Why read American Ending?

Book cover of American Ending

Book description

A woman growing up in a family of Russian immigrants in the 1910s seeks a thoroughly American life.

Yelena is the first American born to her Old Believer Russian Orthodox parents, who are building a life in a Pennsylvania Appalachian town. This town, in the first decades of the 20th…

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Pennsylvania

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Why read it?

1 author picked American Ending as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Richard Munson

Author

It’s a cliché that America is a land of immigrants, but Mary Kay Zuravleff offers a rich and engaging take on a particular community- Old Believer Russian Orthodox. Through the viewpoint of the family’s first American-born child, she weaves a tale of struggle, grief, and joy.

With Zuravleff’s vivid details and integration of Russian folk tales, I became a time traveler with eyes widened.

From Richard's 3 favorite reads in 2023.