Absurdistan

Gary Shteyngart

Jul 2011 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Adam Grupper

About this audiobook

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.

About the author

Gary Shteyngart was born in Leningrad, which is now St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1972. He moved to the United States seven years later with his family. He received a bachelor's degree in politics from Oberlin College in Ohio and an MFA in creative writing from City University of New York. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. His other works include Absurdistan, Super Sad True Love Story, which won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, and Little Failure: A Memoir. He has taught writing at Hunter College, Columbia University, and Princeton University.