Gary Shteyngart’s pandemic-themed novel, Our Country Friends, is the latest selection for Barnes and Noble’s book club, the retailer announced in a news release.
Shteyngart’s novel, published Tuesday by Random House, follows eight acquaintances who hunker down in a country house in March of 2020 to quarantine during the pandemic. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkuscalled the book “The Great American Pandemic Novel only Shteyngart could write, full of hyphenated identities, killer prose, and wild vitality.”
Barnes and Noble’s director of books, Sharon DeVito, referenced the Kirkus review in the company’s news release, writing, “Our Country Friends has been called the ‘great American Pandemic Novel’, and it is a title well-earned. Gary Shteyngart’s ability to write about the idiosyncrasies of American life is unparalleled, and the pandemic provides a dramatic backdrop from which his characters and their tumultuous relationships shine through.”
Shteyngart said he was shocked to learn that Barnes and Noble had selected his book for their club.
“I needed smelling salts after hearing that Our Country Friends was the new Barnes [and] Noble Book Club pick and passing out from the excitement,” he said. “I live right next to the [B and N] flagship store on Union Square in NYC, which is to say I mostly live IN the [B and N] store and knowing that my book would soon be awesomely featured within made my heart sing.”
Shteyngart will discuss his book at a virtual event on Dec. 7.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
