Parallel universe.

Pity poor Misha Vainberg. All he wants to do is escape from St. Leninsgrad to return to that mecca of hip hop, New York City, with his South Bronx sweetheart Rouenna. But just because his father (the 1,238th richest man in Russia and renowned for selling an 800 kilogram screw to KGR) happened to off a politically connected Oklahoman, the generals in charge of the INS won't give Misha a visa. And now, when his beloved Rouenna writes from Hunter College (where she is majoring in secretarial skills) that she is carrying on with Jerry Shteynfarb (author of The Russian Arriviste's Hand Job), Misha is desparate enough to head to the oil saturated state of Absurdistan, where a crooked Belgian immigration official has a passport ready for a small fee.

Before the greasy official can hand over Misha's ticket to the Bronx, war breaks out between the Sevo and Svani ethnic groups over the topic of Christ's footrest, and KBR (a subsidiary of Halliburton) quietly sneaks into the country with a sweet deal from the Department of Defense. Soon, Misha finds himself as appointed head of the Office of Multiculturalism in the mostly corrupt government, and it only gets weirder from there. Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart (author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook) is a dark comedy that has no limit to the absurdities Misha goes through, each with a biting element of the current state of affairs to it. Sporting a Candide-like sense of optimism through it all (or maybe it's the Adivan), Misha somehow holds on to his sense of purpose, even as missles are being launched from the roof of the Park Hyatt.

Shteyngart has a bitter, ironic tone throughout the book, excepting Misha, who blithely sails through the chaos around him with a minimum of qualms. I had a bit of trouble getting into the book, partly because it moves very quickly. Once Misha arrives in Absurdistan though, the plotting works better as the whirlwind of corruption picks up steam. Touching on the insane policies of yesterday (the Cold War) and today (the war on terror), with the backdrop of American consumerism and Russian fatalism, Absurdistan closes as something of a bad dream for Misha. Freed from the country, he sets out to join Rouenna in the Bronx. The date? September 11, 2001.