Read Natalie’s essay in the Washington Post.
Read Natalie’s essay in the LA Times.
What other writers are saying about
Welcome to Replica Dodge
In her honest, openhearted prose, Joynton examines her conversion and life as a Jew in the Midwest, and with her powers of observation and compassion, she in turn, gives us a new pioneer narrative. A smart and insightful debut.”
—Nina McConigley, author of Cowboys and East Indians, winner of the PEN Open Book Award
“Joynton immerses us in a landscape that she didn’t expect but has grown to love and in doing so gives us a beautiful memoir about place and identity and how deeply connected the two are.”
-Beth (Bich Minh) Nguyen, author of Stealing Buddha’s Dinner
“Natalie Ruth Joynton has written a page-turning delight—funny, tender, and smart. Joynton discovers Jewishness, romance, family history, a remote corner of Michigan, and her own future, and most remarkably she makes you feel that you’re with her every step of the way. This book is a joy, both poignant and vital.”
—David Mikics, author of Bellow's People
“Like the best nonfiction, Welcome to Replica Dodge is about many things — place and displacement, house and home, idealism and identity, religious conversion and self-reliance — and the elements all combine to create an evocative, thoughtful, wonderfully entertaining memoir that I can’t recommend highly enough.”
— Porter Shreve, author of The End of the Book
