she grew up in Stamford, the author has made a warm and comic debut with her story of the Molochniks, a Russian-Jewish family that is somehow everyone’s family at the same time." "...Kalman has penned a book full of quaint insights and observations into another culture where the traditions and foods may be different but the spirit and dreams are universal. She shares this family tale with humor and insight into the souls of mankind where dark and light intertwine only to come out a harmonious slice of real life...It’s a fun read, one that brings you into a new relationship with fresh personalities that the reader not only can relate to but can identify with." "Kalman’s style is breezy and conversational, a perfect companion to the family drama. Her dialogue is particularly deft, and shows her understanding of the differences between cultural and educational backgrounds, and that humour doesn’t lie exclusively in cracks about language barriers." "Weaves Russian history and the Jewish experience together for a compellingly modern read." "Thoughtful and hilarious and captures the modern zeitgeist." Merrily Hart, JewishLibraries.org "5 STARS. A fine and fun read...Culture shock is over quickly, the toughest part of immigration is the long haul. "The Cosmopolitans" tells the story of Russian-Jewish immigrant family in the Molochiniks, as they find themselves in suburban Connecticut trying to find their place in their lives. With a thoughtful focus on the characters and the differences and many similarities one faces in a new world, 'The Cosmopolitans' proves to be a fine and fun read." The Midwest Book Review "Not only a perfect addition to any contemporary Judaic study, but all in all, a near-perfect debut." Caroline McClean, Alabama Writers' Forum "Through the humanity of the characters and Kalman's warm, well-crafted prose, the novel succeeds in offering the reader a rich and often hilarious portrait of a 21st-century family." |