Skip to content

AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT

Zhanna Slor

A riveting debut novel from an unforgettable new voice that is literary, suspenseful, and a compelling story about identity and how you define "home".
Masha remembers her childhood in the former USSR, but found her life and heart in Israel. Anna was just an infant when her family fled, but yearns to find her roots. When Anna is contacted by a stranger from their homeland and then disappears, Masha is called home to Milwaukee to find her. In 2008, college student Anna feels stuck in Milwaukee, with no real connections and parents who stifle her artistic talents. She is eager to have a life beyond the heartland. When she's contacted online by a stranger from their homeland?a girl claiming to be her long lost sister?Anna suspects a ruse or an attempt at extortion. But her desperate need to connect with her homeland convinces her to pursue the connection. At the same time, a handsome grifter comes into her life, luring her with the prospect of a nomadic lifestyle. Masha lives in Israel, where she went on Birthright and unexpectedly found home. When Anna disappears without a trace, Masha's father calls her back to Milwaukee to help find Anna. In her former home, Masha immerses herself in her sister's life?which forces her to recall the life she, too, had left behind, and to confront her own demons. What she finds in her search for Anna will change her life, and her family, forever. Zhanna was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the Midwest in the early 1990s. She has a master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University, and has been published in many literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Bellevue Literary Review, Tusculum Review, Midwestern Gothic, Another Chicago Magazine, and five times in Michigan Quarterly Review, one of which received an honorary mention in Best American Essays 2014.
Available products
Book

Published 2021-04-01 by Polis/Agora

Comments

"Slor's elegantly written and thought-provoking debut keeps the suspense high in this unconventional detective story. Those looking for an intricately textured tale of family relationships will be rewarded."

Booklist just named AT THE END OF THE WORLD, TURN LEFT by Zhanna Slor one of the best debuts of the year: "Some people choose to hold on to their traumas while others throw them out like a worn-out coat," says Masha, the beleaguered heroine of this multidimensional dysfunctional-family thriller. This outstanding crime-fiction debut shows the genre's adaptability in both taking the form in new directions and exploring themes of great social significance." Read more...

"Slor's novel is a combination of a mystery and self-exploration novel. It centers on the lives of two sisters who have both immigrated from the former USSR but have different approaches to what they define as home."

"An intoxicating fever dream of a book. A beautiful, joyful read."

"One of those gems of a novel that delivers poignant observations about life in a suspenseful page-turner."

"Zhanna Slor has written a stellar debut novel of literary suspense which is also an engrossing coming-of-age story. This is a debut of many felicities, much heart, and more than a few comic moments. It was a true pleasure to read."

"This wonderful debut is a match for patrons who enjoyed Zadie Smith's White Teeth or Rachel Zhong's Goodbye, Vitamin."

"It's rare to find a debut mystery crafted with such elegance and authenticity."