I Sat Alone by the Gate
by Mary Efendi
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Pub Date Jun 20 2023 | Archive Date Jun 30 2023
Greenleaf Book Group | Greenleaf Book Group Press
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Description
Maryam, a young woman from Baku, Azerbaijan, is thrown into the chaos of immigrant life when her mother decides to emigrate to the United States. Maryam initially remains inside at her window studying passersby and reflecting on their clothes, their coffee cups, and a hundred other points of divergence between two cultures. But reality eventually forces her from of the safety of her apartment and out into a foreign world that is at once fascinating, confusing, and not always kind.
While first a story of immigration, I Sat Alone by the Gate is also a powerful, introspective tale of a young woman coming into her own. Mary Efendi’s tender portrayal of home will appeal to anyone who has ever had to leave the place they love behind.
Mary Efendi was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and moved to America in 2003. After almost two decades in the US, life took Mary back to Baku. When she is not reading fiction and drinking cortado in a coffeeshop, she can be found painting on large canvases in her studio in Baku’s Old City.
Advance Praise
"Deeply felt and acutely observed, Mary Efendi’s first novel is a sensitive exploration of departure and arrival, as nostalgia for home struggles with the need to belong. An admirable, impressive debut."
- Navtej Sarna, novelist and former diplomat (alternatively - author of Crimson Spring and other works)
Marketing Plan
- National trade marketing and sales campaign Targeted podcast outreach
- Advance distribution of Digital ARC via NetGalley to reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media
- Large-scale book seeding and promotion campaign with Goodreads
- Targeted advertising to book and culture-focused media, including Harper's Magazine, The Paris Review, and The New York Review of Books
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9798886450507 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 344 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Dora Archie O, Reviewer
This is the story that I would recommend to anyone who is far from home-from the place they knew like their skin, and wander whether they are alone in that feeling or moment.
Maryam, her mother and brother leave Baku, Azerbaijan for the US- and as she narrates the story, it's more like she was plucked away from the warmth of her grandmother's food and resilience, to another country aboard the hope her mother had for a better life away from their father and the pain of his drinking, and what followed them was her mother's depression- and resilience.
It's not the colorful, everything is awesome, I love America kind of story- it is a young girl trying to make sense of her place in a world that she knows not and so like any stranger, she observes-always on the outside looking in.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.
Maureen C, Reviewer
A powerful immigrant and coming-of-age story. As someone who is living away from their home country, I connected with some of Maryam's observations about how different life seems when you're somewhere new. I could totally empathize with her and enjoyed reading about her journey.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Desiree T, Educator
I read this book for free thanks to NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book was an excellent insight into the immigrant experience in the US 20 years ago. I enjoyed hearing from the perspective that is foreign to my own life experiences. We followed the narrator from their early life in Baku to two transitional years in Chicago to the cusp of their next adventure as an adult/student in Washington DC.. She wears her emotions through itnall' and is guided by them. Thanks for a great read!
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