The satirical American writer from Saint Petersburg has authored bestselling novels like Super Sad True Love Story, Absurdistan, and The Russian Debutante’s Handbook and his work continues to appear in The New Yorker, Slate, and Granta. We caught up with him at the Tata Literature Live.
What were your early days as an immigrant in New York like?
It was tough being a Russian immigrant back then because of the Cold War. All those movies, Red Dawn, Red Gerbil, Red Hamster; everything was real. I also went to a tough Jewish religious school and I made my first friends by writing a satire of the Torah called the Gnorah. The rabbis didn’t like it, but some of the kids did.
What inspired you to be a writer?
This story is from the January 2018 edition of Travel+Leisure India.
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This story is from the January 2018 edition of Travel+Leisure India.
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