Chang-rae Lee was the first writer to recognize the genius of Stranger favorite Gary Shteyngart—he helped place The Russian Debutante’s Handbook with a publisher, launching Shteyngart’s career. Lee is a very different writer than Shteyngart, and he doesn’t carry his apprentice’s overnight-sensation status—his stately, confident novels have slowly amassed an army of fans over three decades. Now, Lee tries a new genre with On Such a Full Sea, a dystopian novel about a chaotic future America where class lines and immigration leave most citizens in a state of perpetual war. (Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, spl.org, 7 pm, free)