LITTLE FAILURE, a Memoir and SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY, a novel, both by Gary Shteyngart; and ZOO TIME by Howard Jacobson

Funny Comments about Being a Writer and Our Times

Reviewed by Alan L. Chrisman

Gary Shteyngart was born in Russia in 1972 and emigrated to the U.S. with his parents in ’79. Being an only child, he developed quite an imagination and was already writing little fantasy stories at an early age. He attended Hebrew school in New York, where he didn’t fit in with the other Jewish students, because of his poorer Russian-Jewish background. Also he was a sickly child who suffered from asthma attacks and was smaller for his age. All these things made him a prime target for teasing and bullying by the other kids. Even his own stern but loving parents had nicknamed him,”Little Failure”, thus the title of the book.

Little Gary (his original Russian name had been Igor) wanted nothing more than to be accepted and loved by- his classmates, his old–country parents , his new land, America, and by girls. His memoir is about his life-long journey to achieve those often fleeting goals. Fortunately, for him and us, he also has a devastating sense of humor and can express it in his writing. He learns that these are the two things that can possibly save him. Anyone who’s ever felt like he or she doesn’t fit in (and who hasn’t?), I think, will love this book. We can really feel his considerable pain, but also his absurdist humor-kind of like Woody Allen or Seinfeld, on steroids. Whether he’s doing various dead-in jobs, trying to meet the expectations of his parents, becoming “American”, or dealing with the opposite sex, it is one roller coaster ride after another. We wonder whether he’ll (and he does too), ever land on his feet. He just wants to be to be loved for himself-whatever that is. But after much chaos, alcohol and soft-substance abuse, misguided attempts at careers, relationships, therapy, and trying to decide if he is really like his parents, he learns that funny but revealing writing, is what he was meant to do. With a couple of lucky breaks and a couple of supportive teachers and writers, he gets a long-sought after book deal for his first novel.

And he’s on his way, sort of, for he always seems a work in progress. What, as I say, a ride, it is! But along the way he becomes a better writer, romantic partner and human being. I’m not Russian or Jewish, but in the past while, I’ve been fascinated by the Russian character, perhaps partly because of my Russian/Canadian friend, Yury Pelyushonok’s book, Strings For A Beatle Bass, and the stories he would tell about growing up in the repressive Soviet Union, trying to play banned Beatles’ music. Also I’ve reviewed Masha Gessen’s books on the band Pussy Riot and Putin. I’ve even written a song about Russian tennis star, Maria Sharapova (“you could even melt Vladimir Putin!”). They are from a tough brooding land, but they are also survivors. Shteyngart is like that too. Below his biting, self-deprecating humor and writing is a sensitive,

artistic Russian soul and loving son. He reminds us, outsiders all, that we don’t have to be “Little Failures”. I look forward to reading his three, admittedly autobiographical novels, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan, and Super Sad True Love Story.

SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY and ZOO TIME

Novels Reviewed by Alan L. Chrisman

After I read and reviewed Gary Shteyngart’s biting, funny memoir, Little Failure, I went on to read his earlier novel, Super Sad True Love Story. It’s set in an Orwellian 1984-like future. The American economy has failed and China owns it economically and the U.S. is at war with Venezuela. America is run by a one-party state and there are insurgents in the streets.

Social status is determined by your Credit Ranking and those with lower credit are considered disposable. The main character is Lenny Abramov , a Russian immigrant to the U.S., who has a good Credit Ranking because he works for an Extending Life organization and the book is told as through his diary. He meets and falls in love with a much younger Korean-American woman, Eunice Park. In this future, everyone has a personal device called an apparat, which allows the user to know everything about everybody else-their Credit Ranking, family background, even their history of relationships. The younger generation, like his girlfriend, communicates mainly in abbreviations and another large part of the book is her messages back and forth. As in his memoir, the author, being a Russian –Jewish immigrant himself, is especially adept at portraying how immigrants are torn between becoming part of their new land and their old-country roots still. Like the lovers in 1984, they have to make choices for their survival. Super Sad True Love Story is, of course a satire and a science fiction allegory of a, possibly not too distant future. But it shows despite changes in society, relationships and family may have to deal with the same insecurities and challenges. There is humor in it too, such as when the main character, Lenny, of an older generation, admits he likes to collect ”printed, bound, media artifacts” (aka) books.

Another novel, I read around the same time, is Howard Jacobson’s Zoo Time, which some have compared to Phillip Roth. The main character, Guy Ableman, is a writer who had, once years before, been a successful with his first novel, but he’s been having a mental block coming up with ideas for a comeback. It’s about another seemingly endangered species, according to the author anyway-authors. For it’s the age of the internet and blogs, and is perhaps, a writer’s lament for the old days (but a very funny one). His publisher has committed suicide and his agent has run away, because everyone claims to be a writer, but few can any longer make a

living at it (sound familiar?). So it is a bit of a satire too and the self-deprecating humor of the author feeling sorry about his plight is very witty and gently sarcastic.

On top of this the author is also lusting after his wife’s mother too, hoping this crisis will somehow jolt him into coming up with a new idea for his new novel.

Both the above novels, Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story and Howard Jacobson’s Zoo Time are highly recommended if you want to read intelligent comments on our present and perhaps not too distant future, and to laugh at the same time.