Read to Know Basis: Sasha Vasilyuk
The author of Your Presence is Mandatory talks about making men cry and Soviet underwear.
Read to Know Basis is a weekly interview series with authors. It features debut authors and established writers talking about reading, writing, and of course snacks. This series is free to all. If you like what you read considering subscribing to support the work of Unstacked, and of course go out and buy the book!
Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of a debut novel, Your Presence is Mandatory, that just came out from Bloomsbury in the U.S., and will be published in Italy, France, Germany, Finland, and Brazil this Fall. Sasha grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. She has an MA in journalism from New York University and her nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, CNN, Time, and elsewhere. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and children.
What are five words to describe your book?
Epic, timely, page-turning, realist, moving
What is the strangest thing you googled while researching/writing this book?
“Soviet underwear”, which turned out to be a more fruitful search query than you’d imagine. I even discovered the Museum of Soviet Underwear…
Describe your ideal reader?
A geopolitically informed person who doesn’t mind tearing up. I’ve heard a few men confess tearing up or even crying (!) while reading my book. For some reason, making men cry feels like a great compliment.
What has been the most memorable moment while on book tour?
Signing my first book for a total stranger at LA Times Book Festival! Very surreal to have birthed a thing out of my brain that somebody who doesn’t already love me wants to spend money on.
What is a piece of writing advice that you’ve received that you think is really bad? What is a piece of writing advice that you think is really good?
Bad: never use passive voice. Passive voice can actually be a useful device when describing experiences outside the character’s control (like in a concentration camp, for example).
Good: read your writing aloud because you hear things that your eye may not catch.
What is your favorite punctuation mark?
Definitely the em dash. It’s used more — and slightly differently — in my native Russian, so I just can’t avoid using it in English. I think it’s the most dynamic of punctuation marks as it literally points to things.
What are you reading right now? And what book are you desperate to read next?
I’m reading Amerikaland by Danny Goodman, which comes out in June and is great fun so far. I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary lit in the past year, so am now looking forward to taking a break from new work and checking out Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
What book are you an evangelist for?
Homegoing by Yaa Gyatsi. What a tremendous feat! Like how on earth did she go through entire centuries on two continents? That book also showed me our American society in a way I’d never seen or understood before. I read it back in 2016 and it was also instrumental in showing me the way into my novel.
A book you wish you could read again for the first time?
George Orwell’s 1984. There are so many unexpected ways in which this novel feels relevant today. I’m thinking both about the return toward totalitarianism in Russia and the worldwide rise of technology that’s constantly tracking us, watching us, and in many ways controlling us.
Who is your literary crush?
Mikhail Bulgakov who wrote the brilliant magical realist novel The Master and Margarita under the watchful eye of Stalin. It’s one of the bravest novels I’ve ever read and being brave feels especially important now.
If you could not be a writer what would you do?
Curate art shows at some grand museum. Not that I could do it, but it just sounds absolutely dreamy.
You’re invited to a literary potluck, what are you bringing? Could be food or drink.
My famous cabbage salad. Or, if I’m feeling fancy, Uzbek pilaf.
Connect with Sasha: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Thanks for featuring, Traci!