The Faces of Strangers
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
The highly acclaimed author of Where Earth Meets Water returns with an arresting exploration of family and culture
When native New Yorker Nicholas Grand applies for an international student exchange program, he thinks it's an opportunity to broaden his horizons and meet some interesting people. He never imagines that a single year would have repercussions that would follow him throughout his lifetime.
Nicholas is sent to Estonia, where he meets shy, sensitive Paavo, his beautiful sister, Mari, and their gruff father, Leo—a family grappling with the challenges of life in a small country struggling to assert its post-Soviet identity. Nicholas sets off on an unforgettable journey through a foreign landscape that ultimately teaches him that some bonds can never be broken.
Bridging two uniquely captivating cities, The Faces of Strangers traces the intertwined lives of two seemingly symmetrical families from extraordinarily different worlds. This compelling odyssey through friendship and self-discovery illuminates the universality of how deeply we are defined by our connections with others.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nicholas Grand, an outgoing New Yorker and wrestler, and Paavo Sokolov, a quiet, puzzle-loving Estonian, first meet as high school students in a prestigious post Cold War exchange program called Hallstr m. When each travels to the other's country, they encounter a new culture and also each other's sisters. Mari Sokolov is an up-and-coming model; Nora Grand, who has prosopagnosia, quite literally doesn't recognize anyone's face. The four young people become linked from the moment the two boys meet, and their relationships span the two countries and more than 10 years. Their intertwining lives take twists and turns that are sometimes overly complicated. The narrative explores the power of intercultural experiences to shape not only who people become as individuals but perhaps even how their experiences may influence international relations. Hallstr m is intended to teach young people from different places about each other, but the four characters end up learning the most about themselves.