Prospect Heights Author Releases Debut Novel

Over 45 years after it was originally staged, one Prospect Heights writer is giving "Fiddler on the Roof" a modern-makeover in paperback form.

Nadia Kalman's debut novel, The Cosmopolitans, is loosely based on her own life, telling the story of the Molochnik family, who flee the USSR and end up in suburban Connecticut.

"I wrote the book really quickly over the course of about a year," said Kalman. "Of course, when you're writing five pages a day, there are a lot of things wrong with those five pages. I ended up going through 52 drafts of the book."

Beginning with a reference to one of Tolstoy's most quoted lines, "Happy families are all alike," the novel follows the three daughters and their stumbles into courting and marriage with, among others, an exchange student from Bangladesh. The novel also follows their mother, whose heart is still in soviet Russia, and their perpetually unhappy father who struggles to make sense of it all.

Combining the trials of immigration with skewered romance and social commentary, The Cosmopolitans offers a new take on cross-cultural exchange.

"I watched 'Fiddler on the Roof' a lot in elementary school, and it really struck me how the characters thought everything would be okay, regardless of their current situation," said Kalman. "Growing up in Stamford myself, the movie also seemed to be a rather accurate depiction of how people saw us as immigrants."

In addition to the family's unsuccessful, yet comically endearing attempts at becoming fully integrated into American society, Kalman also references Stalin's anti-cosmopolitan campaign with the title of the book.

"I think that the characters wish were they cosmopolitans or citizens of the world, but it doesn't always work out that way," said Kalman. "I also thought it was funny that the name of this anti-semitic program is also the name a popular drink in the U.S."

Kalman said that the writing of "The Cosmopolitans" began during her time in Provincetown, where she was a writing fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center.

"It was pretty ideal because they gave you an apartment and took care of everything for you," said Kalman. "All I had to do was write."

Kalman's short stories have been published in the Gettysburg Review, the Madison Review, the Antagonish Review, and multiple magazines. She also works with the Teachers and Writers Collaborative, a non-profit organization.

Kalman will be giving a reading in Brooklyn on December 5th at 3:00 pm at Sunny's bar, located on 253 Conover Street. To purchase the book, visit Amazon's The Cosmopolitans page.