Photo: © Brigitte Lacombe
Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart was born in Leningrad in 1972 and came to the United States seven years later. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. His second novel, Absurdistan, was one of the New York Times Book Review‘s 10 Best Books of the Year. His novel Super Sad True Love Story won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and became one of the most iconic novels of the decade. His memoir, Little Failure, was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His most recent novel is the New York Times bestseller Our Country Friends. His books have been published in thirty countries. He lives in New York with his wife and son.
The Sensualist
The first collection of personal essays, each a delightfully hilarious pursuit of the sublime, the absurd, and the purest of pleasures, from the New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Vera, or Faith.
A frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The Atlantic, Gary Shteyngart is one of the most beloved and viral-y essayists of our day, with nine of his essays appearing in The Best American anthologies. The Sensualist collects his most electric pieces, showcasing why The New York Times describes Gary as "one of his generation's most exhilarating writers."
In The Sensualist, Gary chases capybaras, the largest (and cutest) rodent in the world. He joins 7500 fellow passengers on the biggest cruise ship on the seas. He schleps around New York City in search of the best martini. He visits wool merchants and tailors in pursuit of the perfect blue suit. He travels to Naples, Bombay, Havana, and Beijing. He sits on his porch in upstate New York. He puts down his phone and looks up at the stars.
To Gary, a sensualist believes the details of one's life are always worth savoring and happiness can be found from looking around. A sensualist isn't a glutton or an aesthete (and certainly not a snob), but someone who embraces the sublime—and the absurd. In The Sensualist Gary takes us across town and across the world, showing us how to appreciate the joys of life, no matter what.
Praise
"A hilarious and heartfelt ode to joy."—Roz Chast
"A rousing call to arms, a reminder to wring as much joy out of life as you can."—Simon Rich
“The abiding miracle of Shteyngart’s work is that it seems just as timely as a Shouts & Murmurs gag in this week’s New Yorker while staying fixed to the timeless absurdity of human life. That dexterity speaks to the range of his sympathy and the depth of his attention.”—Ron Charles
“Shteyngart is one of the best comedians in literature today.”—BookPage
More from Gary Shteyngart
Vera, or Faith
Write some short book blurb (200 characters or less.)
Lake Success
The bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story returns with a biting, brilliant, emotionally resonant novel very much of our times.
Little Failure
New York Times Bestseller
National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
The all too true story of an immigrant family betting its future on America, as told by a lifelong misfit who finally finds a place for himself in the world through books and words.
Super Sad True Love Story
New York Times Bestseller
A deliciously dark tale of America’s dysfunctional coming years—and the timeless and tender feelings that just might bring us back from the brink.
Absurdistan
An uproarious and poignant story of one very fat man and one very small country.
The Russian Debutante's Handbook
Both a highly imaginative romp and a serious exploration of what it means to be an immigrant in America.
Our Country Friends
Eight friends, one country house, and six months in isolation—a novel about love, friendship, family, and betrayal hailed as a “virtuoso performance” (USA Today) and “an homage to Chekhov with four romances and a finale that will break your heart” (The Washington Post).
Contact
Gary is all over the interwebs. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
For publicity inquiries, contact Carrie Neill (cneill@penguinrandomhouse.com).
To inquire about booking Gary Shteyngart for a speaking engagement, please contact the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau at speakers@penguinrandomhouse.com.
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