Invention of Exile (Manko)

Book Reviews
An achingly painful and all too relevant meditation on what can happen to identity when human beings are crammed inside an unforgiving container of politics, bureaucracy, and fear...Manko’s own prose is… rich and convincing…[A] wonderful first novel.
Elizabeth Graver - Boston Globe


The summer’s surest candidate for lit-hit crossover.
New York Magazine


Manko’s debut thrums with longing.
Vanity Fair


An incident from her own family history inspired Manko’s fine fiction debut, in which Austin Voronkov, a Russian engineer and inventor, emigrates to the U.S. in 1913 and finds...[himself] falsely accused of being an anarchist.... The beating heart of Manko’s story is Austin’s determination to be reunited with his family.
Publishers Weekly


Trust Penguin Press to offer historically informed fiction. Early 1900s Russian immigrant Austin Voronkov is a happily married father of two in Bridgeport, CT. But after tripping over his English while responding to accusations [of anarchy,] the family must flee [their U.S.] home.
Library Journal


(Starred review.) A man separated from his family for years reckons with his isolation in Manko's debut, a superb study of statelessness.... She deeply explores...the impact of years of lacking a country.... A top-notch debut, at once sober and lively and provocative.
Kirkus Reviews