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Summary: Shteyngart knows the location of America's cultural pulse
Review: Vladimir Girshkin, aged 25, doesn't know who he really is, who he wants to be, or what he will become. He is, however, painfully aware that he's a Russian immigrant, a naturalized American citizen, and a Jew. These three qualities give Girshkin a painful inferiority complex, one which alternates between hilarious and disheartening. Instead, Girshkin does know he needs more money than he could ever earn acclimating Russian citizens to America in order to support his new, nouveau riche lifestyle in New York City, flittering among TriBeCa's inner circles and cliques. So, he travels to Prava-the glittering and grimy capital of Eastern Europe in the early '90s-to cavort with the Russian mafiaso and pull off the pyramid scheme to end all pyramid schemes. There, he works under the shadow of communism, literally; an immense statue of Stalin's foot occupies much of Prava's main square, serving as a grim reminder of the Soviet way of life and, more specifically, 1969. Once in Prava, Girshkin quickly establishes himself as the Hemmingway of the 30,000-plus strong expatriate community, where everyone is a Fitzgerald and parties like they'll never return home. This novel is infused with Gary Shteyngart's perception of Americans and their culture and his reflections on what it is like to be without a country. Through Shteyngart's witty phrases and dialogue, he proves he knows his adopted country better than most native-born Americans; phrases like "And Vladimir, young and tiny but already a child of America, said, 'Aren't there pills she can take?'" make the reader cringe with a chagrined acceptance.
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Summary: CONFERDRACY OF THE DUNCES FOR A NEW CENTURY
Review: Vladimir Girshkin, the hero (anti hero ?) of this debut novel finds himself between a rock and a hard place. As a Russian Immigrant in New York he fails to become Americanised enough and flees to Prava(Prague) where he decides to Americanise Eastern Europe.
Throw in his Jewish parents, a very agressive entreprenurial mother and a quasi doctor father, a S&M girlfriend, a talking electric fan, an exploding statue of Stalin's foot and Russian mobsters and you have a story that will keep you amused and interested throughout.
This may sound farcical but the author somehow makes it all come together in a believable manner. Shteyngart's search for identity is moving and his sense of humour is wicked. He will have you laughing aloud at many of his astute observations about the priorites that people put on their lives.
The book gets a little unwieldy at times but overall Shteyngart shows that he is an author to be watched and read in the future.
A novel to be read once for enjoyment and reread for insight.
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Summary: Hooray for the sausage weilding pensioners
Review: Truly one of the most hilarious books I have ever read! Anyone who has spent time in Eastern Europe will appreciate the Soviet/Post-Soviet era spoofs and will find this book more relevantly humorous than those who haven't visited Russia, although I don't think those lacking first-hand experience with Soviet culture will be disappointed. The faux Leninist speech Vladimir gives to the sausage weilding pensioners tops my list as one of the funniest scenes I have read. Shteyngart's excessive verbosity colors the text with a witty, dry and exaggerated humor that kept me hooked on the book and laughing all the way. I'm looking forward to his next venture.
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Summary: A Hilarious, Accomplished Debut.
Review: The verbal play of this book is phenomenal. The comic associations that Shteyngart comes up with are spontaneous and hilarious. The archetypical bildungsroman structure is both used and undermined by Shteyngart as the protagonist, Vladimir, doesn't really strive to understand, but just try to make lots of money and be accepted. The omniscient narration is used masterfully here, and it's a tribute to Shteyngart's power as a writer that this cynical omniscient voice also seems to belong so personally to Vladimir. Many of the descriptions and events are viewed both from a deadpan, ironic hindsight and a tender naivete of the character. Not only does this effect makes the story vibrant, it creates one of the more unique and likable 'authorial voices' in recent contemporary fiction. The story itself is a simple one: Vladimir, the son of rich, idiosyncratic Russian immigrants, gets in trouble in the States, goes to the fictional city of Prava (obviously based on Prague) to swindle loads of money from rich ex-patriates with a preposterous pyramid scheme. Of course, there's a subplot of love, but it's peripheral compared to the main story of Vladimir who doesn't feel he's accepted as an American because of his Russo-Jewish heritage (who consequently finds out he is to be treated as a foreigner everywhere else, even with his 'own' people). Shteyngart's take on the immigrant experience is refreshing and funny, but also painfully accurate. One of the book's flaws is that the ending comes at you with a sense of rushed purpose. The climactic explosion of the Foot and the chase is fine and thrilling enough, but the pace of the story spirals out of the author's control. The careful dialogue work and characterization give way to facile internalization of Vladimir to bring the whole ordeal to an end, as he tries to make sense of the whole thing. The epilogue is predictable and Hollywood-esque, too, even as Shteyngart tries to blunt some of its saccharine edges with his wonderful writing. But all in all, a very impressive debut novel.
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Summary: A Droll, sarcastic farce-Rollicking good fun of a read.
Review: The Russian Debutante's Handbook tells the tale of one Vladimir Girshkin, a Russian immigrant with a lot of negative inertia "living", if that's a word you can use for his pathetic existence-in New York. Vladimir is the antithesis of his high powered parents, both energetic if unorthodox and unethical professionals (he a doctor, she an investment banker), for whom, in the traditional Russian way, he loves with unrefined loathing. Plodding along as a lifer immigration clerk, he organizes a phony naturalization ceremony for a "client"-a whacko old man who communes with the otherworld through an electric fan-and suddenly finds himself the beneficiary of the largess of the mans son-a Russian gangster. Shuttled off to a trendy yet depressing eastern European city where the son holds court, Vladimir proceeds to work his way into the Russian gangster life himself-with unfortunate results. This is a sly, witty farcical send-up of the Russian/Eastern European immigrant experience in these days of eastward EU expansion. Although many of the characters never attain a status much beyond the stage of caricature, Vladimir and his family are wonderfully drawn. The situational comedy is truly superb and the action is faced paced and compelling. Shteyngart has an ear for dialog and a wonderfully droll, sardonic writing style that perfectly matches the farce as it develops. The book is very funny in an understated sort of way-actually, thinking about it I'd say its vastly amusing rather than funny. You never fall off the bed laughing, rather you find yourself engaged in what seems to be an eternal chuckle. All in all, an excellent beach/summer time sort of read.
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Summary: Ebullient
Review: A Russian immigrant in his twenties, dysfunctional and wallowing in frustrated desires, through circumstance and the realization of his own talents, ends up as a successful con man in an Eastern European country. The novel is intended as a comedic social satire, a coming of age story, and an exploration of the dislocation of the immigrant transitioning between cultures. It works, but not particularly well. What saves it is its sheer ebullience, some very comic scenes and images, and its occasional genuine emotion. Also, its originality in setting and plot. Early in the novel, Vladmir attains a hip, New York girl friend, and moves in with her and her parents. Her parents, in a quiet way, are the funniest part of the book.
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Summary: Just Funny Enough to Finish
Review: I was looking for something fresh when I bought this book and it lived up to my expectations for the most part. Shteyngart's first novel is witty and smart. It's like reading the script of a feature-length Seinfeld episode that parodies Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. The first 100 pages of the novel are hilarious, and there are enough pockets of wit throughout the remaining 350 pages to make it worth finishing, but just barely. Vladimir, the son of Russian immigrants who disdains his parents' wealth, is a low level clerk at an immigration agency in New York. He lives with chubby Challah, a young woman with low self esteem who makes a living as an S&M slave. Vladimir's character is passive and lacking in ambition, until he meets Fran the lovely daughter of progressive, well-educated parents. When he becomes the token ethnic member of her elite, well-to-do clique, he believes he has achieved the American dream -- until he runs out of money. In his quest for an easy buck, he gets mixed up with the Russian mafia and eventually ends up promoting a pyramid scheme in an old Russian city that has become the proving ground for youths seeking worldly sophistication. This is where the funny, coming of age story about the lovable and self-deprecating Vladimir breaks apart and drifts in several less interesting directions with too many cartoonish characters to follow and care about. The cover photo of this book was one factor that inticed me to buy it. I can now say the cover is misleading. It portrays a young, twenty-something woman in sunglasses sitting on a sofa in a room that mixes industrialism and contemporary art with shabby antiques. I expected she had some central role in the story, but after finishing the novel, I can't even tell you who the woman in the photograph is. A woman at one of the bars that Vladimir frequents in Prava? Morgan, his last girlfriend? Shteyngart's editor probably decided that a cover with a young woman would sell better than say the photo on the back cover which shows a bearded Russian Jew holding a bear on a leash. That photo also has little to do with the story, but if it had been the cover, I don't think I would have bought the book.
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Summary: This book can rival the best in Russian fiction
Review: A wonderful imaginative well written novel!
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Summary: Thoughtful protagonist, weak plot
Review: This book is a good read, if not for anything else, Vladimir's insight and Shteyngart's lyrical and hillarious language.
But the lack of action and compelling characters in Prague is the undoing of an otherwise great work. To be certain, the first half is much better than the second. The language is initially grounded - the image of Vladimir in New York insinuating his way into high society while maintaining a bohemian lifestyle resonated more for me than the platitudes of his social circle in Prague. More importantly, Shteyngard compromises the plot by introducing fantastic elements (blowing up the foot) that are better suited to outright farce. That said, I really enjoyed reading this book, could barely put it down and finished it in a week, It's flawed, but I'm looking forward to the next installment.
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Summary: An Hilarious Coming of Age Story
Review: While superficial similarities with Foer's "Everything is Illuminated" made me approach this work with some apprehension, I am glad that I picked up this book that offers the reader a mix between "A confederacy of Dunces" and Seinfeld and on top of that an ending that gives this coming of age story a strong backbone. In his debut Gary Shteyngart offers us a sure footed comedy block buster, that is continuously over the top, yet brimming with powers of observation and literary virtuosity. Through his brushing elbows with the Manhattan upper ten, the greedy site of the American Dream, and the new economy of the former East Block countries Vladimir Girshkin is on a literary roller coaster ride. While some of my fellow reviewers were only mildly enthusiastic, I fail to understand why the words "literary" and "satire" would not belong in the same sentence. After all the fireworks of hilarity, I really liked the end of the story where the protagonist finally moves in from the outside to live the American Dream. It really helped to put the whole comedy into perspective as an updated hip and hilarious version of the age old "Bildungsroman". I can't wait to read Shteyngart's next book.
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