Post 1: misha

The main character of Absurdistan, Misha Vainberg, is a very peculiar character because of his immense love for food and American hip-hop. He can be viewed as a funny character because of these weird traits but also because of the strange things he says. His personality can also be viewed as a mix between a wealthy Russian man and an American which just adds to his strangeness because it is hard to tell which he is more of. I cannot really relate to Misha partly because I am not 325 pounds and partly because I am not the 1,238th richest man in Russia. Because of his quirky personality I believe that he will continue to be funny and bring surprises throughout the rest of the book. Though the book includes parts that don't need to be there, like chapter 11, it is interesting and easy to read because of the humor about American hip-hop and Misha's strange body shape. So far this book has been fun to read mostly because of the funny things that Misha says and does and I hope that it will continue to be as funny and strange as it has been so far. Thought Misha is interesting and funny by himself his servant/butler just adds to his hilariousness because of his loyalness and the weird things that he does for Misha.

Misha Motherland!

The main character of Absurdistan, Misha Vainberg, is quite the odd one. He is very fat and thinks he is very phat. His obsession with food and American hip-hop and rap are very bizarre. The food obsession is almost a fetish in the way flashbacks occur and senses climax, and the Music interest is very odd for a rich Russian. Both could be summed up as a need for overstimulation, concentrating on the tastes of the food so much that his eyes roll back in his head and reveling in the blatant shiny 'blingity-bling-bling' and coarse language. I do not relate to this fellow, because I do not relate my father's nether regions to a turtle nor do i think fondly of memories of seeing it in the bath tub, mostly because it has never happened, and also in part by the fact that it is just very creepy to me. It could be a cultural difference, but who knows? But his wealth and privelige is much greater than that of myself, and that distinguishing factor is what makes us different. that, and i dont max out the bathroom scale. and i can see it. But in all seriousness, Misha needs to learn that he must learn to fend for himself because since he has grown up with people managing the little things in his life for him, he hasn't learned to do that himself, and i personally think he is socially crippled. Misha is heavily influenced by the sense of companionship taught to him by his father, who undoubtedly formed a strong sense of sodality in his brotherhood of criminals and felons of the USSR. He always refers to his father as Beloved, capitalized. He has learned pride from this man, although he was not the one to 'earn' the pride through Glocks and blackmail. He has a sense of entitlement, a phrase that you dearest readers will hear me say quite often, and that is what i think is a fatal flaw.

Blog #1: Oh Misha...

As if there aren't enough connotations attached to a filthy rich 325 pound Russian Jew with already insecure tendencies and a "khui" that can somehow be described as either a crushed insect or an abused iguana... Misha has it tough. Oddly enough, one should be inclined to feel sorry for this oddly shaped man, but I can't feel much sympathy for him. His situation is, in simplest terms, pathetic. Here he has more money than all but 1,280 or so of the slightly-richer-than-himself Russians. His manservant to whom Misha is close seems to be a fantastic servant, notably tucking napkins in his tent-like puma sweatsuits for when he is expected to make a mess, but Misha seems to treat him like a slave. Sure Misha can't go back to the US because his father is a criminal, but he could have it much worse. After all, he sees no importance in traditional Russian values and chooses to shock any native with his more American ways of life, such as rapping at the fish restaurant and making out with Rouenna at the art museum. It's as if he has the best of both worlds. Now, if he were for example... a Russian noble, I might have more sympathy. If he had to comply with the ideals of his country and had to live up to something, It would be like he was living a lie. But Misha isn't living a lie, and he isn't living up to anything anymore. After his dad, though he misses both his parents dearly, he has nothing to live up to and he does what he wants. He's like a spoiled child. And if he were in America, he wouldn't be any less overweight, rich, or insecure. He would be just as lonely and out of touch as any other person such as himself would be... Except, there is only one Misha.

HOWEVER, though I have no sympathy for Misha, he's as likable as can be. And that is what makes this book so fantastic already.

Misha Vainberg

Misha Vainberg is quite a character. He is an overweight Russian Jew who loves ghetto tech, eating, and sleeping (with Rouenna, his Latina girl from the South Bronx). He doesn't appear to have many friends, just Alyosha-Bob, his fellow ghetto tech fan. Vainberg loves his Papa very much and is devastated when Papa's head gets blown off. However, he doesn't seem to have much courage because instead of getting back at the murderers, Oleg the Moose and Zhora his siphylitc cousin Zhora, he simply accepts payment for the act. Vainberg does have good intentions though. With the money received in exchange for the death of Papa, he plans to start an organization to help children, appropriately named Misha's children. Vainberg's main problem in the novel is getting a visa so he can get to New York City and Rouenna. However, Vainberg's Papa killed an important Oklahoma businessman, so the American INS refuses to grant him one. As of where I left off, Vainberg is still stuck in Russia. Oh, I forgot to mention that he gets circumsized at the age of eighteen by a bunch of Jews giving him onion vodka.

Blog Post 1: Misha

The defining characteristic of the main character, Misha Vainburg is without a doubt his obesity. Most of his characteristics in one way or another appear to contribute or relate to his massive size. A disturbing portrait of Misha is painted during his first meal in the novel. The ferocity at which Misha eats and the extreme pleasure he gets from eating establishes early on the role of food in his life. He also seems to connect food to his childhood, especially moments spent with his parents. Both Misha's love for his parents and childlike personality are demonstrated by him still calling them 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'. Misha’s sexuality plays a major role in his life and is related to his size. Misha has a sexual relationship with food that is demonstrated by his fondling of his own breasts a meal. It makes sense that someone who likes food this much is obese. One of the funniest and strangest quirks of Misha is his constant reference to his “khui” (meaning penis). Misha also has regular sexual desires, most of which are for his New Yorker girlfriend, Rouenna. I think a major reason that Misha likes Rouenna so much is not just because she is physically attractive, but because she is from the United States. We know that Misha likes the United States very much, and to Misha, Rouenna represents the U.S.A. My favorite part of the book so far was when Misha and Bob were rapping the restaurant boat. Fat, rich, white, Misha in his giant track suit, trying so hard to be ‘gangster’ because it is cool showed the kind of person he is.

Misha Vainberg

Poor poor Misha, Misha is a tragic character disguised as a simple fool. He is in many comical and risque situations in this book and sadly he is not allowed to go to the one place he loves: America. Misha isn't allowed to enter the United States or for that matter the EU so he is stuck in a country that has nothing for him. His father brought this fate upon poor Misha by killing a Oklahoman business man. I wonder if the reader is supposed to feel sorry for Misha more than laugh at him, he finds himself at the mercy of other people often whether it is the "kindness" of Oleg the Moose or seduced by his father's widow Lyuba. Rouenna, Misha's girlfriend appears to be his only beacon of hope but even that relationship appears to be going south with the introduction of Professor Shteynfarb. The professor appears to be a slimy antagonist who is a leech upon society, he obviously convinces Rouenna to leave Misha by trashing him (which you can see in the letter involving throwing a shoe at Misha's servants) and he also according to Misha just tries to play the immigrant card to gain the sympathy and money of other people. Through Misha's eyes. Misha is an idealistic character who wants to change the way things are for his own satisfaction by alluding to the creation of a charity called "Misha's Children". He obviously is ignorant to the way the world works because he barges into the U.S. consulate and expects to be allowed into the states. Misha is also a very silly character this is shown by his love for American popular culture and his habit of rapping with Aloysha-Bob. I also think that Misha is in love with both Soviet Russian and America but hates the current Capitalist Russia, he seems to be stuck in between the poles of Capitalism and Communism but he hates the economic system that is between the two.

One thing that I don't really like about this book is Misha is constantly depressed about something, his depression leads to much of the comedy but I hope that the whole book doesn't have to do with him munching an Ativan.

Misha

The character of Misha Vainberg is unlike any character I have read in recent memory. He is funny and yet he is not just an object of humor there are some moments when as a reader you pity him. What makes Misha very funny is just the crazy things he says and does but his attitude about them. For example early on in the book Misha and his friend Aloysha-Bob decide to break into rapping at a resturant. While the image of a 325 pound old russian jew rapping is already comedic it is even funnier because Misha actually loves doing it whenever possible no matter what it may look like. This childish side of Misha also makes him a character you pity and care about. He is really a big child, he acts like one and expresses like one, and you want nothing to happen to Misha. He is so care free and removed from trouble that if something bad were to happen to him i would feel bad because i have been caught up in the unique persona of Misha Vainberg