IF YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE ABOUT PRAGUE, WRITE ABOUT PRAGUE! don't change a few letters, change a few names, turn alfonse mucha into someone else, but continue to refer to kafka as if you're forgetting this is supposed to be an imaginary place. what is this, CRACKED magazine? yes, i said CRACKED. not even MAD material, here.

i wouldn't mind this annoyance if the book hadn't made me crazy in other ways. i can't stop reading a book if i'm far enough in, and unfortunately i didn't realize i hated this until i was past that point of no return. everyone in this was a caricature that i couldn't care less about. the main character didn't seem like a character, more like a loose conglomeration of foul deeds and annoying opinions, floating around, bumping into each other and everyone else, often contradictory. caricature and satire and inconsistency are fine, if done well. this is not.
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3.5 stars. Funny and engaging first novel. Nowhere near as thoughtful and polished and moving as his later Super Sad True Love Story, but the main characters are similarly schlubby. ( )

Despite the unlikeable main character, I kept reading this to find out what would happen to the idiot Vladimir Girshkin next. This unusual coming-of-age tale follows our anti-hero from his underachieving life as a hipster wannabe in New York City to his try at a Ponzi scheme mastermind in Prava. He careens from one drunken encounter to the next, always trying to score with the prom queen, and the sexual scenes are decidedly not erotic. Shteyngart is a gifted writer and I frequently laughed out loud, but the story seemed bloated and repetitive, as the focus blurred in Prava, so did my attention. ( )

This book tells the story of a young man, born in Russia, living in New York City who ends up moving to Eastern Europe and running a pyramid scheme. It is clever, witty, and entertaining and combined several things I love....immigrant life, making fun of hipsters, and good writing. I'd be hesitant to recommend it to everyone, but I really loved it. I will definitely read more by Gary Shteyngart. ( )

This book tells the story of a young man, born in Russia, living in New York City who ends up moving to Eastern Europe and running a pyramid scheme. It is clever, witty, and entertaining and combined several things I love....immigrant life, making fun of hipsters, and good writing. I'd be hesitant to recommend it to everyone, but I really loved it. I will definitely read more by Gary Shteyngart. ( )