Absurdistan

Absurdistan
by Gary Shteyngart

I'm crazy about Russian immigrant novels and this is truly the most entertaining of the genre. Rap music loving Misha Vainberg, who only knows excess, is the quirky hero/anti-hero in Absurdistan. Banished from his beloved New York City, Misha pines for his South Bronx Latina sweetheart while living in Russia. His last hope is through obtaining a fake Belgian passport in the oil rich nation of Absurdistan. After civil war breaks out in Absurdistan, anything goes in this hilarious mad adventure.

The great-great-grandson of Nikolai Gogol, Shteyngart is a brilliant humorist as well as a talented novelist. After reading this, I devoured his first novel "The Russian Debutante's Handbook". I just couldn't get enough of his Jewish, Russian humor.
-Holly