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Our Country Friends: A Novel | Gary Shteyngart

so-so

BTS, Covid, George Floyd …it‘s all here, but I wasn‘t here for it. Between a so-so and pan. A group of friends leave the city to wait out the pandemic at a summer estate in upstate New York, but the idyllic setting isn‘t enough to keep trouble away. I‘m just not clever enough to appreciate this book 🤷🏼‍♀️#ToB22PlayIn

Megabooks, Suet624, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

TrishB That was a bit of a head wreck seeing BTS pop up!! C‘s a big fan! I‘m well versed in k pop. 3y

BarbaraBB According to your review it sounds quite good.. 3y

Cinfhen Hahaha…. I‘m SUPER IMPRESSED @TrishB 🙌🏻 3y

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squirrelbrain Hmmmm.. it seemed a bit clever-clever when I read the first chapter. Not really looking forward to it. 😬 3y

Cinfhen The premise was so promising @BarbaraBB but it was too cerebral for me 3y

Cinfhen Yesssss @squirrelbrain clever,clever!!! 3y

Ruthiella I‘ve never read any Shteyngart... I always meant to start with

Super Sad True Love Story

sarahbarnes I tried to read Absurdistan by him years ago and didn‘t finish it. I may skip this one based on reviews. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3y

Megabooks I probably should‘ve given this a so-so, but I mostly enjoyed it until that last act! Not going to be near the top of my list. 3y

Cinfhen @Ruthiella I own that book on my Kindle and two others but never read any, I have a feeling they might sit there a little while longer @sarahbarnes I think it‘s perfectly acceptable to pass on this book if it isn‘t calling out to you - I‘d be surprised if it advances @Megabooks 3y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I bought that one just for its title but it didn‘t really deliver. This one sounds a bit similar. 3y

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Cinfhen

Our Country Friends: A Novel | Gary Shteyngart

#ToB22PlayIn - I‘m getting Larry David Curb Your Enthusiasm vibes from this book….it‘s kind of funny, in a NY sort of way. I‘d be surprised if this book makes it in, though. Another pandemic book - is this the new trope?!?! Do authors need to include a reference to Covid in order for the book to be realistic?!? I‘m not sure how I feel about the inclusion of Covid in my fiction. Thoughts?!??

Simona, Megabooks, Suet624, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Cathythoughts I don‘t like covid in books … I‘m in denial … makes it so real. Makes me sad. 3y

Cathythoughts Lovely picture 💫 3y

TheAromaofBooks I feel like in some ways it is still too soon... like I read one the other day that kind of mentioned the pandemic in passing, as though it was something that had already happened and now they were just doing things regularly, and that hasn't really happened yet, so it felt weird. I understand trying to keep current books current... but I'm not a fan. 3y

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Suet624 Did any of you listen to the author‘s interview on Fresh Air? He was also going through recovery from a botched circumcision as he was writing it. 3y

squirrelbrain I read this first chapter of this when bidding for an ARC, but didn‘t win it. It doesn‘t come out here until next month. 3y

sarahbarnes Yes! I‘ll say I‘ve been avoiding this one because do I really want to read about the pandemic IN the pandemic?? 3y

Megabooks I‘m loving Covid fiction…so far…I‘m sure I‘ll get tired of it. It‘ll be like trump getting elected. So many books set in 2016 for several years!! I think 2020 is the new 2016. This book gets weird AF in the final act. Interested to read your final thoughts. 3y

Megabooks @sarahbarnes I can read fiction so far, but I REALLY don‘t want to read nonfiction. I read a couple then I was like…no. 3y

Ruthiella I haven‘t read enough to an opinion. I think Copeland Cane is the first time I‘ve encountered it in fiction... 3y

Flaneurette @Suet624 I read an essay in the New Yorker about his experience and it was devastating, I will have to listen to this interview 3y

Flaneurette @Megabooks in my neck of the woods it seems everyone but me and my immediate fam has decided the pandemic is over and I like to have validation that I‘m not in an alternate reality.. so yes I have been seeking out pandemic novels 3y

Cinfhen Agree so much @Megabooks 2020 is the new 2016 in terms of fictional stories setting / like late 80‘s early 90‘s was the setting for all the books written about the AIDS epidemic but like @Cathythoughts @TheAromaofBooks and @sarahbarnes it‘s still too real and raw for me, I don‘t want to see it written so heavily into my fiction. I‘m waiting for a time @Flaneurette when it doesn‘t seem so present. Masked are still mandatory in my part of the world 3y

Cinfhen Thanks for sharing the interview and article @Suet624 @Flaneurette / I read the article…WOW, it was very traumatic - really terrifying but still didn‘t help me appreciate or enjoy the book @Ruthiella @squirrelbrain this was a miss for me 🤷🏼‍♀️ 3y

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