Reviews

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

tsteele99snu's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

timna_wyckoff's review against another edition

4.0

The plot was a little thin, but the just barely into the future world in this book was SO WELL IMAGINED as to make up for it. An often funny - sometimes frightening - satire of a technologically hyper-connected, and thus personally unconnected, society.

leeeeeds's review against another edition

1.0

I can't believe I wasted my time with this book. Author paints a very interesting dystopian future and it frighteningly could be where we end up. Would've given three stars for the world he created but the main characters are pathetic and completely unrelatable. Men who only fall in love with "broken" girls and want to protect them are such a sad bore and that's exactly who the protagonist is. Don't even waste your time. This is why we shouldn't judge books by their covers! My bad.

gwilso30's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

shayden78's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

carjohnsxn's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

geoffdgeorge's review against another edition

Finished this a while ago but just forgot to update here, maybe because the book left me cold. What exactly am I supposed to take from this post-apocalyptic love story involving two shallow souls whose supposedly meaningful connection to each other feels barely fleshed out? It felt like a tale of two archtypical side characters thrown together with little excuse, and I just never quite bought it.

The ruminations on the hard truths of mortality and the speculation re: just how doomed America might be in the coming decades were well written, but the central relationship of the book never grabbed me. Not once.

skrrtvonnegut's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a wild satirical look at our culture, focusing primarily on global technology dependence and American economy with an, at time, stark glimpse into our possible future. Shteyngart eases the pain a bit by constantly weaving humor throughout, and the juxtaposition is often quite disarming. At one moment you're shocked at sudden violence, and then laughing at the absurdity of a character's "Fuckability Score" "floating in the wind," through the smoke and dust of that violence. If I had a gripe with the novel it would be the utter lack of a likeable character; Lenny Abramov is certainly someone to empathize with, but his mind is a difficult place to be, and the sections told through Eunice Park's "GlobalTeens," this world's social media platform, account are purposely shallow for much of their duration. I think this was the point, so it was certainly effective, but it just wasn't my favorite group of characters to read about. 

ptothelo's review against another edition

1.0

The description sounded promising but I just couldn't get into it

nomnomdeplume's review against another edition

5.0

Gary Shteyngart creates a world of his own with a futuristic dystopian New York City where Manhattan is crumbling ruins, dominated by media blasts and government oversight and Staten Island is the place to be. The book centers around an older Jewish man who is just trying to survive working at an eternal life center, staying loyal to his traditional Russian immigrant parents, and pursuing the love of his life -- a younger Korean woman. Although many elements of the book are dismal, including the main character's personality, Shteyngart's hilarious and sarcastic narration makes the whole story very engaging.