Some 150 pages in, I really like The Russian Debutante’s Handbook for a number of reasons, such as the immigrant Russian Vladimir’s gimlet-eyed take on America, his descriptions of Challah, his zaftig dominatrix girlfriend, and Gary Shteyngart’s author photo, a hobbit man-boy seated on a curb with a baby bear on a leash.
I also like that Russian Debutante’s name-checks Metro-North more times than any book in recent memory. Vladimir’s striver parents ended up in Scarsdale when they arrived in the States, and Vladimir frequently makes trips from his dodgy Alphabet City apartment to his folks’ place in Westchester, where they own “one of the world’s most expensive backyards.”
“Vladimir was conveyed from village to city by the 8:12 p.m. Metro-North local train,” Shteyngart writes.
Later, “Vladimir was reminded of their high school days: Vladimir and Baobab taking the Metro-North Railroad home from the math-and-science high school after a long day of subtle rejections by young women and men alike, discussing better ways to lodge their suburban selves into Manhattan’s starry firmament.”