I Will Die in a Foreign Land

by Kalani Pickhart

Genres: International Crime & Mystery; General Fiction; Hard-Boiled

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the New York Public Library Young Lions Award
Best Book of the Year -New York Public Library, Cosmopolitan, Independent Book Review

In 1913, a Russian ballet incited a riot in Paris at the new Théâtre de Champs-Elysées. "Only a Russian could do that," says Aleksandr Ivanovich. "Only a Russian could make the whole world go mad."

A century later, in November 2013, thousands of Ukrainian citizens gathered at Independence Square (Euromaidan) in Kyiv to protest then-President Yanukovych's failure to sign a referendum with the European Union, opting instead to forge a closer alliance with President Vladimir Putin and Russia. The peaceful protests turned violent when military police shot live ammunition into the crowd, killing over a hundred civilians.

I Will Die in a Foreign Land is a novel that follows four individuals over the course of a volatile Ukrainian winter, as their lives are changed forever by the Euromaidan protests. Katya is a Ukrainian-American doctor stationed at a makeshift medical clinic in St. Michael's Monastery; Misha is an engineer originally from Pripyat, near Chernobyl, who has lived in Kyiv since his wife's death; Slava is a fiery young activist whose past hardships steel her determination in the face of persecution; and Aleksandr Ivanovich, a former KGB agent, climbs atop a burned-out police bus at Independence Square and plays the piano. As Katya, Misha, Slava, and Aleksandr's lives become intertwined, they each seek out love, redemption and meaning during a tumultuous and violent period.

In this dazzling debut novel, Kalani Pickhart blends narrative, folklore, journalism and Slavic history to create a moving story of beauty and love in a time of terror, I Will Die in a Foreign Land is an ambitious, intimate, and haunting portrait of human perseverance and the will to survive.

"I tore through I Will Die in a Foreign Land... nothing has given me such a profound impression of what Ukrainians have endured as this intensely moving novel." Ron Charles, Washington Post

© Kalani Pickhart 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Release date: October 19, 2021

Publisher: Two Dollar Radio

Print pages: 326

Sample

Timeline of Events at Euromaidan, The Revolution of Dignity, 2013–2014

2013

Nov. 21 — The fourth president of Ukraine, President Viktor Yanukovych, declines to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, instead chosing to build closer ties with Russia.

Nov. 22 — 2,000 protestors gather in Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Independence Square, to protest, growing to 50,000–200,000 protestors by Nov. 24th.

Nov. 30 — The Ukrainian special police force, the Berkut, attack unarmed protestors and neighboring civilians.

Dec. 1 — As a result of police violence the night before, riots break out and government opposition parties occupy the Trade Unions Building. A tent city goes up at Maidan Nezalezhnosti and a national strike begins.

Dec. 8 — The March of Millions: 500,000 Ukrainians march on Kyiv. A statue of Vladimir Lenin is toppled and destroyed.

Dec. 11 — As 4,000 Berkut attack protestors, the bells at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery ring in alarm for the first time in 800 years.

Dec. 12–28 — Yanukovych and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign the Ukrainian-Russian action plan. Barricades and tents at Maidan Nezalezhnosti reach full capacity with crowds reaching 200,000.

2014

Jan. 10–16 — The Ukrainian Parliament, Verkhovna Rada, passes strict laws against public assembly and protesting, nicknamed “Dictator Laws.”

Jan. 19–25 — Riots erupt against the anti-protest laws on Hrushevsky Street, which come into effect on Jan. 21. Water cannons, Molotov cocktails, rubber bullets, and live ammunition are used on protestors, killing 4 people and injuring 1,000.

Feb. 6 — A package delivered to the Trade Unions Building labeled “Medicine,” explodes.

Feb. 18–19 — Euromaidan protesters are met with live and rubber ammunition, grenades, and tear gas in an attempt to restrain protesters. Snipers and Berkut with AK-47 assault rifles fire on civilians. ...