The Last Chicken in America

Please join us for our next book club meeting. We decided to pick something a bit more accessible this time. The Last Chicken in America: A Novel in Stories is a set of short stories, so if you don't finish the book this time, don't worry about it!

From Booklist/Amazon
Welcome to Squirrel Hill, a Pittsburgh neighborhood harboring an enclave of addled Russian Jewish immigrants. Struggling to learn English, professionals who held prestigious positions in Moscow realize that to make a living in America they're going to have to labor as housecleaners or data processors. At least their children will go to college. But even the younger generation is baffled, discouraged, even demoralized. Litman joins Laura Vapnyar and David Bezmozgis in portraying Russian Jews stymied and inspired by the curious mix of abundance and emptiness that characterizes American life. Yet Litman's pristine, entrancing interconnected short stories are distinct, given her light touch, crisp humor, and the push-and-pull of her characters' tidal emotions. As obdurate Russian transplants simultaneously cling to and repel each other, Litman's many-faceted stories revolve around the search for a calling in life, the quest for love, and the tragicomic predicaments that thwart seekers and lovers. Straightforward in structure yet intricate psychologically, Litman's smart stories take measure of the confounding divides between cultures and generations, men and women.