• PRE-RELEASE, Advanced Review, Autographed Book - The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi (This book only comes out 10/3)

Kursa's and Mezotne's very own, Pauls Toutonghi, is the author of this exquisite novel and has donated this signed copy for RKLIC's 40th Anniversary Auction. 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Two refugees find that their lives are inextricably linked—over time and distance—by the perils of history and a single haunting piece of music.

Born in Beirut in 1922, Marguerite Toutoungi lives a life of loss and sacrifice. She dreams of traveling to Europe and studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris but her family—and her society—hold her back. When she meets the son of a Cuban tobacco farmer at a formal dance, love transforms her life. Together with him, she flees across the Pacific Ocean. She’s hoping for a new beginning. Instead, she finds revolution and chaos.

Over fifty years later, Naïm Rahil is a teenage refugee from Aleppo, Syria. A former piano prodigy who struggles to thrive in America—and who has lost part of his hand in the war—he dreams of a simple, normal life.

Moving from Aleppo on the brink of civil war, to Lebanon in the late 1940s, to Havana during the Cuban Revolution, to the suburbs of Washington, DC, The Refugee Ocean grapples with what it means to be an immigrant, shows how wounds can heal, and highlights the role of music and art in the resilience of the human spirit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pauls Harijs Toutonghi was born in Seattle in 1976, and attended Seattle Latvian School from preschool through 10th grade. His mother and grandmother were born in Riga, and his grandfather was born in Liepāja. His first word was in Latvian. He never was able to learn the “circular polka,” no matter how hard he tried. He loves all manner of Latvian foods, even pickled pig’s feet jelly, and smoked eels. His grandfather was a co-founder of Mezotne in 1951.

Pauls has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, an Andrew W. Mellon research fellowship, a Fulbright Grant, and a residency at Hawthornden Castle. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Outside Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Granta, Tin House, and other periodicals. He’s married to the novelist, Peyton Marshall. He lives in Oregon, where he teaches at Lewis and Clark College.