Gary Shteyngart is the Russian David Sedaris. His novels have features keen observations of American life as seen through the prism - and sometimes the intellectual prison - of the former USSR. His latest is a kind of Bonfire of the Vanities as re-imagined by Bill Bryson, a takedown of one-percenters, a vulgar bully of a president and a certain swath of New Yorkers , with a cross-country bus trip providing some, uh, momentum. There are some really funny bits, some that you wish were funnier and a lot of soporific interludes — and I’m not referring to parts of flyover America as seen from a Greyhound. I didn’t really care about any of his characters, but there was enough to crack me up (inside joke there) and to push me over the finish line. Call it Campfire of the Humanities.

I loved Lake Success: A Novel by Gary Shteyngart. Fast paced, propulsive language, a great story, an interesting protagonist. It felt like Balzac of the 21st century. Even more the book is The Bonfire of the Vanities of the 21st century. Instead of a banker in Bonfire, it is a hedgie (Hedge fund manager) in Lake Success. It is interesting to see how he deals with his life falling apart, be it his marriage or his hedge fund. I strongly recommend this book.

I just could not get into this book despite the good buzz everywhere. I just didn't care about any of the characters. I guess I don't like the "anti-hero" concept.

This book left me feeling unsatisfied. Far too much self indulgence by a total narcissist with too little uplifting balance. What did I miss?

I hardly read any of this: it didn't make sense to me. A friend read and she wished she hadn't. I don't understand why this is getting such hype.

I am a sucker for stories that involve a physical journey that accompanies an emotional one. Barry Cohen takes such a trip on a Greyhound bus in a desperate attempt to escape his many many problems ranging from his autistic son to the failure of his hedge fund and is just certain that the answer lies in a good old-fashioned return to his roots via a road trip across America with no Black Amex or cell phone to buffer his experience.

The journey was hilarious as Barry's myopic view of the world from a position of extreme wealth gets shattered over and over again yet he remains undeterred. I mean, who wouldn't want an inner city charity teaching kids about the value of collecting watches as an investment. Right? I kept waiting for Barry to have the 'aha' moment that the audience experienced when they figure out what Barry's problem really is - but the frustration of him continually glossing over it actually propelled the book forward.

Meanwhile back at home, his wife, Seema and autistic son, Shiva are on a parallel journey which the author mirrors in a poignant way to show the differences between the way that both characters perceive their lives and their paths.

If you have read my reviews in the past, you know that endings are usually my sticking point, but, in this case, I liked the ending because the characters were still very much themselves at the end but they were comfortable with being who they were and there is so much beauty in that kind of conclusion.

Special thanks to Gary Shteyngart, Random House Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this review. It was an enjoyable ride.

Gary Shteyngart is an author I've been following for a few years. His look at today's materialism with a comic eye is spot on. Excellent writing. A book for today.

Barry Cohen appears to have it all. A hedge-fund manager with 2.4 billion dollars in assets, he has the trophy wife, the lavish New York apartment, and thinks nothing of drinking $20,000.00 dollar-a-glass whiskey—single malt, of course.

But in the first pages of Gary Shteyngart's newest novel, Lake Success, we encounter Barry in the bowels of New York City's grubby Port Authority Bus Terminal searching for a ticket kiosk. He is drunk, his face is bleeding, scratched where his wife and the nanny both attacked him, and it's three in the morning. He has a few dollars in his pocket, a roller bag with some hastily gathered clothes and a fist full of high-end collector watches he cherishes. He throws away his credit cards in the nearest trash can. He's on the lam.

So begins Barry's search for himself; he believes in his arrogant and entitled way that this is a road trip to self-discovery and yet Barry has little self-awareness, much less compassion for others. [full review will appear at The Internet Review of Books next month]

I could not finish this book. I did not like the main character which is not a requirement for me to like a book, but I found him odious which I know was the point. I could not stomach it. Maybe I should have continued, perhaps I will pick it up again.

I'm not really sure what to say about this novel. I had a hard time completing it. I very much appreciate the craft of the writing and structure and character development of this novel. And it's occasionally funny.

But in this current climate I just cannot summon any sympathy for a very rich man, no matter how tragic or ironic his personal tale may appear to be.

And I am a bit confused why the author and publisher thought this would be an appropriate time to publish a novel like this. Lake Success would have been a blockbuster 2010 but now...no thank you.

Well written and very good story. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Its not the "I don't want to put it down" book, but I definitely didn't want it to end!

One consolation of Fascist regimes is great art, and I'm not hesitant to call Gary Shtyngart's Lake Success one of the great novels to emerge in these dark times. Taking place mostly in the months before the 2016 election, the characters and motifs reflect the attitudes and atmosphere in America that led us to elect a swindling, racist, misogynist who can't even read the word "anonymous" off a teleprompter.

Shtyngart's anti-hero is Barry, the owner of a hedge fund, lover of watches, with "two feminine wrists, a liability at any point in history, but never more so than during the year 2016, at the start of the First Summer of Trump." Barry's life in contemporary Manhattan, ruled by finance bros like himself in fleece vests, earning 2% of assets under management (AUM) whether they make money or lose it for their clients, is ideal, with the exception of his son, an child with autism who has never spoken and Barry is truly struggling to love. One night, after his wife tells him he's neither a good father nor a good man, he hugs the child too vigorously, frightening him and terrifying his wife - he flees the apartment with a roller-bag and six of his favorite watches and jumps on a Greyhound, running away from his problems in New York, ostensibly toward an old college girlfriend in the American South.

That Shtyngart's describes both the Greyhound and the designer watches in such loving tones and hilarious detail speaks to his fondness for both institutions, however separate on the financial spectrum. Barry yearns to prove his wife wrong, but he's so out of touch with the world outside his own that he fantasizes about starting a foundation with a young crack dealer he meets in Baltimore, "One that would help urban youth buy their first mechanical watch and learn to care for it." Shtyngart's descriptions of both watches and the Greyhound were, in fact, so precise that I began to wonder how much research he must have done to achieve the high level of specificity found in the book. At first I thought he was pulling the descriptions of these watches from his imagination, but I googled a few and they were all, much to my surprise (ie. a $60K "Crash" watch by Cartier, designed to look like it had survived a disaster). It turns out Shteyngart is a long-time watch enthusiast - but what about the Greyhound? Turns out he took a similar journey to Barry in the months before the election. In June, the New Yorker published a portion of the novel called "The Luck of Kokura" along with an interview with Shteyngart that sheds some light on this. (There's also an enlightening article and some beautiful pics of his second house north of NYC in the Times.)

Like many people, I want to find a comparison between the author's personal life and the characters in their novels. So I couldn't help but perk my ears when I read that GS is married to a Korean-American lawyer and they have a small child, similar to another character in the book. I've written about autofiction before, and how women have long been accused of blending their personal lives into their art. I find it interesting that, as more men are writing in this style (ie Karl Ove Knausgård, who I refuse to read for purely obstinate reasons) it's gaining some literary cachet.

Mini-Spoilers Ahead

While Barry's trip "on the 'Hound" brings him into physical proximity (he loves bragging that a one-eyed Mexican fell asleep on his shoulder, he remains emotionally aloof to the lifestyles and struggles of Middle-America for most of his journey. Only when forcing his way into the home of his ex-girlfriend and her son does he begin to relate to the life of the "common" American, and finally, the reader is able to somewhat relate to Barry. It becomes apparent that Barry himself is "on the spectrum" (the words more commonly used to describe his own son). Barry's ex works at a community college in Texas where the working-class students are making real sacrifices to educate themselves, while she and Barry had the privilege of attending Princeton where their path and trajectory to success were practically etched in stone. She and her colleagues are also making sacrifices - money, any fame, even death-threats from #MAGA assholes on Twitter.

However Barry might slightly redeem himself, I had to wonder as I got nearer the end of the book how in the world Shteyngart could wrap it up? What resolution or restitution could Barry possibly perform to find his way into the graces of his wife and son and the reading audience? Without giving away the ending, which reminded me quite a lot of the end of Jennifer Egan's Visit from the Goon Squad, he finds a remarkable way of not only humanizing Barry but creating in him a (somewhat) sympathetic character. I found the ending deeply, deeply moving.
"Things could be fixed.
Barry could fix them."

This novel of a family's unravelling is set in 2016, when a Trump presidency was still inconceivable and Barry and Seema Cohen are each reacting to their son Shiva's diagnosis of Autism. Told in alternating chapters, Barry's journey takes him across the US on a Greyhound bus, where he tries to find a sort of redemption...but he also seems to believe himself to be so worthy of everything he asks for. Barry felt very much like a Ignatius Reilly, where he is continually seeing himself as the most important, and most maligned person of each relationship and narrative.

Seems is also coming to terms with Shiva's diagnosis, as well as the knowledge that Barry's last hedge fund was funded on .less than legal terms. Her reactions to Barry's abandonment, Shiva's diagnosis and the reality that she may be pregnant with another child who is "on the spectrum" are a much different story from Barry's attempt to be the hero of his own story.

Complex, meandering and very American, this novel looks at how we do our best to shape our own narrative, but can never really understand how others perceive our truths.

I think I am just too old for this book.......characters were way too young and "hip" for me. I could not get into the book and only read about 50 pages.

I really wanted to love this book, as the topic is timely and I love dark humor. However, Lake Success slightly misses the mark. Trump supporters will hate this book. I do not in any way support Trump, but the book still doesn't make me connect with the storyline and characters in a way I was hoping.

Is it me? Do I not have a sense of humor? Why do I not get the 'hilarious' vibe promised in this book? Yes, there are some mildly humorous parts - but they're tinged with sadness. The writing in this book is good and there are some interesting parts; but I didn't care for any of the characters and didn't care what happened to them. The story to me was depressing - not 'hilarious'. But I'm probably in the minority. Every book can't be for every person. I'll give it 3 stars for the crisp writing.

What if you looked around one day and saw all the success in the world … only it wasn’t what you wanted?

That’s the central question being asked by Barry Cohen, the protagonist of Gary Shteyngart’s new novel “Lake Success.” It’s a story of discontent among the one percent, a look-in on the lives of people whose problems are both wildly different and oddly similar to our own. It’s also a sharp and whip-smart deconstruction of the American Dream – one in which the dreamer discovers that maybe they didn’t want it to come true after all.

The year is 2016. Barry Cohen is the manager of a hedge fund called This Side of Capital. He’s a money hustler from way back – a lower-middle-class kid made good - and has achieved a great degree of success in the financial arena; he takes pride in making sure you know that he oversees $2.4 billion in assets. However, he’s also under investigation by the SEC for some particularly shady financial doings. He’s also dealing with the recent autism diagnosis of his three-year-old son Shiva and the unfortunate impact that has had on his relationship with his wife Seema.

Rather than deal with the reality of his present situation, Barry decides to try and backtrack into the past. His thoughts keep returning a former girlfriend from his Princeton days, a time before the world got so complicated. He decides to go to her. Further romanticizing the notion, he decides that he’s going to see America – the REAL America - along the way: he’s going to travel by bus. And so he boards a Greyhound at Port Authority with nothing more than the cash in his wallet and a case containing the finest examples from his beloved wristwatch collection, abandoning his phone and credit cards so his movements can’t be tracked. He hits the road.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Seema is left to deal with the fallout of Barry’s departure. She’s a highly-educated and sophisticated woman (and first-generation American) who abandoned a promising law career when she took up with Barry. She’s handling Shiva on her own (well, with considerable help from the nanny and various therapists) and struggling to decide what she should do about her husband. Oh, and there’s a charismatic novelist in the picture who she may or may not be falling for, a situation that presents a whole new set of problems.

“Lake Success” unrolls as a remarkable back-and-forth, with our perspective shifting between Barry and Seema from chapter to chapter. We watch as bottled-up tension and resentment boils over, resulting in both of them doing things that they otherwise wouldn’t. Barry obsesses over a past that perhaps wasn’t as perfect as he remembers, while Seema dreads a future whose direction she can’t comfortably predict. And casting a shadow over the entire thing is a looming vision of what America is becoming at this particularly pivotal moment in time.

It’s relatively rare for literary fiction to be genuinely funny, but Shteyngart’s satirical edge is so well-honed that you’re surprised into laughter – even when the blade cuts deep. And there’s no shortage of targets; the narcissistic kleptocrats of the hedge fund world bear the brunt of Shteyngart’s humor, but there are plenty of other graveyards to whistle our way past. The corruption of masculinity, the misunderstanding of white privilege and racial divides, the smug self-satisfaction and slow downfall of the intelligentsia, the current state of political affairs – this book swings frequently and ferociously.

One might be tempted to file “Lake Success” in with the standard pretentious “rich guy protagonist on a journey to self-discovery” subgenre of literary fiction. Lord knows there are enough of those books out there. But here’s the thing – Shteyngart’s self-awareness and sense of humor help him subvert that formula even as he embraces it. It skates up to the edge of parody in spots – well-chosen spots, in my opinion – but it manages to maintain a level of seriousness without ever taking itself too seriously.

It’s a hell of a read, is what I’m saying.

Gary Shteyngart is one of the most gifted writers of his generation, possessed of a cortex-grabbing prose style and unparalleled satiric wit. This book is a perfect illustration of why those things are true. It is thought-provoking and relentless while also being narratively engaging; characters and ideas are treated with equal value, which is not always the case in literary fiction.

In short, “Lake Success” is, well … a success.

The rich and obnoxious American is alive and well in Lake Success.

Barry is an uber rich hedge fund manager. He has a just diagnosed autistic 3-year old son. He has split from his wife, Seema, a first-generation Indian immigrant. And he wants to recapture his youth by taking a Greyhound bus trip to visit his college girlfriend, Layla, who he hasn’t spoken to in more than a decade. Unfortunately, Barry doesn’t have much real life experience. He has to ask his chief of staff to pull strings to get him a bus ticket after the depot is closed.

Barry is the most unlikeable main character I have ever encountered. Seema isn’t much better—having an affair less than two days after their split. It took me about a quarter of the book to see that Barry is intended to be a Trump parody (or possibly satire) even while Trump himself serves as a background to the story. Generally, parodies/satires are humorous. This one wasn’t. While Barry eventually has a human feeling, it was a long time coming.

I think Lake Success will probably be a hit with critics and win some literary awards. It’s recommended for literary fiction fans but decidedly not for Trump supporters. While I loved the author’s Super Sad True Love Story, Lake Success just didn’t resonate with me. 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Let me start by saying how much I was in love with Super Sad Love Story and how much I wanted this to be the same absurd type of story. Well, it was in some ways; however, I was not in love with the main character and that was a major drawback for me. Barry was an elitist, racist, super caricature of what we despise as an investment banker. He is exactly why the 99% hate bankers! I got really tired of everyone being defined by their ethnicity and how he was happy to demonstrate to himself how much a man of the people he thought he was. Sure I could beg this off as his low self-esteem needing props. Afterall, he has just abandoned his wife and autistic child, thinking he is going to get himself a new life and family. Seriously, no redeeming qualities! This book will be a struggle for many to read. It was teeth grindingly hard for me to read at some points. But, I loved the journey of Seema and Shiva, Barry's wife and child, who manage to to survive Barry and his breakdown. I think many people who found joy in Ayn Rand books would enjoy the societal commentary in Lake Success.

Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart
Penguin Random House: 9/4/18
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13: 9780812997415

Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart is a highly recommended thought-provoking tale of a mid-life crisis.

Hedge-fund manager Barry Cohen has packed his suitcase full of expensive watches (and no change of clothes) and is running away from home via Greyhound. There are several reasons for Barry's exit: he is drunk; he had a fight with his wife, Seema; he is distressed over his son's diagnosis of autism; and he is facing a SEC investigation. His decision to run away has turned into a goal of finding his old college sweetheart and creating a good story for his future biography. Barry is in parts self-deluded and self-important, but with an inferiority complex. He is out of touch with how regular Americans live, but he taught himself how to make friends when he was in junior high and these techniques that have served him well while making his millions should work when relating to regular people too. He even throws away his cell phone and credit cards. Barry's odyssey on Greyhound buses takes him across America, from New York City to Baltimore, Richmond, Raleigh, Atlanta, El Paso, Phoenix, and San Diego.

Seema is seething. She's angry at Barry's departure and is overwhelmed with their three-year-old son Shiva's diagnosis. She is a very intelligent younger woman and first generation Indian American who left her law career for Barry. Now she is trying to keep track of all the therapists who work with Shiva. She begins an affair with their downstairs neighbor, a writer named Luis Goodman. Barry and Seema were having dinner with Luis and his wife, Julianna, the evening of the fight with Seema that marked Barry's decision to leave.

The narrative follows both Barry and Seema's lives in alternating chapters. While writing about what they are experiencing, it is also clear that Shteyngart is capturing the basic inability it is for various people/groups to understand what others are enduring based on abilities, income, sex, race, age, profiling, success, etc. The bulk of Lake Success is set in the summer of 2016 just before Trump is elected President, so it also depicts the differences voiced by supporters on both sides of the political divide, with the main focus being pro- and anti-Trump discussions. It should also be noted that it appears that Barry himself is likely on the spectrum, undiagnosed and highly functioning, but still.

While well-written, I vacillated back and forth on how I actually felt about the story - after all I read books for entertainment, not just for the literary merit. Parts of the novel are very entertaining, heart-breaking, and revealing. There are funny and insightful moments. Other parts, much like the endless miles spent riding the bus, were a bit-too-drawn-out. Barry doesn't really experience growth on his Kerouac-like bus trip or come to any life-changing self-awareness.

We also have two imperfect characters and they are both struggling, although with very different questions. It is difficult to see Barry leave his son with Seema for his own selfish misguided trip. He is, ultimately, a rather lost man who has too much wealth observing those around him. But on the other hand, Seema also does some selfish actions. I did love Seema's father and his connection to Shiva. There is so much to this novel and I think I need some more thinking time before I settle on a final rating - one of the best of the year or just a very good novel. Hmmmm. I'm going with 4 stars for now just based on the general disagreeableness of the characters.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
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