One of the best, not to mention funniest movies of last year was Borat. It was an hilarious satire of Christians, Moslems and Jews told from the point of view of a bizarre but lovable Muslim, from the imaginary village of Kuzcek in Kazakhstan( a real former Soviet republic bordering on the Caspian Sea). Well Absurdistan is an hilarious satire of Christians, Moslems and Jews told from the point of view of a bizarre but lovable, U. S. educated, Russian born Jew, stuck in Absurdistan. An imaginary former Soviet republic bordering on the Caspian Sea. Half way through this novel I couldn't help but wonder how cool it would be if Sacha Cohen and Gary Shteyngart got together and made a sequel to Borat in which these two fascinating characters went head to head, and created the kind of havoc only they can. ( )

Farce and satire blended together into a dark mix.
An excellent read for a certain type of reader who
has good mix of cynicism and knowledge of world history.
If you don't, please skip this book and go read about zombies. ( )

The runner-up of the 2007 Morning News Tournament of Books (https://themorningnews.org/tob/2007/) In my opinion, 'Absurdistan' was ROBBED from winning against the drab McCarthy confusion that is 'The Road'. I would have chosen Absurdistan! Could this match-up have been any different? I'm finding I like books about unlikable underdogs more than other readers seem to. Others just can't hang with Zebra from 'Call Me Zebra'. Misha here isn't quite unlikable but he would sometimes be a bit MUCH for others. Always talking about his squishy hands. Sometimes plotless, but I love a writer who is in love with words this much and will forgive such a plot, but I guess that is the norm for absurdist fiction. The "pizza resistance" mention was the pizza resistance of this entire book!!! I won't say more, as you'll either love this book or you won't.
This reminds me of so many, though none can have that Shteyngart sparkle:
Call Me Zebra - Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
Home Land - Sam Lipsyte
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor ( )

Meh ( )

2.5 stars. Shteygart's strong writing was really the only thing that kept me reading. I enjoyed his other two novels much more than this one. ( )