Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart is a satirical novel that follows the story of Misha Vainburg, an obese and almost Oedipal character, as he navigates the absurdities of trying to return to the US but getting stuck in the fictional former Soviet bloc country of Absurdistan. The book blends humor, satire, and dark themes while exploring the transition from socialism to capitalism in Eastern Europe. The narrative is filled with witty observations on modern and Soviet-era Russian culture, quirky characters like Alyosha Bob and Rouenna, and a mix of farce and satire set against a backdrop of political turmoil.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include graphic descriptions of sexual content, themes of body image and fatness, and discussions of violence and corruption.
Has Romance?
The book presents elements of romance, particularly involving Misha's relationships with Rouenna and other characters.
From The Publisher:
"Absurdistan is not just a hilarious novel, but a record of a particular peak in the history of human folly. No one is more capable of dealing with the transition from the hell of socialism to the hell of capitalism in Eastern Europe than Shteyngart, the great-great grandson of one Nikolai Gogol and the funniest foreigner alive."
-Aleksandar Hemon
From the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook comes the uproarious and poignant story of one very fat man and one very small country
Meet Misha Vainberg, aka Snack Daddy, a 325-pound disaster of a human being, son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia, proud holder of a degree in multicultural studies from Accidental College, USA (don't even ask), and patriot of no country save the great City of New York. Poor Misha just wants to live in the South Bronx with his hot Latina girlfriend, but after his gangster father murders an Oklahoma businessman in Russia, all hopes of a U.S. visa are lost.
Salvation lies in the tiny, oil-rich nation of Absurdistan, where a crooked consular officer will sell Misha a Belgian passport. But after a civil war breaks out between two competing ethnic groups and a local warlord installs hapless Misha as minister of multicultural affairs, our hero soon finds himself covered in oil, fighting for his life, falling in love, and trying to figure out if a normal life is still possible in the twenty-first century.
With the enormous success of The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Gary Shteyngart established himself as a central figure in today's literary world-"one of the most talented and entertaining writers of his generation," according to The New York Observer. In Absurdistan, he delivers an even funnier and wiser literary performance. Misha Vainberg is a hero for the new century, a glimmer of humanity in a world of dashed hopes.
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About the Author:
Gary Shteyngart is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Little Failure (a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist) and the novels Super Sad True Love Story (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Absurdistan, and The Russian Debutante's Handbook (winner of the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction…
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