Ask Gary!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Daniel, I told you I wasn't a very good writer and you still shelled out all those shekels on Absurdistan thinking it was going to be the next Confederacy of Dunces. Well it's not!!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Laurel, I think it's time to go after global finance, no?

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Elise, young man?? I'm 41. How much longer do you think I have? It was important to get this down as quickly as possible. Or else change my diet from a stick of butter for breakfast.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Olga, I think there were many different parenting styles and I certainly don't mean to imply that this is the only one that existed among Russian parents. But at my readings hundreds of Russian-American of my generations have come up and asked me to sign their books to "another Little Failure" or "failed paralegal" or some choice Russian nicknames and many have described similar upbringings in emails and facebook posts.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Dominique, I do have a kid, and I'm trying to raise him with all of the best things my parents imparted to me, my mother's love of working hard, my father's imaginative stories. There's so many good things to choose from and also things to try to do better. Although, in the end, you can only do the best you can.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Dominique, I get a lot of comments about Onionskin jeans restricting blood flow. I would write directly to the Onionskin corporation and ask for blood flow tips.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

John, I think Vladimir Putin only likes reading books that make Vladimir Putin feel better about sending troops into adjacent countries. Little Failure may not be his speed, but Mein Kampf may provide lots of helpful tips.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Kevin, I actually read Walter Kirn's book and loved it!!!! Seriously!!!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Jeff, I think these things come in cycles, and right now we are definitely leaning on the visual or at least small bits of texts and information. There's just no time for serious introspection these days in part because we're all so busy being bombarded by small packets of information. Will that change in a decade? In a century? It's impossible to tell, but I certainly hope so.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Okay, folks, I'm gonna take a break and come back for your questions. They're really wonderful and make me reflect back on my work quite a bit.

[Jeff]

Gary wrote: "Jeff, I think these things come in cycles, and right now we are definitely leaning on the visual or at least small bits of texts and information. There's just no time for serious introspection thes..."

I am very grateful for your thoughtful reply. I teach about East Asian cultural history, a field in which it is commonplace to remark on cyclical patterns such as stability/instability of regimes or xenophilia/xenophobia of societies. Thinking about extrospection/introspection as another kind of cyclical variation is interesting to me, and makes me wonder whether and how this cyclical pattern is related to others. If we as post-modern Westerners are more introspective these days, does that parallel a deeper sense of cultural crisis or a diminished interest in cultural others? Hmmm.

[Abby]

Hi!

I just finished reading Little Failure, and I tried to tell my Russian professors about it (but probably ended up mispronouncing literally everything). Your books and the latest video of the Russian Police Choir covering Daft Punk are now the two most popular topics of conversation at my school's "Russian Table."

Anyway, I really, really enjoyed reading your book, especially the descriptions of anxiety and food.

One question: how did you manage to balance the past, present, and future in college? Any advice?

Thank you.

[Douglas]

I thoroughly enjoyed "Little Failure". Throughout, I found myself drawn to your parents. It seemed to me that the tenderness swelled over the sometimes brutally honest depictions. How did they react to the book after its publication?

[Paul]

David Sedaris was flacked for not being absolutely accurate in his stories of recounted life events. I've never been too angsty about that issue, since the truths shine through in a tale. Yet, when I was recently praising little failure, a friend assumed that the stories there were "polished" for humor. Can you speak to how you balance truth & humor? Would you allow yourself to pinch up a memory in LF to make it funny ? How do you decide what is acceptable?

[Paul]

I was intrigued to learn that your dead-end nonprofit job was in an office with Todd Solondz. I think I learned this from Wikipedia . Happiness was long amongst my favorite dark funny films. Did you two become friends? If so, can you clarify if his dark vision springs from tender misanthropic feelings, or is instead just utter contempt for the human race?

[Meg]

Gary, I saw you speak a few weeks ago on a Friday night in Toronto at the library. I was too shy to get my book(s) signed or ask a question, so I was excited to see you were doing this session online!

I love all your books - you're such a talented (and hilarious) writer. I've just recently gone back to university for creative writing so I am wondering what piece of advice you would give to young/new writers.

Someday I would love to take one of your courses at Columbia!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Peter, the germ of Super Sad was a visit by a cable TV repairman who took one look at my gigantic book shelves and said "Oh man, why you got all them books?" I realized then that the books I treasured were seen as gross by others. Don't worry about the Chinese version! I can't make sense of it either.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Molly, I just want to eat Korean BBQ all day, frankly. And maybe the Korean fried chicken. I grew up being denied Doritos by my smart parents, so for my last meal I would just want to eat seven packs of Doritos and then die.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Joe, it would be hard to turn any country around, much less a gigantic one like our own. All the problems addressed in Super Sad could be solved with only one improvement: better education. Certainly at the grade school level.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Isabelle, I don't control who reads my books, but I'm so glad you liked it! I toyed with the idea of reading it myself but that would be a huge commitment in time.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Phil, I just got back from readings in the UK. Once there are European translations I usually go to the major countries, i.e. Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Holland. I think for this autumn we're scheduling a trip to Holland for a festival and maybe to Italy. Please follow me on twitter and facebook (if you're on that stuff) to keep up with the latest. Thanks!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Jeff, that's a fascinating strand of thought. I'll continue to think about it once my iPhone stops pinging with the latest pointless text.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Hi, Abby. Glad you liked my descriptions of anxiety and food. That pretty much sums up my life. College is an interesting time because it is that pivot between being a kid and being an adult, or at least it used to be (many of my male friends are only ready for adulthood in their early 40s). I wouldn't sweat it too much, just live in the moment and enjoy as much of it as you can. I miss learning things.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Douglas, my parents haven't read Failure yet. They usually wait for the Russian edition.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Paul, I tried to be as honest as possible in Lil Failure. To that end, there's a lot less dialogue in there than in my novels, because how is it possible to go back and recreate that dialogue with complete precision? That said, there are a few instances where I did my best to recreate what was said and I did try to include the humor that was such an important part of my childhood and development.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Paul, I met Todd Solondz after we both worked at the same resettlement agency and it did have a huge effect on our work. I can't speak for him, but I would go with tender misanthropic feelings.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Hey, Meg. Nice to hear from you and I hope Canada has forgiven me for all I've done. It's hard to give advice about creative writing because each writer is so different, but I will say that what I look most in a student's work is an authoritative voice. Make me believe that only you could have written this story or novel. And come to Columbia, the water's warm!

[Nargis]

Здравствуйте! I wanted to say, first of all, how much I enjoyed your book "Little Failure". This is the first book of yours I have read. Second, I have a question, in two parts: what are other memories do you have of Soviet-period children's books besides those you mention in "Little"? And do you have visual memories of illustrations from these books that date to before you learned how to read? Merci beaucoup!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

There was a book that I'm reading on one of the first pages of the memoir (I'm dressed in a typical Russian sailor suit for little kids). It was a talmud-sized tome about the civil war of 1917. I was obsessed with the whole Menshevik vs. Bolshevik question, as any nerdy Soviet kid would be.

[Amy]

Hey Gary - I worked at the NORC where your book (Super Sad..) takes place. I loved all the reference to it - they were so real! That is a special area of this city and hope it's able to stay that way...

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

I loved that NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, for those who are wondering). I lived at 575 Grand Street, East River, for 5 years, and I still miss it.

[RB]

I haven't yet read your books but have seen your video work with James Franco and Louis CK. How have you made the leap from literary star to youtube sensation? Where did you guys meet or how did you approach each other to do the bits? Is there a film career in your future?

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

RB, I think it was just James Franco and not Louis CK in my video. Unless, I'm missing something. In any case, James Franco was my student at Columbia. And he was a really good student!

[RB]

It was Paul Giamatti not Louis CK... my bad. Are you going to do some more acting any time soon?

[Christopher]

Hey Gary, what do you think of monocles?

[Deirdre]

Hi Gary, when is Felix's autobiography going to be available? I've just bought Little Failure, and can't wait to read it. Love all your books, especially Super Sad. Will Felix's book be called Little Dog?

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

RB, I'm in an indie film called Junk which will be released soon playing an awful creative writing professor. The role I was born to play!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Christopher, I'm hugely into monocles. I'm wearing one right now!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Deirde, Thanks for buying Little Failure. Felix is very greedy when it comes to giving out his paw print. We'll see how he feels when the next rent is due.

[Matt]

Hi Gary

I was wondering if you find your own life more or less interesting or palatable the more you write about it

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Matt, the life I lead right now is quite different from the one I write about so it doesn't feel more or less interesting.

[Katherine]

Hi Gary:
I love American novels about the immigrant experience, by writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and Junot Diaz (and you of course). Yet I struggle to find similar in other countries, either my native Canada or the Uk where I live now, that I respond to in quite the same way. Is there something particular to the American immigrant experience that makes for such compelling writing?

[Mary]

Gary wrote: "Thanks, Mary. I don't do Bar Mitzvahs because of liability issues. L'chaim and good luck, though!"

We love you (and your parents)!

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Katherine, it's a good question as to why american immigrant fiction is so robust. Could it be that as a nation of immigrants we've been at it longer than say Germany or Italy? I'm not sure, but it does fascinate me.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Thanks, Mary. Right back at you!

[Katherine]

Gary wrote: "Katherine, it's a good question as to why american immigrant fiction is so robust. Could it be that as a nation of immigrants we've been at it longer than say Germany or Italy? I'm not sure, but it..."

Yeah, me too. Maybe it is just the nature of the American experience --ie you are expected to leave your old life and identity at the border and become "American". Can you recommend any other writers (perhaps less well known ones) writing in this genre to check out?

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Katherine, I'm a huge fan of Akhil Sharma who has a book out later this year.

[Katherine]

Thanks Gary, I will check him out.

[Mary]

Hi Gary! How do you toggle (make the mental transition)between your book writing and other types of writing? Thank you.

[Gary, Author of "Little Failure"]

Hi, Wanda. Toggling between fiction and non-fiction requires a palate cleanser of 4-hours of high-quality TV viewing.