ASU Book Group: ‘I Will Die in a Foreign Land’ by Kalani Pickhart

Coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the ASU Book Group's February 2026 reading selection is “I Will Die in a Foreign Land: A Novel” by fiction writer Kalani Pickhart, a staff member in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and ASU graduate (BA English ’09 and MFA creative writing ’19).

The book group is open to all in the ASU community and meets monthly this spring from noon to 1 p.m.

Haven't read the book? Come anyway! Authors are always present.

Synopsis

Winner of the 2022 Young Lions Fiction Award, "I Will Die in a Foreign Land" follows four individuals over the course of a volatile Ukrainian winter. The lives of Katya, Misha, Slava and Aleksandr are forever changed by the Euromaidan protests as they each seek their own solace during an especially tumultuous and violent period. “Nothing has given me such a profound impression of what Ukrainians have endured as this intensely moving novel,” said Ron Charles of The Washington Post.

ASU students, faculty and staff can access an e-book copy of “I Will Die in a Foreign Land” from the ASU Library.

About the book group

The ASU Book Group meetings and selections for spring 2026 are:

• Feb. 26 - “I Will Die in a Foreign Land” by Kalani Pickhart
• Mar. 26 - “Visiting Composer” by Andrea Avery
• Apr. 23 - “Climate Imagination” edited by Joey Eschrich and Ed Finn

The ASU Book Group is sponsored as a community outreach initiative hosted in partnership between the Department of English and ASU Library.