 First edition | |
| Author | Gary Shteyngart |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Ali Ahn, Adam Grupper |
| Cover artist | Simon M. Sullivan |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 2 May 2006 |
| Publication place | United States of America |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-4000-6640-7 |
| OCLC | 786489768 |
| 813'.6—dc22 | |
| LC Class | PS3619.H79A63 2006 |
Absurdistan is a 2006 novel byGary Shteyngart.[1][2] It chronicles the adventures of Misha Vainberg, the 325-pound son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia, as he struggles to return to his true love in theSouth Bronx.
Misha is known as "Snack Daddy" from his days at Accidental College, a school in theMidwestern U.S. (The college resemblesOberlin College, which Shteyngart attended, while its name "Accidental" is a play on the name ofOccidental College.) Misha is desperate to return to his true love, Rouenna, whom he met while she was working at a "titty bar". She now attendsHunter College, at Misha's expense.
After Misha's father kills a prominentOklahoma businessman, theINS bars the entire Vainberg family from entry into the United States. This strands Misha in his nativeSaint Petersburg (which he nostalgically refers to as "St. Leninsburg").
Misha's father is killed by a fellowoligarch. Soon afterwards, Misha has the opportunity to buy aBelgian passport from a corrupt diplomat in the fictitious ex-Soviet republic of Absurdsvanϊ (also known as Absurdistan).
Absurdistan's reputation for oil riches has earned it the nickname "Norway of theCaspian." The country is divided between two major ethnic groups: the Sevo and Svanϊ. They hate each other due to their dispute over the proper direction in which the "footrest" of theOrthodox cross is to be tilted. Civil war erupts in Absurdistan, and for the sake of a new love he has found, Misha is forced to take sides in the conflict.
Appointed as Minister ofMulticulturalism, Misha is asked to petitionIsrael for funds, but he finds that the Sevo leader is manipulating him—and that the Sevo leader has been in league with the Svanϊ leader all along.
Absurdistan debuted to mainly favorable reviews, including fromWalter Kirn on the cover of theNew York Times Book Review;[1][3] the same paper's Sunday Book Review listed it as one of the 10 best books of 2006.[4] It also made theChicago Tribune's list of the best books of the year,[5]Time's best books of the year,[6] and was chosen as a book of the year by theWashington Post, theSan Francisco Chronicle, and many other publications.[citation needed] Lev Grossman ofTime called the book "a satire that is profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable."[7]
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