A novel
The Romany Orchid
Two people arrive in New York in the same winter, for different reasons, and neither is met by the man who was supposed to meet them.
01About the book
In November 2009 Lorenzo Santini buys a one-way ticket out of a Tuscan truffle farm with two thousand dollars, his father's tie and a voice nobody has ever paid him for. Five months later Caterina Dudek lands at JFK with one bag and eight days, to stand inside a glasshouse in the Bronx where somebody has rebuilt Havana out of orchids.
Neither of them is met by the man who was supposed to meet them.
What follows is a winter of eleven-dollar days on a wall at Herald Square, a volcano that closes the sky over Europe, a stamp in a passport that runs out in October, and an old geographer who has written to the same woman in Poland every week for thirty years and has never once bought a ticket.
A novel about the year two people were told, in every language available to them, not this one, and did not accept it.
Part One, Two Kitchens
Chapter One
The dog found the first one at ten past five, and Lorenzo was still buttoning his jacket when he heard her breathing change.
Bice had gone quiet forty metres inside the oaks. That was the whole signal. She did not bark and she did not dig, she just stopped making the noise she had been making, and the absence of it travelled down the slope in the dark and put a hand on the back of his neck.
"She has one," he said.
"I know what she has."
Matteo was already moving. He went uphill the way he had gone uphill for fifty years, badly, at speed, planting the stick and hauling himself past it, and Lorenzo let him get four paces ahead before following. There was a rule about that and neither of them had ever said it out loud.
The chapter continues in the book.
02The drawings
The printed edition carries six charcoal and graphite drawings, one at the opening of each part and one before the epilogue. Most novels are not illustrated. This one is.
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ITwo Kitchens -
IIThe Long Winter -
IIITwo Days -
IVSpring -
VSan Miniato -
EpilogueThe letter
03The calendar of the novel
The book is built out of dates and paperwork: a ticket, a visa stamp, a receipt written by hand on a pad. Every date below is in the book, in order.
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Lorenzo
Buys a one-way ticket at Pisa on his birthday and tells nobody until it is done.
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Lorenzo
Eleven dollars and four cents on a corner at Herald Square. One of the coins is Canadian.
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Caterina
Sees an advertisement in a three-week-old newspaper and says out loud, in an empty room, that she is going.
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Caterina
Six months on a B-2 visa, and no permission to earn a single dollar of it.
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Lorenzo
A piece of grocery box with her name on it, held at chest height.
Caterina
One bag. Eight days.
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Caterina
The last day of the orchid show. Four hours inside, and she skips nobody.
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Caterina
Ash over Europe. There is no window with a man behind it. She cannot leave.
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Lorenzo
Fifteen hundred dollars, counted twice, and a receipt written by hand on a pad.
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Caterina
The date on the stamp.
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Lorenzo and Caterina
Two long tables under the olives, and two people who have written to each other since 1980 meet for the first time.
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Caterina
A letter with Polish stamps, forwarded twice, in the fourth mailbox on the left.
04Questions about the book
What is The Romany Orchid about?
The Romany Orchid is a novel by Evren EGE about two people who arrive in New York in the winter of 2009 to 2010 for different reasons. Lorenzo Santini leaves a Tuscan truffle farm to sing; Caterina Dudek flies from Krakow for an orchid show. Neither is met by the man who was supposed to meet them, and the two years that follow are the book.
Who is the author of The Romany Orchid?
The Romany Orchid was written by Evren EGE. She was born in Turkey and wrote the first version of the story as a student in New York, in a language that was not her own. The Romany Orchid is her first novel. She can be reached at author@theromanyorchid.com and on Instagram as @theromanyorchid.
Where can I buy The Romany Orchid?
The Romany Orchid is not on sale yet. It will be published by Jack and Sons LLC of Sheridan, Wyoming, in 2026 as a paperback. Amazon will be the only sales channel at launch, and the link will be added to this page when the book is live.
Is The Romany Orchid illustrated?
Yes. The printed edition of The Romany Orchid carries six charcoal and graphite drawings, one at the opening of each of the five parts and one before the epilogue. The cover is a charcoal drawing of two phalaenopsis orchids. All six drawings are shown on this page.
How long is The Romany Orchid and what format is it?
The Romany Orchid is a 300-page paperback, 5.5 by 8.5 inches, written in English. It is in five parts and an epilogue: Two Kitchens, The Long Winter, Two Days, Spring, San Miniato, and The letter. The ISBN will be added to this page when it is assigned.
Is The Romany Orchid a true story?
No. The Romany Orchid is a work of fiction; its people and events are invented. Its dates follow the real calendar of 2009 to 2011, including the volcanic ash that closed the sky over Europe in April 2010 and an orchid show in the Bronx that spring.
A novel about the year two people were told, in every language available to them, not this one, and did not accept it.