Gary Shteyngart's 6 favorite books
Gary Shteyngart is the author of the novels The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and Absurdistan. His latest novel, Super Sad True Love Story, has just been published by Random House
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (Scribner, $17). LeBlanc spent 10 years shadowing an impoverished “random family” in the Bronx to create one of the most harrowing works of nonfiction ever. It’s a mix of anthropology, street-smarts, and nonstop heartbreak, written with style and compassion.
1984 by George Orwell (Signet, $8). Orwell’s dystopian nightmare strikes me as also being a powerful love story of two people trying to get it on amid a repressive political system. The oddball British actress Suzanna Hamilton starring as Julia in the film adaptation—hot.
Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee (Riverhead, $15). Chang-rae Lee was my mentor in grad school, but everything I needed to write about the joys and terrors of the immigrant experience I found between the covers of this novel. I teach this book in my immigrant-a-go-go fiction course at Columbia, and it never fails to impress my students with its profound statements on what it’s like to leave one homeland for another.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (Vintage, $15). Break out the liver, Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint is still the funniest thing between book covers. It’s also a life-changing book for many Hebraic men of my generation, one that taught us that our neuroses stem from a common bloodline—so it’s okay to feel nervous and depressed all the time!
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (Dover, $3.50). Fathers and Sons is one of those 19th-century Russian novels that feel even more timely circa 2010. It’s about fathers and sons, and men and women, and a repressive society that’s heading toward disaster. Serfs up!
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov (Vintage, $14). You’ve journeyed across the entire nation with Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert in Lolita, now join the master’s most sympathetic hero as he tries to walk across a college campus without tripping over a squirrel. I teach this one in my Hysterical Male fiction class and it tends to leave everyone in happy hysterics.
—Gary Shteyngart is the author of the novels The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and Absurdistan. His latest novel, Super Sad True Love Story, has just been published by Random House
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 ways to help the environment while on vacation
The Week Recommends An afternoon of planting trees could be the best part of your trip
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Doctors are taking on dental duties in low-income areas
Under the radar Physicians are biting into the dentistry industry
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Instagram hopes that blurring nudity in messages will make teens safer
The Explainer The option will be turned on by default for users under 18
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lauren Oyler's favorite collection of essays that will leave you deep in thought
Feature The author recommends works by Elif Batuman, Mark Greif, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rebecca Serle's 6 favorite books about interpersonal relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by J.D. Salinger, Dolly Alderton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Cristina Henríquez's 6 popular books with historical themes
Feature The novelist recommends works by Min Jin Lee, Kurt Vonnegut, and more
By The Week US Published