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Alexander Maksik is the author of You Deserve Nothing, a New York Times bestseller; A Marker to Measure Drift, a New York Times Notable Book; Shelter in Place; and The Long Corner, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Maksik is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and the Sewanee Review’s Andrew Lytle Prize. His books have been translated into a dozen languages. More about this author >
From the publisher:
Ivan is a solitary man in his seventies, set in his ways and haunted by the failures of his past. His smart and cynical daughter, Nina, is in the twilight of her twenties and has long kept a distance from her sentimental father. But when Ivan proposes a trip to Europe in hopes that it will bring them closer together, Nina reluctantly agrees. They meet at LAX, where their departure is delayed. And delayed again. And again. As the hours drag on, their sharp, caustic and wide-ranging conversation reveals a lifetime of misunderstandings, unhealed wounds, and stubborn love.
Soon more flights are canceled, security tightens, airport staff grow evasive, and it becomes clear to Ivan and Nina that something is wrong. They begin to suspect that they’re being held prisoner—sequestered from the world without explanation. At last, the surreal starts to overtake the mundane, and their need to escape—and to protect each other—turns increasingly urgent.
