Absurdistan: A Novel
by Gary Shteyngart
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary ShteyngartEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2006-05-02
ISBN: 1400061962
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Random House
Book Reviews of Absurdistan: A Novel
Book Review: Things that make you go, hmmmm.
Summary: 3 Stars
'Absurdistan' is the type of book that leaves you wondering, "What was the point of that?" Initially drawing me to this book was the title- 'Absurdistan' (you gotta love a book that loudly declares itself absurd) -and it was, right from the beginning. Gary Shteyngart gives you moments of complete and total hilarity and ridiculousness, and you can see that he is acutely aware of the human condition. He uses this to his full advantage in describing scenes and characters, but eventually, it all dissolves into one big mess with no cohesive plot.
To begin with, the main character, Misha Vainberg, is a morbidly obese Russian whose father was the 1,238th richest man in Russia. Misha is absolutely obsessed with eating, and the descriptions of Misha taking a meal are nothing less than repulsive. Misha finds himself in all sorts of situations that, although they are not supposed to be funny, are made so by his sarcasm and self-deprecating observations. His comical meandering through life begins when, as a young adult, his father forces him to become circumcised, and it all goes very wrong. After enduring this, while in the US attending college (Accidental College!), Misha meets the love of his life, Rouenna. Rouenna is a rough-edged, Bronx-ghetto chick with a flair for commentary and a love for her 325 pound "bobo" (Misha). His love for Rouenna blankets his entire life with a sense of longing and sadness, as he cannot leave Russia to return to her in the US. After his father dies (and after a brief dalliance with his step-mother), Misha attempts to leave Russia and return to the US to his large-love Rouenna. To facilitate this, he becomes a Belgian citizen, and it's from here his escapades begin in earnest. In his attempts to flee Russia, Misha is taken to the country of Absurdistan by his American best friend, Aloysha-Bob. That effort is thwarted because a civil war breaks out in Absurdistan, and Aloysha-Bob leaves on the next flight out, while Misha is stuck in this new country with only a Belgian Visa and some hookers to keep him company. As you can see, it just keeps getting more and more absurd!
Throughout `Absurdistan', Gary Shteyngart inserts political musings in the form of Halliburton and Iraq references, and his ability to take American colloquialisms and turn them into bits of farce is fantastic. Throughout his trials and tribulations, we get Misha-isms (he refers to his hands as "big squishies") which open a window into his soul as a self-loathing and emotional wreck of a guy. All told, Misha and the other characters are very well-developed in their bizarre way, and you really do feel for them. As the story goes on, however, the plot sort of dissolves, and by the end, there really is no plot. At the conclusion, you're left holding a bag of absurd references, going, "What just happened?" It's worth reading if only for the amazing and wry insight Gary Shteyngart has concerning his home country (Russia), his current country (the US), and people in general. It's an interesting combination of farce and irony, yet it sort of leaves you going, hmmmmm?
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