David Stromberg is a writer, translator, and journalist. His publications include four collections of single-panel cartoons—including his most recent BADDIES (Melville House 2009)—and he has written on arts and culture for The Believer, Nextbook, St. Petersburg Times, Jerusalem Post, and Ha'aretz. His fiction has appeared in the UK's Ambit. Born to ex-Soviet parents in Ashdod, Israel, Stromberg grew up in urban Los Angeles, and currently resides in Jerusalem. This piece is an excerpt from his novel: In Search of Yana.