Gary Shteyngart

I bought this book because I read so many good reviews but I never really got into it. I liked it enough to keep reading it and there were certain things that were amusing but I had little or no feeling for either main character. In fact I actively disliked the female character. I certainly didn't find it as funny as the reviewers.

It stands to reason that the pandemic will inspire a lot of fiction. I had very high hopes for this one, but couldn't quite get into it. The characters were almost universally off-putting (with the exception of Natash) and there is a section near the end where the author really lost me, to the point where I was mentally begging for it to stop. I appreciated the satire (and there has been so very much to satirize) and the bittersweet last scene, but overall, a disappointment.

Een Russisch-joodse jongen die in New York opgroeit, wordt door iedereen – zijn ouders inbegrepen – als een kleine mislukkeling beschouwd. Hij is echter een overlever, heeft een vaste band met zijn grootmoeder en … Vond ik niet fameus.

read 2022