American Ending

AnOprah Dailypick for spring 2023

David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction Finalist

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 Orthodoxparents, who are building a life in a Pennsylvania Appalachian town. Thistown, in the first decades of the 20th century, is filled with Russian transplantsand a new church with a dome. Here, boys quit grade school for thecoal mines and girls are married off at fourteen. The young pair up, givebirth to more babies than they can feed, and make shaky starts in their newworld. However, Yelena craves a different path. Will she find her happyAmerican ending or will a dreaded Russian ending be her fate?

In this immersive novel, Zuravleff weaves Russian fairy tales and fablesinto a family saga within the storied American landscape. The challengesfacing immigrants-and the fragility of citizenship-are just as unsettlingand surprising today as they were 100 years ago.American Endingis a poignantreminder that everything that is happening in America has alreadyhappened.