Calling Ukraine

A Novel

By: Johannes Lichtman

Narrated by: Dan Bittner

National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and author of Such Good Work Johannes Lichtman returns with a novel that is strikingly relevant to our times—about an American who takes a job in Ukraine in 2018, only to find that his struggle to understand the customs and culture is eclipsed by a romantic entanglement with deadly consequences.

Shortly after his thirtieth birthday, John Turner receives a call from an old college friend who makes him an odd job offer: move to Ukraine to teach customer service agents at a start-up how to sound American. John’s never been to Ukraine, doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and is supposed to be a journalist, not a consultant. But having just gone through a breakup and still grieving his father’s death, it might just be the new start he’s been looking for.

In Ukraine, John understands very little—the language and social customs are impenetrable to him. At work, his employees are fluent in English but have difficulty grasping the concept of “small talk.” And although he told himself not to get romantically involved while abroad, he can’t help but be increasingly drawn to one of his colleagues.

Most distressing, however, is the fact that John can hear, through their shared wall, his neighbor beating his wife. Desperate to help, John offers the neighbor 100,000 hryvnias to stop. It’s a plan born out of the best intentions, but one that has disastrous repercussions that no amount of money or altruism can solve.

“[A] biting comedy” (Vanity Fair) that calls to mind Garth Greenwell’s What Belongs to You, Calling Ukraine reimagines the American-abroad novel. Moving effortlessly between the comic and the tragic, Johannes Lichtman deploys his signature wry humor and startling moral insight to illuminate the inevitable complexities of doing right by others.

Critic reviews

"Dan Bittner lets humor slip subtly into his narration as he describes the problems at the call center where Turner, an American, is working in Ukraine as elections bring Volodymyr Zelensky into office...Bittner is also adept at switching point of view as the story sheds light on the characters’ actions and creates surprising plot twists."

Answer the call, it’s worth it

Such good narrative and some surprises for us and the characters along the way. A “am I the only one thinking this?” way of learning of an unfamiliar piece of the world (for me, at least).

Entertaining, engaging, inspiring and funny — must read!

Loved this book — very sad it’s over. This is the kind of book that leaves its mark on the way you see the world, but not in an aggressive way. It makes you feel better about your day to day because the story is one of subtle, quotidian triumphs, failures and the in between.

The story itself feels very relatable and not just because of its connection to the modern political situation. The setting is Ukraine, but the feeling, characters and questions are universal. The beauty of this book is that it wraps all of that in a very fun, driving story, so the read itself is good even without all these other layers.

Big fan — do yourself a favor and listen!

Fantastic story!

Fascinating novel about an American living and working in Ukraine. I enjoyed bits about Ukrainian history and appreciated the authors humor throughout the book.