The Russian Debutante's Handbook

January 29, 2007
Four years after its initial publication, Shteyngart's debut novel makes its first appearance in an audio version. Strong gamely does his best to capture the antic rhythms of Shteyngart's irrepressible comic novel, but his reading lacks fluency, failing to emulate the book's dry, sardonic wit. More so than most novels, Shteyngart's book depends on the sound of language—immigrants' careful tap dance around a language not entirely their own. While it would perhaps have been too simplistic to have a Russian-sounding voice read this novel, the gamble of having a voice so clearly not Russian results in a competent but unenlightening reading that undersells its source material. Strong sounds too wholesomely American and too white bread to be protagonist Vladimir Girshkin. The result is a reading that lacks a true connection to Shteyngart's work. (Reviews, Apr. 29, 2002)

Russian-born Vladimir Girshkin has done most of his growing up in America. At age 25 he's far from settled. He juggles girlfriends, expenses, job boredom, and suburban parents, moving from scheme to scheme. One of these schemes lands him in Prava, the sparkling city of the fictional Republika Stolovaya. There he finds all kinds of illicit entrepreneurial opportunities, especially when he moves into the personal favor of the Groundhog, a mob boss. Vladimir's string of new exploits progresses despite his ignorance of the culture he is operating in. Adam Grupper emphasizes the satiric humor of the novel but can't manage to breathe life into the flat characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine


In this raucous first novel, young Vladimir, a Russian-Jewish Émigré, potchkies (putters) through life to the despair of his overachieving parents--"Little Failure" his CEO mother calls him. Mustering what ambition he can, he leaves his poor-paying New York gig at the behest of a Russian mobster to organize a pyramid scheme in Prava, an Eastern European metropolis filled with American expatriates. Of course, things go awry, thanks to Vladimir's ineptitude and his conflicts with numerous other zany characters. Indefatigable Rider Strong happens to be the same age as our hero and sounds like it, though he certainly has considerably more oomph. He gives Vladimir's misadventures a spirited narration, marred only by occasional mispronunciations and a few faulty edits. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine