Two Big Differences

In Two Big Differences, Zinaida is returning to Odesa, Ukraine, after having lived in the U.S., where she met her travel companion, Valentine. Having grown up in Odesa, Zina has a sharp sense of humor. Returning home during the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, she relies on humor as a tool for survival, as she and Valya navigate their way through the confusing and violent conflict. In Odesa, they meet Zina’s father, Oleg, and other characters from her past and present, and each must decide on which side they stand.

“The quality of Singleton’s prose also bears the rhythms and influences of some of the Soviet masters—Kataev, Olesha and, I’d venture, Dovlatov.”

–David Bezmozgis, author of Immigrant City