Latino garden workers waiting to be picked up, suburbanites planning summer seaside vacations, young mothers scurrying from SUVs to Pilates class— in a story recently published in The Antioch Review, Pia de Jong nails the details of life in America. The Dutch native has only lived in the U.S. for five years, but so keen are her observational skills that shortly after arrival on American shores, the best-selling Dutch novelist was asked to write a weekly column about life in the U.S. for Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.

Princeton Magazine Mayjune Issue CoverRegular readers of Princeton Magazine will recognize Pia de Jong from a feature story that ran in 2013 shortly after the Dutch novelist and her family moved from Amsterdam to Princeton for her husband Robbert Dijkgraaf to take up his appointment as director of the Institute for Advanced Study. The focus of that first article was Robbert Dijkgraaf. This time around, it’s all Pia. 

NOTES IN A BOTTLE: Relative newcomer to Princeton Pia de Jong shared her observations on life in the United States with longtime resident Landon “Lanny” Jones in front of an audience at the Princeton Public Library Monday, March 2. The Dutch novelist and columnist read from her popular weekly column for the Amsterdam daily NRC Handelsblad. Mr. Jones, former People Magazine editor, moderated the event which was part of the Library’s “Conversations that Matter” series, currently focused on immigration. For more on the writer, visit: http://www.piadejong.com. For more on the moderator, visit: http://www.lannyjones.com.

A conversation moderated by Lanny Jones

The novelist and columnist Pia de Jong reads from her most recent work and discusses her life as a writer in the United States.

Moderated by Lanny Jones
(full video)