Absurdistan: A Novel“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. |
Contents
Section 1 | 14 |
Section 2 | 24 |
Section 3 | 27 |
Section 4 | 36 |
Section 5 | 43 |
Section 6 | 56 |
Section 7 | 62 |
Section 8 | 77 |
Section 23 | 195 |
Section 24 | 200 |
Section 25 | 207 |
Section 26 | 216 |
Section 27 | 226 |
Section 28 | 232 |
Section 29 | 238 |
Section 30 | 249 |
Section 9 | 84 |
Section 10 | 96 |
Section 11 | 104 |
Section 12 | 110 |
Section 13 | 121 |
Section 14 | 128 |
Section 15 | 134 |
Section 16 | 146 |
Section 17 | 155 |
Section 18 | 165 |
Section 19 | 171 |
Section 20 | 179 |
Section 21 | 186 |
Section 22 | 191 |
Section 31 | 258 |
Section 32 | 264 |
Section 33 | 268 |
Section 34 | 273 |
Section 35 | 277 |
Section 36 | 284 |
Section 37 | 293 |
Section 38 | 298 |
Section 39 | 306 |
Section 40 | 313 |
Section 41 | 319 |
Section 42 | 331 |
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Common terms and phrases
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