Vitaly is a story about reshaping identity, love, and the price of success, set against the backdrop of post-communist Eastern Europe. This page-turning story follows a young Russian- born, Jewish Ukrainian, who emigrates to the United States after the fall of Communism.  In New York City, young Vitaly is exposed to a new world of wealth, power, and corruption. As he becomes more aware of his mother’s history and family's affairs, he discovers that she is involved in illegal activities connected to the Russian mob. As a teenager, he becomes a drug addict and diamond smuggler, and as a result of a related arrest, is sent to a detox camp in the desert, finally enlisting in the American Marines where he is sent to fight in Iraq.  Throughout the novel, Vitaly must navigate the complex web of relationships and power in his life in the New World, while also confronting his own inner demons and feelings of inadequacy.

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Sangeorzan tells  a masterful tale of a 21st century odyssey of a young Russian-Ukrainian immigrant, Vitaly, who learns the hard way how to navigate modern day obstacles of living in America as he slowly finds his  own identity along the way. A brutal portrait of the difficulties of crossing cultures and trying to assimilate into a chaotic strange new world.    --Nava Renek