Everybody Says It's Everything - by Xhenet Aliu (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Growing up in Connecticut with their adoptive mother Jackie, twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete) had no connection to their Albanian heritage and knew nothing about where they came from. ... The twins were as close as could be. But in their teenage years, their paths diverged: Drita was a good girl with good grades and good manners who was going to go to a good college; Pete was a bad boy who had a baby with an addict and was going nowhere fast. ... Fast forward to their twenties: Jackie has suffered a stroke, and Drita has abandoned her graduate study at Columbia University to move home and take care of her mother, giving up all her dreams for the future in the name of family obligation. She hasn't heard from Pete in three years. Then Pete's girlfriend Shanda and their son show up unexpectedly without him, and Drita discovers that he's fallen in with a guerrilla group of Albanian immigrants in the Bronx supplying the war in Kosovo with weapons and fighters"--

Book Synopsis

In this unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Brass, twins growing up in the United States in the nineties unravel larger truths about identity and sibling bonds when one of them gets wrapped up in the war in Kosovo.

"A glowing work of art . . . Aliu has used her many talents to craft a wonderful, vibrant, must-read book."--Jason Mott, National Book Award-winning author of Hell of a Book

Raised in Connecticut, adopted twins Drita and Petrit (aka Pete) had no connection to their Albanian heritage. Their lives were all about Barbie dolls, the mall, and roller skating at the local rink. Although they were inseparable during their childhood, their paths diverged once they became teenagers: Drita was a good girl with good manners who was going to attend a good college; Pete was a bad boy going nowhere fast. Even their twinhood was not enough to keep them together.

Fast-forward to their twenties. Drita has given up on her dreams for the future, abandoning her graduate studies to move back home and take care of their mother. She hasn't heard from Pete in three years when his girlfriend and their son unexpectedly show up without him and in need of help. Realizing that Pete's child may offer the siblings a second chance at being family, Drita becomes determined to find her brother. But what she ends up discovering--about their connection to their Albanian roots, the war in Kosovo, and the story of their adoption--will surprise everyone, and become what brings them together, or tears them apart for good.

In Everybody Says It's Everything, critically acclaimed author Xhenet Aliu tells the story of a family both fractured and foundering, desperate to connect with the other and the world at large, but not knowing how.

Review Quotes

"Consistent through [Everybody Says It's Everything] is the presence of willful, interesting women. . . . Their searches for belonging give the novel its rough, streetwise charm."--The Wall Street Journal

"Readers will find themselves immersed in each character's respective inner world through their vivid sarcasm, self-doubt or aloofness. Aliu's unique and imaginative descriptions leave her readers with an empathetic understanding of their conflicts. Yet her themes are enumerated subtly: Without addressing them directly, Aliu makes masterful observations about identity, family relations, male validation and where freedom truly lives."--Bookpage, starred review

"Writing with warmth and sensitivity, compassion and a clear-eyed command of the narrative, [Aliu] brings empathy and generosity . . . Family is about more than blood in this tenderhearted and touching novel--a riveting read."--Kirkus, starred review

"Alíu continues to explore themes of family, love, and the Albanian immigrant experience."--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in "8 Books to Read in the New Year"

"A glowing work of art. Aliu has used her many talents to craft a wonderful, vibrant, must-read book."--Jason Mott, National Book Award winning author of Hell of a Book, and New York Times bestselling author of The Returned

"Everybody Says It's Everything is a gut-punch of a novel, by turns tender and fierce, heartbreaking and hilarious. Albanian adoptees Drita and Pete hunger for belonging and purpose. Adrift, will they find themselves and their way back to each other? Against the backdrop of the Kosovo War, and set in Waterbury and in the Bronx, Xhenet Aliu deftly examines class, diaspora, loyalty, and family chosen and received. Powerful and deeply moving."--Vanessa Hua, author of Forbidden City

"[Everybody Says It's Everything] skillfully uses the backdrop of a rapidly changing world--where the internet, chat rooms, and online crime were emerging phenomena--to enhance its themes. . . . [It offers] a poignant reminder that understanding and reconciliation are possible even in the face of deep-rooted differences. This thought-provoking, captivating story is a must-read for people interested in the complexities of family dynamics, cultural identity, and the human spirit."--Library Journal

About the Author

Xhenet Aliu's debut novel, Brass, won both the Townsend Prize and the Georgia Author of the Year First Novel Prize. Her debut fiction collection, Domesticated Wild Things, won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction. Aliu's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Hobart, American Short Fiction, LitHub, BuzzFeed, and elsewhere, and she has received multiple scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and a fellowship from the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, among other awards.