Notes and Links to Katya Apekina’s Work

For Episode 248, Pete welcomes Katya Apekina, and the two discuss, among other topics, her language abilities and her extensive cross-cultural readings; motherhood, the loss of loved ones, and other catalysts for Mother Doll, and salient themes and issues in her collection like intergenerational traumas, women’s agency, fatalism, guilt, and redemption.

Katya Apekina is a novelist, screenwriter and translator. Her novel, The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, was named a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus, Buzzfeed, LitHub and others, was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and has been translated into Spanish, Catalan, French, German and Italian. She has published stories in various literary magazines and translated poetry and prose for Night Wraps the Sky: Writings by and about Mayakovsky (FSG, 2008), short-listed for the Best Translated Book Award. She co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film New Orleans, Mon Amour, which premiered at SXSW in 2008. She is the recipient of an Elizabeth George grant, an Olin Fellowship, the Alena Wilson prize and a 3rd Year Fiction Fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis where she did her MFA. She has done residencies at VCCA, Playa, Ucross, Art Omi: Writing and Fondation Jan Michalski in Switzerland. Born in Moscow, she grew up in Boston, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and dog.

“Katya Apekina’s ‘Mother Doll’ isn’t your ordinary ghost story” in The Los Angeles Times

Katya's Website

At about 2:40, Katya talks about her early experiences in being bilingual and how her early language learning has affected her reading and writing and ways of seeing the world

At about 6:05, Katya talks about ways in which Russian writing manifests itself

At about 8:00, Katya catalogs formative and informative writers and writing upon which she draws inspiration

At about 9:45, Katya details a Holden Caulfield-esque action she took in high school

At about 10:45, The two discuss cool craft techniques of Chekhov

At about 11:25, Katya outlines the beginnings of her formal writing life after pivoting from photography, including the power of Charles Simic and Roberto Bolaño

At about 14:45, Katya highlights contemporary writers who inspire and thrill her, including Sasha Vasilyuk and Ruth Madievsky, and Alexandra Tanner

At about 17:35, Pete shares the wonderful reviews for the book, including Lauren Groff’s

At about 18:20, Katya shares seeds for the book, especially with regards to intergenerational traumas

At about 21:45, Katya recounts some plot summary and real-life inspirations and parallels

At about 22:50, Pete quotes the book’s first line-a “banger”-and Katya gives background on the book’s sequencing

At about 25:25, Pete sets some of the book’s exposition and asks Katya about the “chorus” and her visual idea of this chorus

At about 27:20, Irina is introduced and the two discuss her wanting to relieve her burdens, and Katya describes what Zhenia might see in Anton/Ben

At about 30:10, Katya responds to Pete’s questions about why Zhenia decides to help translate for Paul, the medium, regarding her great-grandmother

At about 33:00, Katya expands upon Paul’s reasons for getting into the medium space, as well as how some people are many “permeable” to messaging from beyond

At about 35:10, Pete traces some early flashbacks from Irina and her early leanings towards revolution

At about 36:15, Katya responds to Pete’s asking about Hanna and other characters and their motivations and possible naivete

At about 39:00, Pete and Katya discuss the changing and convoluted factions and connections that characterized the Russian Revolution, and the differing visions of change

At about 41:50, Katya talks about how Zhenia thinks of her grandmother’s death and funeral

At about 43:30, Pete asks about parallels in the book, both on the micro and macro levels; Katya speaks about “iterations” of history

At about 46:30, Pete alludes to “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros in asking Katya to speak to the significance of the book’s title

At about 48:40, The two discuss fatalism as a common theme in Russian diasporic literature in general, and this book in particular

At about 51:00, Katya talks about exciting upcoming projects

At about 52:00, Katya gives contact info and social media information

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Please tune in for Episode 249 with Jesse Katz, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Details, Texas Monthly, Food & Wine, Men's Health, and many other publications. His work has been anthologized in Best American Magazine Writing and Best American Crime Writing; his latest book is the critically-acclaimed The Rent Collectors, about the reverberations of a tragic murder in LA’s MacArthur Park area.

The episode airs later today, August 20.

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