Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry and James Tate Hill In Conversation
Sat, Apr 09
|Scuppernong Books
I'll be in conversation with Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry about her debut novel, The Orchard, the last years of the Soviet Union, perestroika, and literature as a means for survival.


Time & Location
Apr 09, 2022, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Scuppernong Books, 304 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27401, USA
About the Event
Coming of age in the USSR in the 1980s, best friends Anya and Milka try to envision a free and joyful future for themselves. They spend their summers at Anya’s dacha just outside of Moscow, lazing in the apple orchard, listening to Queen songs, and fantasizing about trips abroad and the lives of American teenagers. Meanwhile, Anya’s parents talk about World War II, the Blockade, and the hardships they have endured. By the time Anya and Milka are fifteen, the Soviet Empire is on the verge of collapse. They pair up with classmates Trifonov and Lopatin, and the four friends share secrets and desires, argue about history and politics, and discuss forbidden books. But the world is changing, and the fleeting time they have together is cut short by a sudden tragedy. Years later, Anya returns to Russia from America, where she has chosen a different kind of life, far from her family and…