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A review by kghunter
I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is such an unbelievably magnificent book. I learned so much from this author and her telling of these stories. Not just historically, but also mentally and emotionally. It taught me so much about the human condition, about what war and displacement does to a people. I learned so much about myself, about others, about human connection and disconnection.
In this novel Pickhart meticulously crafted characters and relationships that are strikingly rich and complex, both beautiful and ugly. Plots that stand independent as a tree strengthened with age, yet enmeshed as the roots that anchor its surrounding forest. The extraordinary duality of her writing enabled me to submerge myself in lived experiences so different from my own that prior to I had (unbeknownst to myself) merely waded in. After reading this novel I have nothing but immense gratitude and respect for Pickhart as a literary artist.
In this novel Pickhart meticulously crafted characters and relationships that are strikingly rich and complex, both beautiful and ugly. Plots that stand independent as a tree strengthened with age, yet enmeshed as the roots that anchor its surrounding forest. The extraordinary duality of her writing enabled me to submerge myself in lived experiences so different from my own that prior to I had (unbeknownst to myself) merely waded in. After reading this novel I have nothing but immense gratitude and respect for Pickhart as a literary artist.
Favorite Quotes (forgive me, there are far too many):
“All these fearless women want to kill him, he thinks. He cares for them, and he loves them, and then they kill him with worry.”
“It seems all her life Katya has either been fighting for or against the men she loves. The room they take up in her. The staggering greed. Her child. Her husband. Even her father.”
“Her heart, swelling like the moon”
“How much energy does it take to remember?”
“Pride—both a virtue and a vice.”
“You raped my country, you are a dog in heat.”
“Misha: ‘Are you angry with her?’ Katya: ‘Can I tell you something crazy?’ Misha: ‘Yes’ Katya: ‘I’m angry with everyone’”
“When we shoot we kill a neighbor. When we shoot we kill ourselves. Ukraine, the umbilical cord becomes the noose.”
“She tries not to seem worried for him, she stays angry”
“Everything is as real as it’s not”
“All these fearless women want to kill him, he thinks. He cares for them, and he loves them, and then they kill him with worry.”
“It seems all her life Katya has either been fighting for or against the men she loves. The room they take up in her. The staggering greed. Her child. Her husband. Even her father.”
“Her heart, swelling like the moon”
“How much energy does it take to remember?”
“Pride—both a virtue and a vice.”
“You raped my country, you are a dog in heat.”
“Misha: ‘Are you angry with her?’ Katya: ‘Can I tell you something crazy?’ Misha: ‘Yes’ Katya: ‘I’m angry with everyone’”
“When we shoot we kill a neighbor. When we shoot we kill ourselves. Ukraine, the umbilical cord becomes the noose.”
“She tries not to seem worried for him, she stays angry”
“Everything is as real as it’s not”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness