'Super Sad True Love Story' by Gary Shteyngart - Book Review

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart is a satiric look into the near-future of America. Imagine a world where electronic communication has nearly replaced face-to-face interaction and where political and economic instability have overtaken the country like a disease. Not too hard, is it? Against this bleak backdrop, two people forge an unlikely relationship that lives up to the name of the novel, but not in the way you might think. No tissues are required during the reading of this book.

The dollar is worthless; the nation is almost owned outright by China and others. New York City is under martial law, while its citizens are illiterate and addicted to shopping, streaming images and audio, and ranking those around them in salacious terms -- all on a device everyone is required to wear around their necks and which contains endless, instant, personal information about those around them at all times. Only the youngest children bother to "verbal" other people.

Initially meeting overseas at the end of their sojourns abroad, pitiful, middle-aged Lenny and tiny, young Eunice begin an improbable relationship. Both from immigrant parents, the two have as many similarities as they do differences. They are insecure and depressed and feel inextricably, hopelessly connected to their families. Lenny has a good job and is relatively wealthy; Eunice is recently graduated with a low LSAT score and even lower credit score, making her a LNWI (low net worth individual). The book is mostly Lenny's journal entries, broken up by e-mail and text messages from Eunice to various people, which are a nice break from Lenny's mind.

The characters in Super Sad are truly sad in many ways, and I didn't enjoy them or their relationships with one another, or the circumstances they found themselves in. Though occasionally it got a laugh from me, I wouldn't characterize the book as funny, as some have. Here is a thought-provoking read that's more of a literary novel, not being primarily plot-driven. If you enjoy reading satire of our political, economical, and heavily digitized times, this book will fit the bill.