Questions About Lake Success

by Gary Shteyngart (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (2)

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Jim

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Brian No, I don't believe so.
He was absolutely unchanged until the very end. Hears the word "college" and instantly thinks "Princeton! Better donate!" and …moreNo, I don't believe so.
He was absolutely unchanged until the very end. Hears the word "college" and instantly thinks "Princeton! Better donate!" and still can't be happy for the immense achievement of his son going to college, he dismissed it with "I know he could've gone to Princeton".

I also wonder if the ending is sincere. The main storyline happened in 2016, the bar mitzvah is 10 years later, but then the story ends in 2016? Unless I really missed something (and please Im open to thoughts!) that made no sense to me. I wondered if ALL of this was Barry's book? Wanted to be a writer and the whole thing just ended so nicely..... Seema was thrilled with his bar mitzvah plan and it was this perfect day? Shiva not just acknowledged Barry but gave him the final bit, this moving beautiful bit? Seema says how "hes just like" Barry "friendliest guy" the most "half jewish man" ever. It felt so perfect. Too perfect, esp for Barry who's a pathetic loser. He really is, he's a sad loser who lives in a delusion and felt he had this "journey across America" where really he was dependent on others and he came off as pathetic. It all ended too perfectly, I think maybe it was all a fiction. Barry's book. If so.....this would mean nah he learned nothing, just another delusion.
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Unanswered Questions (1)

How could you like this blob of male super privileged histrionics of a self absorbed myopic character? The writing wreaked of sexual innuendo in the most ridiculous places. My feeling throughout was, who cares? I had to muddle through it for my book group, though what I really wanted to do was toss it in the trash.

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