Reading Californians Book Discussion: 'Your Presence Is Mandatory'
Winner of the 2025 California Book Award for first fiction, Sasha Vasilyuk joins us to discuss her novel Your Presence is Mandatory.
Vasilyuk was born in Ukraine and came to the United States with her family when she was 12. She felt lonely as an outsider but overcame her lack of English and is now a journalist. Her first book takes us from World War II Germany through the Soviet era to current-day Ukraine. This emotional, exciting tale of a Jewish family in Ukraine will certainly have us clamoring for more stories from Ms. Vasilyuk. Author Gary Shteyngart praises the novel: "Wonderfully written, elegiac and necessary, Sasha Vasilyuk uncovers the history behind the recent headlines with great skill and grace."
A Reading Californians Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California
United States
Sasha Vasilyuk
Author, Your Presence Is Mandatory
Kalena Gregory
Chair, Reading Californians Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California—Moderator
