Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Kate McKean for falling in love with the book; to Pamela Dorman for giving it a chance to see the light and to both her and Julie Miesionczek for their insight in the editing process; to Roseanne Serra, Carla Bolte, Beena Kamlani, and Sonya Cheuse for all their work in making the book a reality; to Alexandra and Daniel Nayeri for their close reading; to Teju Cole for giving the story its first public outing; to Kate Barrette for her translations from the Italian; to Ian King for his encouragement; and to Webb Younce for his kindness to a stranger. And to my family and friends, for everything.