Only Whitefish scored higher than Holocaust. To paraphrase since I don't have my copy handy: they polled 30 Jews in a bar in Maryland for name recognition of these basic Jewish concepts: Torah, Mikvah, Talmud, Holocaust, Whitefish, Kabbalah. There's some parts about the Jews that are hilarious. But Misha is such a moral relativist he hardly seems to care.So why did I give it even three stars? Well it reads like stand-up comedy sometimes. It turns out it's all about oil money and post-war contracting money. I fail to understand why I'm supposed to care about this make-believe country's ludicrous politics. I think Shteyngart is up to the task of a complex, humorous, political novel with real characters. Is it too much to ask for some character development in a political satire? I don't think so. The female characters are one-dimensional sex toys for the most part. His later lover Nana Nanabragovna doesn't need his money, so I guess were supposed to believe she using him for political reasons. Sure Rouenna his Latina lover from the Bronx is after his money, but she seems to genuinely like him too for no apparent reason. It follows the familiar ugly man only sleeps with beautiful women trope. Absurdistan protagonist, Misha Vainberg, is a rich, grotesquely obese Russian I found totally unlikeable. This book fell way short of my expectations after Super Sad True Love Story and Little Failure.
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