BOOK #1 - Absurdistan, which I loved, is basically a much-improved rewrite of this book (Shteyngart’s first). Of course that’s a gross, unfair simplification, but The R.D.H. got a little too bogged down in the yawn-inducing world of privileged Americans abroad for my tastes. Like Absurdistan, it’s very funny and has a really specific point-of-view, so I guess I’m saying, if you’re only going to read one novel by a young Russian imigrant, don’t read this one.

BOOK #1 - Absurdistan, which I loved, is basically a much-improved rewrite of this book (Shteyngart’s first). Of course that’s a gross, unfair simplification, but The R.D.H. got a little too bogged down in the yawn-inducing world of privileged Americans abroad for my tastes. Like Absurdistan, it’s very funny and has a really specific point-of-view, so I guess I’m saying, if you’re only going to read one novel by a young Russian imigrant, don’t read this one.