Little Failure

Little Failure (2014) by Gary Shteyngart. "Little Failure" was one of the nicknames that Shteyngart's parents hung on him when he was growing up in Russia. In this memoir, he shares his American immigrant experience; born Igor Shteyngart in Leningrad during the twilight of the Soviet Union, the curious,  diminutive, asthmatic boy grew up with a persistent sense of yearning -- for food, for acceptance, for words -- desires that would follow him into adulthood. His parents hoped that he would become a lawyer or a Wall Street trader, but what Shteyngart always wanted to be was a writer. In this book he tells of his struggles against his upbringing and against himself, and against his lack of acceptance in American society, ending with his eventual triumph of finding a calling and a wife and a group of friends. He tells it with humor and insight and honesty, and it's a very good read. Grade: B+