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Torpor, by Chris Kraus
The Cambridge Book Club meets to discuss Chris Kraus’s novel *Torpor*, about a couple’s journey across the former Soviet Bloc. The meeting is at Panera in Porter Square, usually downstairs.
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October 27, 2026 · 6:30 PM – 8 PM
Panera Bread, 5 White St, Cambridge ·
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Discuss Chris Kraus’s novel about a couple traveling across the former Soviet Bloc to adopt a Romanian orphan.
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Organizer’s description
It's Summer, 1991, the dawning of the New World Order; a post-MTV, pre-AOL generation. Jerome Shafir and Sylvie Green, two former New Yorkers who can no longer afford an East Village apartment, set off on a journey across the entire former Soviet Bloc with the intention of adopting a Romanian orphan. *Torpor* is at once a satire and philosophy of cultural history, social identity and failing relationships. Dipping into the trajectory of a life at different moments, Kraus interrogates convention and emotion, creating characters that are flawed, witty, and altogether true to life. Our meeting location is Panera in Porter Square -- usually downstairs.
Hosted by Cambridge Book Club
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