Vera, or Faith

Child narrators in adult fiction can be tricky. Often, they feel either infantalized or much too mature for their supposed age. Vera straddles the line as a very precocious 10-year old trying to make sense of her world - why her parents fight, how to make friends, what to do about her curiousity about her birth mother. She is highly intelligent and absorbs information like a sponge, but she is still very young and doesn't have the experience or context to understand what is happening. It makes for a sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always fascinating story. That said, Shteyngart ends up trying to do too much with the story - there's a near-future dystopian aspect, some espionage, some AI over-reach... It all adds up to a narrative that show more doesn't quite hang together comfortably. But Vera is an engaging protagonist, and I'm glad I read it.

4.25 stars

NB: My book group was pretty uniform in its opinion - liking it despite the many flaws but not loving it. No one hated it. show less

Vera, a very smart, plucky Korean-American 10 year old is trying to fix things: her parents' marriage (probably doomed), her dying Mom-mom (er... not so much), her C in Math (unjustly awarded by a jealous teacher)... she lives in an imagined future where her status as a non 5/3rd (WASP with blue blood roots puts her at a disadvantage in her school and even, she believes, with her family. Her step-mom seems warmer to her half brother. Her father is loveable but a failure maintaining his own life, let alone hers. Her frustrations manifest in nervous hand flipping and a "monkey brain" but Vera never loses, um, faith. She has plans and she brings them to fruition with surprisingly satisfying results. A poignant portrait of adolescence, a show more frightening future, and the ultimate triumph of love. And Shteyngart manages all this without becoming coy or cutsey. Great book. show less

Shteyngart is at his blistering best in this story set in a 5? 10? year future (a self-driving car is the norm, a 5/3 constitutional amendment is on the ballot which will give 'exceptional' Americans descended from those who arrived on the Mayflower or other early European ventures and 'enhanced' vote, and women are subjected to border checks when crossing state lines) What makes the story work is its precocious narrator, 10-year-old Vera who is just trying to make sense of her immediate world. She is also perhaps neurodivergent in her inability to read social cues and her literal interpretation of everything. But she also has a lot to figure out: her family is 'almost rich' because her stepmom (Anne Mom) has a trust fund. Her father is show more a Russian immigrant who owns an esoteric literary magazine that he is trying to sell. Her birth mother was Korean-American which is Vera's dominant appearance which contrasts with her blond-haired, blue-eyed half-brother Dylan, who at age 7 is a terror and an example of entitlement gone amuck. "Mom Mom" is not talked about and Vera wonders where she is and why she left and begins a quest to find out. Beside that, all Vera wants is some love and attention and a friend at school, and some answers to her "Things I Still Need to Know" Diary. Her entries are hilarious as they often parrot things said by the adults in her life for which she has no context. Vera finally makes a friend in Yumi, a girl she is paired with for a class project, and starts to gain confidence and social skills. Vera's total innocence as she earnestly tries to hold the 'Bradford-Schmulkin' family together, understand the mad world around her, and gain a sense of her own identity, almost makes her a superhero. Her superpower is contained in the meaning of her name and the subtitle of the book: Faith -not in a religious way but in the trust that things will work out and make sense to her very logical mind. show less

[3.25] Ten-year-old Vera Bradford-Shmulkin is a brilliant, witty, albeit anxiety-filled over-achiever whose coming-of-age tale casts a stark spotlight on New York City’s melting pot persona and on the struggles of family dysfunction.

Although there’s early foreshadowing, readers don’t realize until about halfway through this entertaining romp that the book has a dystopian theme that casts a spotlight on a declining democracy in the near future. We explore this stark landscape through the eyes of Vera, a Korean-American girl. In my estimation, the official launch of the political theme was too long - even for a short book.

Two additional critiques. Assigning a precocious neurodivergent child as the narrator, while delightfully show more entertaining in some spots, strains credulity as readers are asked to believe that a pre-teen could articulate and evaluate some of the weighty notions. Had she been 14 or 15, the internal monologues would have been more believable. Finally, I wasn’t hooked by an espionage-tinged subplot.

Still, “Vera, or Faith” offers invaluable insights and provides quite a few laugh-out-loud moments.

I recently watched a short video interview with the author following the release of his autobiography “Little Failure.” I’ll likely read his account of being a young immigrant who struggles with identity and family expectations. show less

I love reading Gary Shteyngart... And this latest book is another example of his talent. Told on behalf of a precocious ten-year-old girl, this is a story of life within her family as she perceives and interprets it, with total frankness. There is humor of course - it wouldn't be Gary Shteyngart if there weren't any! - and it's mixed with bitterness, frustration, and, yes - hope, too. Vera is part Korean (on her mother's side) and part Russian Jewish (on her father's side). There is also a stepmother (an American), as well as a younger half-brother of whom she feels very protective. There is a lot of drama surrounding the family, much mystery too, and Vera (which means "faith" in Russian) tries her best to interpret it, by trial and show more error - all of which leads to unpredictable events. The time period is slightly into the future in US, and it is displayed through some events, technological progress, political trends... A great read!... show less

Set in the not too distant fascist future of these United States, narrated by a ten year-old girl.

It is well done, but the child narrator is grating.

The automated car and woman blood tests crossing state lines are all too believable. Not sure why we needed a child to experience it.

I have read every book that Shteyngart has written. He is an excellent writer with a flair for the absurd. He creates over the top characters in unique situations. Vera is a 10 year old who is very smart and very anxious. The entire book is told through her eyes. She is half Korean, half Jewish and the book takes place in New York City in a future that reflects many things happening in the country now, right wing politics, AI leading to robots and self driving cars. Vera struggles to keep the family together and is a very endearing character. This is a short book and a good introduction to Shteyngart. If you enjoy it check out his other novels.