Post #5: Reflection

Overall, I thought that Absurdistan was an interesting novel but certainly not one I would recommend to anyone else. I realize that the novel is a satire, but everything that was completely blown out of proportion got old quickly. Also, there were many unnecessarily graphic scenes, when those scenes could have been summed up more appropriately. I did like Shteyngart's characterization of Misha and his portrayal of the various settings. I felt like I got to know Misha and what he stands for a lot more as the novel progressed. Shteyngart's style of writing is very unique, but not enjoyable. It's mainly descriptions, one after another, which makes for a tiresome read. The novel seemed to lack color and emotions as well. I never really felt positively or negatively towards a character, character's emotions were all very distant from the reader. Overall, Absurdistan merits 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Blog Post 5: Overview

Absurdistan was really unlike any other book I had ever read. Shteyngart has an incredibly unique writing style, that was enjoyable at some points but after awhile it just became abrasive. This was certainly true of the unfortunately descriptive sexual scenes. Another thing that bothered me about the book was the main character. I simply didn’t like Misha. Despite his revered “American education” he came off as extremely unintelligent and uncultured. His constant self-gratification was also annoying to me, and left me with no pity for his enormous weight. Personally, I more enjoy books with characters that are smarter than me. That was not the feeling I got reading about Misha’s pathetic exploits. I was happy that he seemed to get more competent towards the end of the book. The thing I truly enjoyed about was the satire and political commentary. The satire of Haliburton was, in my mind, spot-on and well deserved. The scene of the barbeque with “laid-back Texans” was probably the funniest in the book. To be honest, I didn’t feel that strongly about the book one way or another. The storyline was interesting, but it was presented in a way that only started enjoyably, but became less and less so very quickly.

Absurdistan Reflection

Although Absurdistan can be quite disgusting and morally crude at times, the book wasn't all that bad.  Shteyngart's unique style of writing makes for a pretty interesting read.  The dark and clever humor, including the satire, provides comedic relief from the somewhat depressing book.  Another great aspect of the book was the imagery.  Shteyngart describes almost every event in the book with a vast array of vocabulary that appeals to the readers senses.  Unfortunately, I think the book would have been better if all of the profanity and dirty scenes had been left out.  These scenes, however, do help develop Misha's character and the plot of the book, but they do seem unnecessary at times.  Shteyngart incorporates politics and politicians into the book, but I didn't really understand all of the political jokes.  Besides the politics, I think I caught the main points of the book.  All in all, the book was descent.

Week Five

Welcome to Week Five, and our last week week of blogging. This week's post should be on your overall thoughts about the book. It must be a ten sentence reflection. You do not need to comment on anyone else's blog, but your post should be up here by Sunday, March 29 You should have made up any missing work by then as well.

Post 4 question

Why does Misha like America so much when he clearly prefers the Russian culture that he has lived in for so long?

Blog #4: If Julia Alvarez met Gary Shteyngart...

Let's preface this question with the fact that I've been brainwashed by ITB and Julia Alvarez's constant need to be represented by a character in her own book. The reporter... very clever.
Anyone see any connection between professor Shteynfarb and author Gary Shteyngart? I've been mixing the two names up in every one of the last blogs I'm sure, sorry for that, but it's as if it's meant to happen. The professor is a character portrayed as the evil man who steals poor Misha's girlfriend, but it seems a satirist would have fun portraying himself as such. It helps that we know little to no credible information about the man. Hmm... I've intrigued myself. Comments much appreciated.

Question (this time not an accidental copy of Charlie's)

What aspect of Misha does sleeping with Lyuba show? (eg. It shows his willingness to disregard his father...... etc.)