Jennifer duBois, an alumna of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, will read from her debut novel, A Partial History of Lost Causes, at 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, at Prairie Lights, 15 S. Dubuque St, Iowa City,and on the Internet at www.writinguniversity.org.

Jennifer duBois

In duBois' story a long-lost letter links two disparate characters, each searching for meaning against seemingly insurmountable odds.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, world chess champion Aleksandr Bezetov begins a quixotic quest. With his renowned Cold War–era tournaments behind him, he has turned to politics, launching a dissident presidential campaign against Vladimir Putin. He knows he will not win—and that he is risking his life in the process—but a deeper conviction propels him forward. And in the same way that he cannot abandon his aims, he cannot erase the memory of a mysterious woman he loved in his youth.

In Cambridge, Mass., 31-year-old English lecturer Irina Ellison is on an improbable quest of her own. Certain she has inherited Huntington’s disease—the same cruel illness that ended her father’s life—she struggles with a sense of purpose.

When Irina finds an old, photocopied letter her father had written to Bezetov, she makes a fateful decision. Her father had asked the Soviet chess prodigy a profound question—How does one proceed against a lost cause?—but never received an adequate reply. Leaving everything behind, Irina travels to Russia to find Bezetov and get an answer for her father, and for herself.

Arthur Phillips, the author of Prague, called the book, "An amazing achievement—a braiding of historical, political, and personal, each strand illuminating the other. Wonderful characters, glimpses of elusive wisdom, and a gripping story that accelerates to just the right ending."

Learn more at duBois' website.For more information or special accommodations to attend this reading, call Jan Weissmiller at Prairie Lights, 319-337-2681