"In her superb and poignant new novel, Lara Vapnyar writes about love and other difficulties with the same passion, wit, and probing intelligence to be found in all her writing. Among its many treasures, Divide Me By Zero contains fascinating explorations of the fraught, tangled nature of both romantic and family relationships, and some of the most affecting scenes of bereavement I have ever read." —Sigrid Nunez, The FriendAs a young girl, Katya Geller learned from her mother that math was the answer to everything. Now, approaching forty, she finds this wisdom tested: she has lost the love of her life, she is in the middle of a divorce, and has just found out that her mother is dying. Half-mad with grief, Katya turns to the unfinished notes for her mother's last textbook, hoping to find guidance in mathematical concepts.With humor, intelligence, and unfailing honesty, Katya traces back her life's journey: her childhood in Soviet Russia,...

Each of Lara Vapnyar's six stories invites us into a world where food and love intersect, along with the overlapping pleasures and frustrations of Vapnyar's uniquely captivating characters. Meet Nina, a recent arrival from Russia, for whom colorful vegetables represent her own fresh hopes and dreams . . . Luda and Milena, who battle over a widower in their English class with competing recipes for cheese puffs, spinach pies, and meatballs . . . and Sergey, who finds more comfort in the borscht made by a paid female companion than in her sexual ministrations. They all crave the taste and smell of home, wherever—and with whomever—that may turn out to be. A roundup of recipes are the final taste of this delicious collection.

In her newest novel, award-winning author Lara Vapnyar—"a talented writer, possessed of an ample humor and insight and a humane sensibility" (The New York Times Book Review)—tells a provocative tale of sexual awakening, youthful romanticism, and the relentless search for love."Don't say 'the rest of your life!' it fills me with such horror!"Though only thirty-eight, Lena finds herself in the grips of a midlife crisis. She feels lost in her adoptive country, her career is at a dead end, and her marriage has tumbled into a spiral of apathy and distrust—it seems impossible she will ever find happiness again. But then she strikes up a precarious friendship with Ben, a failed artist turned reluctant academic, who is just as lost as she is. They soon surprise themselves by embarking on an impulsive weekend adventure, uncharacteristically leaving their middle-aged responsibilities behind. On the way to Ben's remote cabin in Maine,...

A warm, ambitious, and beautifully moving novel from the writer Louis Menand calls "Jane Austen with a Russian soul"Vica, Vadik, Sergey, and Regina are émigrés living in New York City. Each in their mid-thirties, they're old friends from Russia who've remained close, though the pressures of daily life in America bear down on them. Vica, medical researcher and mother of one, must keep her Staten Island household together while her husband, Sergey, spins through a cycle of lost jobs as an analyst, hoping his great ideas for a hot new app will someday make him rich. Regina, once an esteemed translator, is now married to a wealthy investor and spends her days holed up in a sweeping Tribeca loft, curtains drawn, watching television and eating takeout; and Vadik, ever in search of a sense of newness, works hard as a programmer to keep his new apartment, new girlfriend, and new life in Williamsburg totally pristine. When Sergey hones his app idea—he...