Absurdistan

By: Gary Shteyngart

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

Named as one of the New York Times Year’s Ten Best upon its publication, Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan is a biting, poignant satire of American-style democracy and the American Dream.

After returning to Russia to attend his father’s funeral, 30-year-old Misha is subsequently denied a visa when he attempts to re-enter the United States. What follows is a series of misadventures through the Eastern Bloc in which Misha runs afoul of crooked politicians, businessmen, and bureaucracies all seemingly determined to keep him from his new home country.

©2006 Gary Shteyngart (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

A Hero for The New Century

The full headline should be, "Misha Fainberg is a hero for the new century, a glimmer of humanity in a world of dashed hopes," and that's from the National Observer not me.
And here's my little review, "I recently listened to the audiobook of "Absurdistan" and found it more captivating than any book I've enjoyed since the social satires "A Confederacy of Dunces" and "Catcher in the Rye", surpassing by a hair the political social satire, "A Gentleman in Moscow".
Why did "Absurdistan" resonate so deeply with me? Primarily, it's the protagonist’s perspective. Misha Vainberg, a Russian Jew who became Americanized at seven, when his father, the 1,238th richest man in Russia and a gangster named Boris Vainberg, sent him to the U.S. for his education. He later graduated from "Accidental College." As the story begins, Misha is stuck back in Russia, unable to leave due to a family scandal. He’s often labeled a "melancholic secularist" by those in power in Russia and the U.S. State Department. According to a New York Times review, he is “infinitely thwarted—yet he still exudes the American ethos of boundless optimism, psychotherapy, and rap music, recognizing them as the beautiful accidents they are.”
Gary Shteyngart's writing masterfully captures the clash between Russian pessimism and American optimism, a dynamic that echoes through today’s national and global geopolitics. As other reviewers have pointed out, the novel is a “masterful blend of humor, politics, and cultural insight." If you're drawn to stories rich in absurdity and unorthodox narratives, "Absurdistan" is a must-read. The NY Observer noted, “Misha Vainberg is a hero for the new century, a glimmer of humanity in a world of dashed hopes.”"
I have both the printed book and the audio book and this is also an amazingly well narrated audio book. It's hard enough to do a comic narration, let alone a comic social political satire that captures melancholic secularism. But, Adam Grupper's contribution is stellar.

Major Let Down

I thought Shteyngart was brilliant after listening to "Super Sad, True Love Story". My opinion dipped slightly with "The Russian Debutante's Handbook", but it was still pretty good. "Absurdistan", however, was just awful. Drifting plots and meandering story lines are fine with me if the writing is good, and the characters are "real", even if they are hard to love. This novel had neither good writing or interesting human beings as characters...forget liking them. If the author aimed for satire, he missed. But for a few neatly twisted phrases that brought a smile to my lips...very few... there was nothing funny...for me. Its saving grace, if anything can save it, was that it seemed fairly original. I managed to get through it , because of that quality, I think. And the narrator did a good job with what he had.

Just plain awful

I bought this audio book because it was on New York Times bestseller and was praised, but it is just awful, depressing and I can not figure out why anyone would like to read or listen to this. It lakes fun is just downright pathetic.