In America

In America is a historical novel by Susan Sontag set in the late nineteenth century. In 1876, Maryna Zalezowska, the most celebrated actress in Poland, leaves the stage behind and travels to the United States with a small group of fellow Poles. Their plan is to start a utopian farming community in Southern California, far from the pressures of their old lives. When the commune fails, Maryna stays in America, learns English and returns to acting under the name Marina Zalenska, building a second career that rivals that of the greatest stars of her day. The novel explores self-reinvention, idealism, the theater, many kinds of love and the American promise of starting over. It is written for readers who enjoy ambitious, richly detailed historical fiction. It won the 2000 National Book Award for Fiction.