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Little Failure (2014)

by Gary Shteyngart(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0679643753 (ISBN13: 9780679643753)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Random House

review 1: Won this one from Goodreads First Reads program. I entered the giveaway because I'd seen some good reviews of this book. While it didn't maintain the humor promised in the first couple of chapters, there were still quite a few moments of chuckling-worthy passages and bits I quoted to my partner. Shteyngart was born in Leningrad as Igor (his name was changed to Gary later in America), came to the U.S. with his family at age seven, grew up as kind of a nerd, until starting to drink heavily around high school. This memoir follows him from childhood through his early adulthood, his fledgling writing career (it did make me interested in reading some of his novels), and ends full circle with a trip back to Russia with his parents in 2011. I was very entertained and interested in... more Shteyngart's story throughout the book. I have seen some talk in the other Goodreads reviews about his writing a memoir at only age 40, but with a story and life this interesting, it's really not an issue.
review 2: I got an advance reader copy of the paperback of this book. It had pages of rave reviews in the front, and I did like the book but I didn't find it "laugh out loud funny" or "hilarious." It's self-pitying while also portraying the author as being an unpleasant, whiny, jackass for most of his life. Shteyngart's family left the about-to-expire Soviet Union when he was a young (sickly, brilliant, sensitive, odd) child. The three members of his emotionally disturbed family became born-again Jewish right wing Republicans in New York; then Gary became an alcoholic, stoner, college student and young wannabe writer, and then after therapy and maturity a liberal successful author. Good easy-to-read, chuckle-a-little writing throughout so if any of that interests you, or if you've enjoyed hearing the author on NPR or whatever, you should check out this memoir. less

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