In Elliott Holt's beautifully subtle debut novel You Are One of Them, the protagonist, an American in her 20s, moves to Moscow shortly after the Cold War. After a few months, she returns to the U.S. a changed woman.
Holt, who is 39, also lived in Moscow where she worked as a copywriter at an advertising agency as well as in London and New York. Currently, she resides in Washington, D.C. and writes full time.
I asked Holt to make a list of her favorite books about living abroad and then called her to interview her about her choices. We spoke about what it's like to be in your 20s, how Lolita is more than just a surprisingly sympathetic account of a pedophile, and why expat stories are the most classic stories of all.
The first book I wanted to ask you about is Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner [a novel about an American poet in Madrid].
Elliot Holt's Favorite 6 Books About Expatriates
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
Mating by Norman Rush
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene