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A Black Lawrence Press Immigrant Writing Series Selection
A teenage Olympic champion in Krakow, a stripper in New York, an American professor at Yale, a tech executive, and a doctor turned undocumented nanny- in a stunning collection of linked stories, Seagulls follows these women and men as they navigate exile, marriage, violence, and love in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Nina Chayka's debut collection draws on stories collected by the author from Ukrainians and Russians whose lives were shattered by the war, and from the author's own experiences as a member of a Muslim minority in Russia, her escape from harassment and threats of the Russian government, and her eventual exile in the United States.
Through these interconnected lives, Seagulls explores how individuals bound by war find the relentless, if sometimes reluctant, need to move forward.
A teenage Olympic champion in Krakow, a stripper in New York, an American professor at Yale, a tech executive, and a doctor turned undocumented nanny- in a stunning collection of linked stories, Seagulls follows these women and men as they navigate exile, marriage, violence, and love in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Nina Chayka's debut collection draws on stories collected by the author from Ukrainians and Russians whose lives were shattered by the war, and from the author's own experiences as a member of a Muslim minority in Russia, her escape from harassment and threats of the Russian government, and her eventual exile in the United States.
Through these interconnected lives, Seagulls explores how individuals bound by war find the relentless, if sometimes reluctant, need to move forward.
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Reviews
"An extraordinary debut, Seagulls delves into the myriad diasporas of love and war-the war being Russia's 2022 attack on Ukraine. Chayka's compelling collection of stories captures the war's dystopias and displacements, its heartbreaks and violences with beautiful, richly specific language. Inspired by Chekhov's famous play, the characters seem almost to oscillate in time, hovering like seagulls over their own uncertain destinies."
Cristina García, author of Vanishing Maps
"Gorgeous and thoughtful…a stellar debut weaving a tale of survival through the interconnected stories of those affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
Jennifer Jordan, Syosset Public Library