Little Failure was an interesting read for the most part. As an immigrant myself, some of Shteyngart concerns resonated with me. I too worried about fitting into my new surroundings. I also stuck to my own Caribbean community as I assimilated myself into society. Trying to stay true to my Caribbean roots while embracing being "American" is something I also identify with.
It was also interesting to know about his Russian Jewish upbringing. Of course when you read this memoir, you take most of his accounts with a grain of salt but most of the things he mentioned lines up with brief research into that culture. Comparing it to mine, it wasn't all that different. I grew up with my grandmother and her too had her homemade remedies(that may or may not work) and her superstitions which I found most to be funny than life or death.
Of course there were things I didn't identify with or found odd, like his explanation of racism and the way he didn't mention his wife by name or even really addressed her. The contradictory statements/recollections were head scratching as well. Overall though I don't think reading it was a waste of time and as I said it was interesting.
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