Radiant Daughter: A Novel - Hardcover

"It is an intense, beautifully written, and hauntingly sad novel that, in Grossman's more than capable hands, still celebrates the resilience of the human heart and the persistence of hope. -- Belletrisa "Grossman tells a powerful story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful about the enduring bond between a mother and daughter despite generational differences, cultural disparities, and a tenacious mental illness constantly pushing the strength of their bond to the limit." -- Carolyn Kubisz, Booklist "Patricia Grossman has written a beautiful story of how families love--and forgive." -- USA TODAY

In Radiant Daughter, award-winning novelist Patricia Grossman follows a Czech-American family for twenty-seven years, beginning in suburban Chicago in 1969 and ending in Brooklyn, in seaside "Little Odessa," in 1996. Though the novel begins as a traditional assimilation story- immigrant parents, "native" children, and the conflicts one might expect-it evolves into a highly particular and harrowing tale surrounding the descent of Elise Blazek, the family's brightest star. Radiant Daughter is also a story of translation-between generations, from the Czech of Irena and Stepan, to the "American" of the children, and finally to the Russian that is Elise's academic specialty.