Here’s a quote from the book self is currently reading, Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan, pp. 75 – 76:
The evening progressed as expected. We drove to my apartment beneath a confusing cross section of the summer sky — the deep blue of the North Sea at the top, followed by the indeterminate gray of the Neva River, and at the very bottom, a brilliant ribbon of modern orange that hung like a fluorescent mist over the dueling spires of the admiralty and the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Along the way, we took turns hitting the driver with birch twigs, ostensibly to improve his circulation, but in reality because it is impossible to end an evening with Russia without assaulting someone.
“Please, sir,” pleaded Mamudov, “it is already difficult to drive on these roads, even without being whipped.”
“No one has ever called me ‘sir’ before,” Valentin spoke in wonderment. “Opa, you scoundrel!” he screamed, flailing the driver once more.
Do you see how absolutely entertaining this novel is?
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
