The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko by Scott Stambach

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Scott Stambach author of, his debut novel The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko (Is ay enko).Scott received his bachelor’s degree in Physics and Philosophy from SUNY and his Masters in Physics from UC San Diego. He teaches physics and Astronomy at Grossmont and Mesa Colleges [or San Diego City College and High Tech High]. He also collaborates with Science for Monks. Which is really cool.He has published in several literary Journals including Ecclectica, Stirring and Convergence and Writing Disorder. Especially read The Siren Disappeared in Writing Disorder which is as Gogolish as you can get. Think The Nose or The Overcoat.The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko is a novel about lacking, absence, presence, love, beauty and death.Ivan who is 17 years old is a survivor or a legacy of Chernobyl and is doomed to a life long residency in Mazyr Hospital for Gravelly Ill Children. Not in the sense of Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children or a Narnia, but more in the sense of a Gulag or more succinctly Hell.The beauty of the book is that out of despair, death, resignation comes this pure white lotus of hope, beauty and love. The juxtaposition of these is what makes this book something special.Ivan has no legs, one arm, a thumb and two fingers and a drooping face that produce a slur of a voice. But inside, in his own universe, resides an astounding intellect, wit and mischief and a bit of spite and malice.Lost, waiting for something, trying to communicate to someone, other than his loving nurse Natalya, he finds Polina, this beautiful doomed creature who awakens what was a cinder in Ivan into a full blown fire.I don’t want to spoil any aspect of this book and I sure could, as have, unfortunately in opinion other reviewers but suffice it to say that you will have never read another work like this, unless you spend your time reading a lot of dead guys’ stuff, and with that rather rambling introduction, welcome Scott and thanks for joining us today.