false 2432669 2 This semi-autobiographical debut novel chronicles the life of Alex, born in Siberia in 1950, and his dreams of becoming a writer and of meeting Annie, his distant American cousin. As a child, Alex observes a group of foreign tourists do something that non-drunk Soviet adults seldom do: they laugh. Alex yearns to become one of them;a free and happy foreigner. Those aspirations quickly fade as Alex begins to encounter the absurdities and constraints of living in a society where conformity is institutionalized. Hilarious and sometimes sobering, the book’s short chapters chronicle making it through the army, mastering the English language, sex, and meeting the girl of his dreams. In 1980, Alex and his young family finally get the chance to move to America. There he realizes that he is finally a foreigner; not the happy foreigner of his dream, but an alien. Ultimately, Alex finds his own place in the world, despite the fact that having the right - to vote for an elephant or an ass&#8221 - does not necessarily guarantee self-fulfillment. 2439857 28 11 2008 My Life at First Try total:32|5:8|4:8|3:10|2:3|1:3| 32 111 147 13 5 2 false false Wed Nov 19 18:18:27 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 18:21:50 -0800 2008 4 1 false false Sun Jan 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 18:23:49 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 18:35:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Dec 26 18:23:37 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 13:20:46 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 18:23:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 23 04:03:44 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 04:07:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Mar 13 08:35:11 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 14:43:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 24 09:01:54 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 09:06:21 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 19 23:23:53 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 16:31:37 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Thu May 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 03 18:26:43 -0800 2009 Wed May 06 22:36:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 07:29:13 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 07:41:43 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 25 18:33:46 -0700 2008 Sun May 17 15:27:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue May 13 06:12:25 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 06:12:48 -0700 2008 5 0 false true Wed Feb 13 15:01:13 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 01 17:16:56 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Nov 03 09:04:27 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 03 09:07:17 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Nov 22 10:49:38 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 10:49:38 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 17 11:52:28 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 11:52:28 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 11 15:55:38 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 15:55:38 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 01 17:00:14 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 17:00:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 31 07:10:32 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 07:10:32 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 07 09:26:58 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 09:27:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 11:32:07 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 11:33:03 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2432669