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Nadia Kalman has a flair for the dramatic. One needs only to hear her read excerpts from her debut novel to realize it.
"I was in the Drama Club in Stamford High School," the 1993 graduate said. Musicals were out for her, though. "I was only in the plays I played old ladies because I couldn't sing or dance."
But she can write, according to audience members who joined Kalman for a reading of her book, "The Cosmopolitans," at Ferguson Library.
An enthusiastic crowd of about 30 gathered in the library's third-floor auditorium to welcome Kalman back to Stamford. The 35-year-old novelist lives in New York and is co-founder of a charter school there, Summit Academy.
But she hasn't left Stamford far behind. She returns often to visit her parents, Mikhail and Elena. She was last here for Thanksgiving. And Kalman can always leaf through her book when she gets a nostalgic pining for Stamford.
The work is set here, and it mentions several familiar locales, including Ferguson Library, where Kalman worked as a page during high school. The book is an irreverent look at relationships among a family of Jewish immigrants.
"I read the book, and I thought it was very funny," said Iffat Islam, Kalman's best friend. Islam also is a 1993 Stamford High grad now living in New York. She made the trip back to Stamford to support Kalman.
"She's very good connecting with the audience. I thought she was funny and very relaxed," said Islam.
"I think this is a fantastic novel," said Kalman's boyfriend, Aharon Levy, who also accompanied her. He occasionally served as proofreader for Kalman's debut work. She's now working on a second novel.
"I think her next one's going to be even better," said Levy.
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