Little Failure: A Memoir

Let's start with a plot summary: Jewish boy, does not become a lawyer, disappoints his parents, has first real love affair with a non-Jewish girl, ultimately becomes a success in his chosen field. I'll bet many people reading this review have heard that story before. Why write yet another one? Presumable because the writer has something new to add to the genre. Does this author? Well, not much.What is new? The Russian background is unusual and the author makes the most of it. At his best, his descriptions of Russian life are informative and well written. This skillful writing includes providing translations for virtually every Russian or Yiddish phrase used. Unfortunately, because the author left Russia at age seven, and only returned briefly with his parents many years later, the most original part of the book covers only about one third of its pages. Even here, problems appear. Mr. Shteyngart uses an incident involving him and his father near a Russian museum/church as a framing device for the book: he describes the incident at the beginning of the book, and he gives the explanation for it at the end. If he had not spent so much time discussing his father's violent nature throughout the memoir (the explanation for the incident), the device might have worked. But he did, and the explanation came as an anti-climax.When the book reaches the American years, the odds are most people interested in this topic will have heard nearly all of it before. The troubles fitting in at school, the fights with the parents, teachers good and bad, the girl friend troubles, becoming a writer not a lawyer, all these things have been done before and done better. While several of the people described are interesting, especially the psychopath called Pam Sanders, there is nothing genuinely original in this part of the book. Unfortunately, that means two thirds of the story told here.There are some writers who can move between fiction and non-fiction effortlessly and with no lessening of quality. In this memoir, Mr. Shtegyngart does not prove he is one of them. Especially in the early chapters of the book, but also in a couple of the later ones ("The Benefactor and Razvod) a reader may feel like someone trying to follow a pogo stick rider. The chronology becomes so garbled that it can take several readings to figure out when an event takes place. In fiction writing that techniques is often considered the preferred style. In a memoir, it does not work.Perhaps in twenty or thirty years, when the now not quite middle-aged author has had more experience with life and writing, a memoir could be just the thing for him. As for the current effort, the question "What"s new?" produces the rather unsatisfactory answer, "Not much."

Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart is a memoir about his childhood in Leningrad and how his lifestyle changed once he and his family immigrated to America. Gary grew up to be a writer, which his mother saw as an unprofitable field and would rather have had her son go into law or medicine. As a result of her disapproval of her son, Gary’s mother gave him the nickname of ‘little failure.’ From this nickname, Gary further expected to fail at everything and went through his adult life attempting to succeed at writing, but failing to be published multiple times. As Gary attempts to assimilate in America, but still keep his Russian roots, he finds a middle ground by writing about his heritage while becoming more of an Americanized man. Throughout the book the author portrays a common message of the importance remembering one’s heritage and roots, but also accepting the personal change that occurs when one enters a new environment. The author also emphasizes the importance of one not quitting when one fails multiple times at a task or goal because humans learn through their failures, which is what makes us better in the end to achieve our goals at a deeper level. Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel because the reader is able to observe the author’s growth and success, but his outcome is not given away in the beginning of the novel. However, I did not like reading the first 100 pages, or so, because the author seemed to only be complaining about his childhood and failure to become published. The author’s humor was also not very good in the first half, compared to the second half of the book when it wasn’t so forced and the reader naturally laughed. I recommend reading this book, and others like it such as The Glass Castle, because both novels give realistic perspective on failure or hard times, but each author succeeds in the end as a result of their personal growth. I rate this book very highly because the author achieves a level of relation with the reader, even if the reader has never been an immigrant, because everyone has failed at some point in their lives.

I began this memoir and then began again. I couldn't understand what all the hype was about--first thinking that the author was a not- so- funny sterotypical Jew or maybe just a stand-up comedian. I see how wrong I intitially was!!This memoir morphs into almost greatness!! Really. But, you have to get through the standard expected stuff to find the pony. ( From the old joke that "With all this s..t there has to be a pony in here somewhere.") The trenchant writing doesn't begin until Gary is almost in college half way through the book.The author had an ostensibly ordinary immigrant life. Yes, the feelings of being an outsider magnified by being a Russian- not the most loved group in America of the eighties- are isolating. Yes, having parents who are cheap and don't "get" America is isolating. Yes, being an only child is tough-- with both parents stuggling workaholics-- and is further isolating. And on and on.. BUT, the clincher is that Gary's Father beat him consistently; and his Mother just stood by, ineffectual -- isolating him more. The only love Gary remembers from this time ( his childhood) is the "touch" of beatings. At least, he was being touched, he thinks.The best part of this memoir details how the budding author used and abused people-- only caring for himself in the short run, abusing drugs and drink to the max, not being able to make a real connection, not able to love or be loved. Only desperately wanting love and not knowing what that is.Receiving a lot of psychiatric help was his salvation. Finding true mentors ( Chang Rae Lee was one )and friends helped. Connecting with his flawed parents and with his genes helped. He's still mixed up, of course, but certainly more understanding of others and himself.And, he's a very good writer! The words fly off the pages from his college years on-- into our hearts. Four plus stars.

Shteyngart writes with a child-like simplicity, describing his feelings of loss and betrayal when he is taken out of the Russian heloves, by way of Rome, to live in New York - exchanging one sort of 'not-belonging' (because in Russia he is a Jew) for another sort(because in the USA he is a Russian). He writes about his relationship with his parents, their high hopes, and his fall into a life oflethargy, drink, and dope, before falling on his feet as a writer.Interesting and moving; it is all too easy to assume that once immigrants come to the 'promised land' everything will be OK, butwe now know it often isn't easy to overcome the issues they carry with them like heavy luggage.

I really liked 'Super Sad True Love Story' and 'The Russian Debutante's Handbook', so I pre-ordered this. It turned out, as the title says, to be GS's memoir of a Russian childhood, immigration to the U.S. and attempts to both assimilate, and to come to terms with his less sensitive family members. It is interesting, a bit predictable, rather self-obsessed and 'American'. I enjoyed learning how many of the characters in his 'fiction', and indeed many of the scenes, dialogue and incidents, were taken directly from life. If you like his fiction, this is worth a read.

I loved Lake Success and ordered this because of it but I couldn’t get into this at all and gave up with it in the end

One of the funniest books I’ve read in a very long time. Deserves to be widely read. Martin Amis meets Woody Allen. (Ok, that might limit the readership, but still …)

Not an easy read, but quite worth it. Shteyngart writes with disarming honesty, and he really has things to say. I recommend.