Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart's latest novel is Super Sad True Love Story.

From his Q & A with Noah Charney at The Daily Beast:

Describe your routine when conceiving of a book and its plot, before the writing begins.

I’ll read something by a better writer, and I’ll be, like, “Hmm, what if I made this, you know, more Russian?”

Do you have any unusual rituals when you write?

I write in bed while blasting Crystal Castles into my eardrums. Sad.

You have been described as a “hot ticket” for New York dinner parties. What makes for a great dinner party? Any memorable stories from the Republic of Dinnerpartyville?

I’m more of a Gentleman Farmer these days. But when I drank, boy did I drink. The Carabinieri had to remove me from a rooftop party in Rome once. No, twice.

Readers often wonder how much of a “clique” the New York writers’ world is. Within any given genre, are writers all hanging out together, saying brilliant things over elaborate coffees?

Back in the days when...[read on]

Avi Steinberg, a former prison librarian, thought Lindsay Lohan should read Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story in jail.

Read about Shteyngart's heroine from outside literature.

--Marshal Zeringue