American novelist
Maria Kuznetsova is a
Ukrainian American
novelist
[1] with two book publications, both from
Random House .
[2]
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]
References
^
a
b
"Maria Kuznetsova" . Electric Literature . Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^
a
b Khong, Rachel (2021-04-13).
"And Now, a Case for the Ordinary" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^
a
b
"Maria Kuznetsova: "My Painting of Kyiv" " . The Yale Review . Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^ Goff, Lydia (7 December 2019).
"Writing through Rejection: Maria Kuznetsova's Advice for Young Writers" . Duke University Department of English. Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^
a
b
"Maria Kuznetsova" . Auburn University College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^ 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 .
^ Ulinich, Anya (2019-05-02).
"Two Novels About Young Soviet Transplants in America" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-27 .
^ 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 .
^
"OKSANA, BEHAVE!" . Kirkus Reviews .
^
"Fiction Book Review: Oksana, Behave! by Maria Kuznetsova" . Publishers Weekly . 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"On the Dangers of Autobiographical Writing | Maria Kuznetsova" . Catapult . 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Maria Kuznetsova Thinks You Should Go Ahead and Be Weird" . Electric Literature . 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
a
b
"Bookforum talks with Maria Kuznetsova" . Bookforum . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Author profile | Maria Kuznetsova Writers' Workshop grad's debut novel explores misbehaving with a dose of humor" . The Gazette . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"The Goodness of Being Bad" . Chicago Review of Books . 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova: 9780525511908" . PenguinRandomhouse.com . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^ Khong, Rachel (2021-04-13).
"And Now, a Case for the Ordinary" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Immigrants Behaving Badly: Maria Kuznetsova and Sanjena Sathian in Conversation" . The Millions . 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^ Kuznetsova, Maria (2019-03-19).
"The Grandmother Character" . Guernica . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Bookforum talks with Maria Kuznetsova about her new novel of family lore and motherhood" . Bookforum . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^ Crescente, Joe (2021-04-11).
"Maria Kuznetsova's Second Novel is 'Something Unbelievable' " . Moscow Times . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Looking For A New Book? Curl Up With One Of These Must-Read New Releases" . Bustle . 31 March 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"The Tradition of Storytelling in Something Unbelievable" . Ploughshares . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"5 new books to read in April" . The A.V. Club . 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^
"Fiction Book Review: Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova" . Publishers Weekly . 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^ Kuznetsova, Maria (2019-10-10).
"My Ectopic Summer" . Slate . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .
^ Kuznetsova, Maria (2020-08-19).
"The Unimaginable Hell of Postpartum Insomnia" . Slate . Retrieved 2022-04-29 .