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Porcupines
Not yet published
Expected 14 Apr 26Maria Semple meets Gary Shteyngart in this wry debut about the Southern California escapades of an unconventional single mother from Budapest and her increasingly inquisitive young daughter, who wakes up one day and decides to find out who her father is.
Los Angeles, 2001. Sonia is a single mother who spends her time running away from PTA moms, engaging in not-quite-illegal business activities involving rich Eastern Europeans and high-tech gadgets, and raising her beloved Milosh, Mila. Cast in her mother’s image, Mila is a precocious, intelligent girl with a burgeoning Shostakovich obsession. The pair live an unconventional life and are, all in all, quite happy together. But Sonia’s guarded life and refusal to discuss their family has left Mila lonely and isolated. When she stumbles across emails between her mother and an unknown man, Mila’s curiosity about her father leads her to form a plan, putting into motion a chain of events that will cause their carefully constructed lives to implode.
Flashback to 1990. The world has begun to breathe again after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Eighteen-year-old Szonja Imre travels to visit her sister in LA in search of the quintessential adventure in the “land of the free.” What she doesn’t expect is the discovery that her sister Rina’s conception of the American dream is vastly different from hers—a lot less Hollywood and more, as Szonja eloquently puts it, “Jewish Stepford Wife.” Rina finds freedom in reconnecting with her roots, but Szonja can’t see how Rina’s new life is less restricted than the one she left behind in Budapest. Their disparate lifestyles lead to conflict, and when Szonja ends up in a difficult situation, she makes a series of snap decisions that leave her navigating America alone as an illegal immigrant.
Taking place across Budapest in the years preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall, DC in the thick of cold war politics, and the bright sunshine of retro LA, Porcupines captures the rich, complex, and entirely absorbing relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters. At its heart, it is a book about all the ways we find community and companionship, sometimes in the unlikeliest of places.
Los Angeles, 2001. Sonia is a single mother who spends her time running away from PTA moms, engaging in not-quite-illegal business activities involving rich Eastern Europeans and high-tech gadgets, and raising her beloved Milosh, Mila. Cast in her mother’s image, Mila is a precocious, intelligent girl with a burgeoning Shostakovich obsession. The pair live an unconventional life and are, all in all, quite happy together. But Sonia’s guarded life and refusal to discuss their family has left Mila lonely and isolated. When she stumbles across emails between her mother and an unknown man, Mila’s curiosity about her father leads her to form a plan, putting into motion a chain of events that will cause their carefully constructed lives to implode.
Flashback to 1990. The world has begun to breathe again after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Eighteen-year-old Szonja Imre travels to visit her sister in LA in search of the quintessential adventure in the “land of the free.” What she doesn’t expect is the discovery that her sister Rina’s conception of the American dream is vastly different from hers—a lot less Hollywood and more, as Szonja eloquently puts it, “Jewish Stepford Wife.” Rina finds freedom in reconnecting with her roots, but Szonja can’t see how Rina’s new life is less restricted than the one she left behind in Budapest. Their disparate lifestyles lead to conflict, and when Szonja ends up in a difficult situation, she makes a series of snap decisions that leave her navigating America alone as an illegal immigrant.
Taking place across Budapest in the years preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall, DC in the thick of cold war politics, and the bright sunshine of retro LA, Porcupines captures the rich, complex, and entirely absorbing relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters. At its heart, it is a book about all the ways we find community and companionship, sometimes in the unlikeliest of places.
- GenresFictionFamily Drama
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 14, 2026
3717 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 20, 2025
The cover synopsis for PORCUPINE is a little underwhelming. The book is an interesting, entertaining slice of the lives of a family of women and the communications between them. It's obvious this family cares for each other, but it's left to others to make them see how much. A Hungarian family that has traveled as diplomatic ambassadors, gaining skills and experience from many nationalities, has now settled in Hungary before the demolition of the Berlin Wall. The family, father, mother, and two daughters, is tested as beliefs and loyalties shift. Fran Fabriczki skillfully builds the challenges the family faces, especially when the older daughter marries into a traditional Jewish family and immigrates to Los Angeles. The younger sister rebels against the strict paternal guidelines; she will "visit" her sister, becoming an illegal immigrant when she faces an unplanned pregnancy. At this point, the story skips ahead to the child at ten years of age.
The story is told in multiple POV and multiple timelines. At first, this caused a bit of confusion, but it felt natural as the story progressed. I loved this book much more than I thought I would. It's a great story of how families cause their own problems and solutions. The ending is beautiful. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a different kind of love story. 5 easy stars.
The story is told in multiple POV and multiple timelines. At first, this caused a bit of confusion, but it felt natural as the story progressed. I loved this book much more than I thought I would. It's a great story of how families cause their own problems and solutions. The ending is beautiful. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a different kind of love story. 5 easy stars.
December 7, 2025
In 1990, when she is eighteen and pregnant, Sonia makes a life-changing decision. Eleven years later, she is a single mother in Los Angeles. Her daughter Mila is intelligent, and likely a little bit lonely. Sonia is guarded and secretive and Mila begins to wonder about her father. She thinks a school trip to San Francisco may help her solve the mystery.
This is an intriguing character study of Sonia and the difficult decisions she makes. You can feel her unease at her circumstances (and her great love for Mila) throughout the pages. I look forward to reading more by the author.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.
This is an intriguing character study of Sonia and the difficult decisions she makes. You can feel her unease at her circumstances (and her great love for Mila) throughout the pages. I look forward to reading more by the author.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews