Alexander Maksik: Passengers at Skylight Books

A novel about being stuck at LAX gets launched in a Los Feliz bookstore, which is a fairly neat bit of local symmetry. On Monday, October 19, Skylight Books hosts Alexander Maksik for a conversation about his new novel, Passengers, with Scott Burton. It starts at 7 PM, and the flyer promises free admission. For anyone building a list of things to do in Los Angeles on a weeknight, a free author event is an easy yes.

The book

Passengers follows Ivan, a solitary man in his seventies, and his daughter Nina, who is in her late twenties and has kept her sentimental father at arm's length. Ivan proposes a trip to Europe in hopes of bringing them closer. They meet at LAX, and their departure is delayed. Then delayed again.

As the hours drag on, their sharp, caustic conversation turns up a lifetime of misunderstandings and stubborn love. Flights get canceled, security tightens, and airport staff grow evasive. Ivan and Nina begin to suspect they are being held prisoner without explanation. The publisher's description calls it a father-daughter portrait that turns into a novel of eerie suspense, and also a funny one.

The people on stage

Maksik is the author of You Deserve Nothing, A Marker to Measure Drift (the basis of the 2023 film Drift), Shelter in Place and The Long Corner. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pushcart Prize, and his books have been translated into a dozen languages.

Scott Burton works for the San Diego Public Library and has published author interviews in the LA Review of Books. Expect a conversation led by someone who reads closely, not a straight reading from the podium.

Practical info

The event is free, and the poster notes that seating is first-come, first-served. Skylight Books is at 1818 N Vermont Ave in Los Feliz. If you plan to sit, arrive early, since popular readings in a bookstore fill up fast. Buying the book in the shop is the usual way to support the evening, and signed copies are common at events like this, though the listing doesn't promise them.

Parking on Vermont and the side streets nearby is a mix of metered and permit spots, so read the signs. The 7 PM start makes it easy to pair with dinner on the Vermont strip first. If you are scanning upcoming events Los Angeles has on the calendar for the week of October 19, this one is a quiet, low-cost pick. You can find more like it on our arts and culture page.