Siberian Summer (Novel), Davis, CA
Spanning a century in Western Siberia and two weeks in WA state, Siberian Summer is about immigrant Rita’s lifelong bond with a friend she left behind and a protector doll who refuses to protect her.
“I hope this book honors women’s experiences erased in Russia and gives an experience of connection to readers who might also grieve a choice they don’t regret.”
Karolina Letunova grew up in Western Siberia. Her writing probes the nexus of female immigration, time, and loneliness. She explores syntactic and narrative ways to show how extreme geographical distance distorts an immigrant’s reality, displaces living people into the future or the past. She’s fascinated by people who inhabit our psyche even when we’re separated by oceans, the lies we tell ourselves, and our need to belong. Karolina received her MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. Her stories appear in The Kenyon Review, AGNI, and elsewhere. She is a 2023-2024 California Arts Council Emerging Artist Fellow.
Karolina recently started a newsletter with reading faves and resources for fellow writers. You can sign up on her website, www.karolinaletunova.com
Instagram: @karolina.letunova
Twitter: @k_letunova