Reviews
Advance praise for Little Failure "Many, many people in this world have received blurbs from Gary Shteyngart, but I happen not to be one of them. So you can trust me when I say: Little Failure is a delight. You ask me if it''s funny? Naturally it''s funny--he''s always funny. But this book is also a super sad true love story: between Gary and Lenin, Gary and his parents, Gary and women, Gary and food, Gary and America, Gary and Russia, Gary and the English language itself. And alongside the jokes and the (frankly unbelievable) photos, you''ll find deep feeling on display, and shimmering sentences, and a marvel of a story. How did an asthmatic seven-year-old Jewish-Russian immigrant in a sailor suit become one of the most beloved of contemporary American writers? Not without struggle, both historical and personal, and with a great deal of humor and grit. But mostly through paying close attention: to the way people speak, move, love, and hurt each other. It''s what gives his novels their joyful energy and what makes this memoir, in the opinion of this reader, his finest book yet." --Zadie Smith , New York Times bestselling author of NW and White Teeth "Gary Shteyngart has written a memoir for the ages. I spat laughter on the first page and closed the last with wet eyes. Unputdownable in the day and a half I spent reading it, Little Failure is a window into immigrant agony and ambition, Jewish angst, and anybody''s desperate need for a tribe. Readers who''ve fallen for Shteyngart''s antics on the page will relish the trademark humor. But here it''s laden and leavened with a deep, consequential psychological journey. Brave and unflinching, Little Failure is his best book to date." --Mary Karr , bestselling author of Lit and The Liars'' Club "I''m always wary when a young writer offers up a memoir, but Gary Shteyngart delivers big-time with Little Failure . His family''s story is quite remarkable, and it''s told with fearlessness, wisdom and the wit that you''d expect from one of America''s funniest novelists." --Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Monkey "If you, like me, have often wondered: How did Gary Shteyngart get like that? Little Failure is the heartfelt, moving, and truly engaging memoir that explains it all. Dr. Freud would be proud." --Nathan Englander, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart''s gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart''s prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart''s exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante''s Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Advance praise for Little Failure "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart's gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart's prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart's exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante's Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Advance praise for Little Failure "Many, many people in this world have received blurbs from Gary Shteyngart, but I happen not to be one of them. So you can trust me when I say: Little Failure is a delight. You ask me if it''s funny? Naturally it''s funny--he''s always funny. But this book is also a super sad true love story: between Gary and Lenin, Gary and his parents, Gary and women, Gary and food, Gary and America, Gary and Russia, Gary and the English language itself. And alongside the jokes and the (frankly unbelievable) photos, you''ll find deep feeling on display, and shimmering sentences, and a marvel of a story. How did an asthmatic seven-year-old Jewish-Russian immigrant in a sailor suit become one of the most beloved of contemporary American writers? Not without struggle, both historical and personal, and with a great deal of humor and grit. But mostly through paying close attention: to the way people speak, move, love, and hurt each other. It''s what gives his novels their joyful energy and what makes this memoir, in the opinion of this reader, his finest book yet." --Zadie Smith , New York Times bestselling author of NW and White Teeth "Gary Shteyngart has written a memoir for the ages. I spat laughter on the first page and closed the last with wet eyes. Unputdownable in the day and a half I spent reading it, Little Failure is a window into immigrant agony and ambition, Jewish angst, and anybody''s desperate need for a tribe. Readers who''ve fallen for Shteyngart''s antics on the page will relish the trademark humor. But here it''s laden and leavened with a deep, consequential psychological journey. Brave and unflinching, Little Failure is his best book to date." --Mary Karr , bestselling author of Lit and The Liars'' Club "I''m always wary when a young writer offers up a memoir, but Gary Shteyngart delivers big-time with Little Failure . His family''s story is quite remarkable, and it''s told with fearlessness, wisdom and the wit that you''d expect from one of America''s funniest novelists." --Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Monkey "If you, like me, have often wondered, ''How did Gary Shteyngart get like that?,'' Little Failure is the heartfelt, moving, and truly engaging memoir that explains it all. Dr. Freud would be proud." --Nathan Englander, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart''s gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart''s prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart''s exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante''s Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Advance praise for Little Failure "Many, many people in this world have received blurbs from Gary Shteyngart, but I happen not to be one of them. So you can trust me when I say: Little Failure is a delight. You ask me if it's funny? Naturally it's funny--he's always funny. But this book is also a super sad true love story: between Gary and Lenin, Gary and his parents, Gary and women, Gary and food, Gary and America, Gary and Russia, Gary and the English language itself. And alongside the jokes and the (frankly unbelievable) photos, you'll find deep feeling on display, and shimmering sentences, and a marvel of a story. How did an asthmatic seven-year-old Jewish-Russian immigrant in a sailor suit become one of the most beloved of contemporary American writers? Not without struggle, both historical and personal, and with a great deal of humor and grit. But mostly through paying close attention: to the way people speak, move, love, and hurt each other. It's what gives his novels their joyful energy and what makes this memoir, in the opinion of this reader, his finest book yet." --Zadie Smith "Gary Shteyngart has written a memoir for the ages. I spat laughter on the first page and closed the last with wet eyes. Unputdownable in the day and a half I spent reading it, Little Failure is a window into immigrant agony and ambition, Jewish angst, and anybody's desperate need for a tribe. Readers who've fallen for Shteyngart's antics on the page will relish the trademark humor. But here it's laden and leavened with a deep, consequential psychological journey. Brave and unflinching, Little Failure is his best book to date." --Mary Karr "I'm always wary when a young writer offers up a memoir, but Gary Shteyngart delivers big-time with Little Failure . His family's story is quite remarkable, and it's told with fearlessness, wisdom and the wit that you'd expect from one of America's funniest novelists." --Carl Hiaasen "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart's gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart's prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart's exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante's Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Advance praise for Little Failure "Gary Shteyngart has written a memoir for the ages. I spat laughter on the first page and closed the last with wet eyes. Unputdownable in the day and a half I spent reading it, Little Failure is a window into immigrant agony and ambition, Jewish angst, and anybody's desperate need for a tribe. Readers who've fallen for Shteyngart's antics on the page will relish the trademark humor. But here it's laden and leavened with a deep, consequential psychological journey. Brave and unflinching, Little Failure is his best book to date." --Mary Karr, bestselling author of Lit and The Liars' Club "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart's gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart's prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart's exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante's Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Advance praise for Little Failure "Many, many people in this world have received blurbs from Gary Shteyngart, but I happen not to be one of them. So you can trust me when I say: Little Failure is a delight. You ask me if it's funny? Naturally it's funny--he's always funny. But this book is also a super sad true love story: between Gary and Lenin, Gary and his parents, Gary and women, Gary and food, Gary and America, Gary and Russia, Gary and the English language itself. And alongside the jokes and the (frankly unbelievable) photos, you'll find deep feeling on display, and shimmering sentences, and a marvel of a story. How did an asthmatic seven-year-old Jewish-Russian immigrant in a sailor suit become one of the most beloved of contemporary American writers? Not without struggle, both historical and personal, and with a great deal of humor and grit. But mostly through paying close attention: to the way people speak, move, love, and hurt each other. It's what gives his novels their joyful energy and what makes this memoir, in the opinion of this reader, his finest book yet." --Zadie Smith, New York Times bestselling author of NW "Gary Shteyngart has written a memoir for the ages. I spat laughter on the first page and closed the last with wet eyes. Unputdownable in the day and a half I spent reading it, Little Failure is a window into immigrant agony and ambition, Jewish angst, and anybody's desperate need for a tribe. Readers who've fallen for Shteyngart's antics on the page will relish the trademark humor. But here it's laden and leavened with a deep, consequential psychological journey. Brave and unflinching, Little Failure is his best book to date." --Mary Karr, bestselling author of Lit and The Liars' Club "A surefire hit." -- Library Journal Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart's gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart's prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart's exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante's Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle, Praise for Gary Shteyngart Super Sad True Love Story "Wonderful . . . [combines] the tenderness of the Chekhovian tradition with the hormonal high jinks of a Judd Apatow movie." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "An intoxicating brew of keen-edged satire, social prophecy, linguistic exuberance, and emotional wallop . . . The American novel is safe in Gary Shteyngart's gifted hands." --David Mitchell "Exuberant and devastating . . . a wildly funny book that hums with the sheer vibrancy of Shteyngart's prose . . . He can make you laugh and ache with a single line." --San Francisco Chronicle Absurdistan "[Shteyngart] nails the tragicomedy of foreign relations. . . . Profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable." -- Time "One of the funniest books in recent memory . . . Read Absurdistan for Shteyngart's exuberant, wise, hilarious voice. . . . The novel is a long, funny, heartbreaking lament for home, whatever that means, and wherever that might be." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review The Russian Debutante's Handbook "Shteyngart has given us a literary symbol for this new immigrant age, much as Saul Bellow or Henry Roth did in theirs." -- The Washington Post "The rampaging narrative is festooned on every page with glittering one-liners, improbably apt similes, and other miniature pleasures." -- Elle
