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Liked It “Funny and Touching. Mostly Funny.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “A bit too smart alecky, too ironic. The main protagnosist is not very likeable. He has no compassion for anyone but what will work out best for him. Maybe he will come to regret it. I wonder if it will be so predictable. |
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“A bit too smart alecky, too ironic. The main protagnosist is not very likeable. He has no compassion for anyone but what will work out best for him. Maybe he will come to regret it. I wonder if it will be so predictable.
Sam M wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Also, I am not sure I like the drama of introducing Eastern European mafia and Vladimir's association with them. I wanted more time in his crazy head instead of on a speedboat with automatic weapons talking about people with code names. It is very fast paced and I imagine that some readers like that, but for me it was skimming the surface and I wanted to go deeper.
At times, the narrator is so busy making his smart, knowing remarks that there is no poignancy, no feeling invoked for Vladimir who surely is a lost soul. Perhaps just not my kind of book. Maybe just too ambitious for a young writer - taking on history (the visit to Auschwitz was really too much) as well as adolescent angst and the decadence of contemporary society
There are funny moments though. I will give him that. And it will be an author that I will watch.”“Funny and Touching. Mostly Funny.”
Winston S wrote this review Saturday, August 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Smart, funny -- very Eastern European!”
Shelley M wrote this review Sunday, August 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Funny, moving, original”
tito s wrote this review Tuesday, June 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This was a nice quick read and I enjoyed it. Great balance on romance and cultural insight. I wish I had read it before I spent a month in India. ”
LitChick wrote this review Thursday, March 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was told that this was a funny book, but I didn't get the humour. I'll allow that perhaps I just don't have a sense of humour, or not being an immigrant I'm missing something.
Lisa K wrote this review Thursday, March 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I found the characters stereotypical and unsympathetic. For instance,
'Likewise,' Frantisek said. 'Now remember: cruelty, anger, vindictiveness, humiliation. These are the four cornerstones of Soviet society. Master them and you will do well. Tell these people how much you despise them and they will build you statues and mausoleums.'
It may be true (or a gross stereotype), but I have enough day to day angst in my life to not have to add to it with bleak humour.
If you love the Russian writers, you may enjoy this, but I wouldn't recommend.”
“What a disappointment! I was always intrigued by this book, due to its interesting cover image and the fact that the author, Gary Shteyngart, went to Hunter College (where I did my master's degree). Unfortunately, although Shteyngart does a good job of creating a fictional city with a gritty atmostphere, but his characters and plotline just don't hold together. ”
Ms. Fink wrote this review Tuesday, December 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is the crazy raucous story of Vladimir Girshkin, a young non-confrontational Russian emigre who comes to the U.S.
jeanne-scott wrote this review Friday, February 8 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
While his parents mange to cope well with the changes in their lives, even learning to "work the system", Vladimir finds himself in a dead end job with personal relationship that is anything but fulfilling. He is in hos own thoughts, a slacker.
The author creates an amazing tale of acculturation and re-acculturation as Vladimir attempts to improve his social and financial standing in life. His choices lead him into anew relationships, new bars and challenge that will take him down a shadowy path. Shteyngart, manages to poke fun at elements of the hip intellectual crowd, the college crowd and the perception of life in the "beautiful people" crowd. At the same time he mocks the post-Soviet money driven "semi-organized" criminal element. This author offers a wonderful offbeat, satirical sense of humor and human understanding that is too often overlooked, under appreciated and ingenuously revealing.”
