His Book Review: Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart (2014)

Why he read this book: Listed on multiple lists of best books of 2014

Would he recommend this book: Yes

His review: I started this book without much familiarity of with Shteyngart’s previous work. I liked that, in that presumptions weren’t going to color my response. I found his book funny and insightful into Russian emigrants during the 1980s. I’ve unintentionally read a number of Russian-American memoirs of late, and it was fun to compare his childhood with my own, coming of age at similar times. His covers his struggles to fit into American society, as well as coming to terms with his Russian past. His memoir provides a counter to the American-centric version of world events. His story becomes a bit less charming as he moves into his college years, but for the insights his memoir shares, this is definitely worth reading.