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Free Author Talk: Alix Ohlin’s “Dual Citizens” | Green Apple Books

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Wednesday, June 12, 2019 - 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm | Cost: FREE
Green Apple Books on the Park | 1231 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA

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Alix Ohlin discusses her new novel, Dual Citizens.

Praise for Dual Citizens

“Ohlin’s story of sisters wraps its tendrils deep as any family. Dual Citizens leads a reader through landscapes of compassion and crisis in this deeply felt, iridescent novel of the spells and surprises a sibling creates.”—Samantha Hunt, author of The Dark Dark

“For long-time admirers of Alix Ohlin’s fiction, the psychological complexity and keen observations in this novel will come as no surprise. In Dual Citizens, Ohlin examines the conflicting desires of two sisters from Montreal with a riveting precision reminiscent of fellow Montreal native Mavis Gallant. However, unlike Gallant’s Montreal girls, Ohlin’s are not of a generation ‘trained to be patient’ but to follow their ambitions. A lifelong witness to one’s shifting longings, this wise and luminous novel shows, is a sibling.”—Idra Novey, author of Those Who Knew

“This novel sneaks up on you the way life does—full of chance and yearning. It’s a precise, subtle, sad and graceful story about how we care for each other, and how we try to, and how we fail.”—Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror

About Dual Citizens

Lark and Robin are half-sisters whose similarities end at being named for birds. While Lark is shy and studious, Robin is wild and artistic. Raised in Montreal by their disinterested single mother, they form a fierce team in childhood regardless of their differences. As they grow up, Lark excels at school and Robin becomes an extraordinary pianist. At seventeen, Lark flees to America to attend college, where she finds her calling in documentary films, and her sister soon joins her.

Later, in New York City, they find themselves tested: Lark struggles with self-doubt, and Robin chafes against the demands of Juilliard. Under pressure, their bond grows strained and ultimately is broken, and their paths abruptly diverge. Years later, Lark’s life is in tatters and Robin’s is wilder than ever. As Lark tries to take charge of her destiny, she discovers that despite the difficulties of their relationship, there is only one person she can truly rely on: her sister.

In this gripping, unforgettable novel about art, ambition, sisterhood, motherhood, and self-knowledge, Alix Ohlin traces the rich and complicated lives of two indelible women. Dazzlingly insightful and beautifully crafted, Dual Citizens captures the unique language of sisters and makes visible the imperceptible strings that bind us to the ones we love for good.

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Cost: FREE
Categories: Literature
Address: 1231 9th Ave, San Francisco, CA