About Ivan and Misha
Paperback: 212 pages
Publisher: Triquarterly/Northwestern University Press (October 30, 2010)
In Ivan and Misha, Michael Alenyikov portrays the complexities of love, sexuality, and the bonds of family with boldness and lyric sensitivity. As the Soviet Union collapses, two young brothers are whisked away from Kiev by their father to start life anew in America. The intricately linked stories in this powerful debut, set in New York City at the turn of the millennium, swirl about the uneasy bond between fraternal twins, Ivan and Misha, devoted brothers who could not be more different: bipolar Ivan, like their father, is a natural seducer, a gambler who always has a scheme afoot between fares in his cab and stints in Bellevue. Misha struggles to create a sense of family with his quixotic boyfriend, Smith, his wildly unpredictable brother, and their father, Lyov (“Call me Louie!”), marooned in Brighton Beach yet ever the ladies’ man. Father and sons are each haunted by the death of Sonya, a wife to Lyov, a mother to his sons. An evocative and frank exploration of identity, loss, dislocation, and desire, Ivan and Misha marks the arrival of a uniquely gifted voice in American fiction.
“For the Russian immigrant twins who are the main characters of Ivan and Misha, everyday existence consists of heartbreak, love, and the unexpected. With exuberance and dark humor, Michael Alenyikov depicts New York lives. These wonderful connected stories are full of warmth, psychological insight, and winning originality.” — Alice Mattison, author of Nothing Is Quite Forgotten In Brooklyn
“A haunting collection of love and duty.” — Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Somebody’s Daughter
About Michael Alenyikov
Michael Alenyikov’s short stories have appeared in Canada’s Descant (nominated for a 2007 Pushcart); The Georgia Review; New York Stories; Modern Words, The James White Review, and have been anthologized in Best Gay Stories, 2008 and Tartts Four: Incisive Fiction From Emerging Writers. His essays have appeared in The Gay & Lesbian Review. He was a MacDowell Fellow. Raised in New York City, Alenyikov has worked as a bookstore clerk, clinical psychologist, cab driver, and interactive media writer. He lives in San Francisco.
For more information on Michael Alenyikov, visit his website, www.michaelalenyikov.com.
Michael Alenyikov’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Tuesday, September 6th: Take Me Away
Wednesday, September 7th: Unabridged Chick
Thursday, September 8th: A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, September 14th: Literature and a Lens
Monday, September 19th: Wordsmithonia
Tuesday, September 20th: Regular Rumination
Tuesday, September 20th: Unabridged Chick – author Q & A
Wednesday, September 21st: Dolce Bellezza
Thursday, September 22nd: Bibrary Book Lust
Friday, September 23rd: Ready When You Are, CB
Monday, September 26th: Col Reads
Tuesday, September 27th: Books Are Like Candy Corn
Thursday, September 29th: Stella Matutina