VERA, OR FAITH by Gary Shteyngart

5 stars!

THE BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR! This eloquent, brilliant novella sweeps you entirely up in its wake.

The entire novel is told from the perspective of Vera, a precocious, genius, perfectionist 10-year old. Vera’s half Korean and half American and is growing up in her white Russian Dad’s house along with her Bostonian Brahmin stepmom and half-brother. Vera is both brilliant and observant, humorous and naïve, while veering to extreme anxiety and perhaps social autism that involves compulsive hand-flapping, extreme difficulty cutting off her run-on thoughts, being bullied at school, and having a tough time making any friends.  Her younger brother mostly punches her, her stay-at-home Stepmom tries to offer up social cues, and her completely selfish father focuses mainly on how to sell his struggling magazine to a wealthy investor and or otherwise keep the family income flowing. Vera’s father has never explained Vera’s Korean mom’s complete absence from her life to the point of not even telling Vera her mother’s name, whether she has any Korean relatives, and more recently telling Vera vaguely that her Korean mom may be dying of cancer.

The novel takes place in a near dystopian future: in a big city resonant of New York City, technology has advanced to the point of not just smart cars, but smart cars with distinctive personalities of their own that bounce off their owner’s persona. AI assistants stand at the ready for thoughtful help. Vera has an AI computer chessboard, Kaspie, who not only plays chess with her but also infuses her thoughts with Korean culture as Kaspie himself as an AI created in South Korea and offers up psychological insights about her Dad. There is intense civil unrest that takes the MAGA movement to a new extreme: constant White Grievance marches and state-run check points to test any woman of menstruating age for possible pregnancy and seeking an illegal abortion.

There’s also a huge state movement afoot to give Whites a 5/3 majority votes in elections – so that their voice does not get diluted. Even though Vera’s partially Korean, her white teacher assigns her and a Japanese girl in her class the assignment of defending the 5/3 rule in a debate. Arguing against them: two “cool” boys who are wealthy and white. As Vera preps for the debate, she gains both a new best friend as well as confidence – especially with breathing and acting lessons from her beloved Aunt. All the debate prep parallels the upcoming State constitutional conventions to vote on ratifying this Constitutional amendment.

Vera’s plagued by her childhood doubts ranging from “Am I loveable?” to how to quiet her flapping arms and run on talking to how to get all A’s to grow up to be a successful “Woman in STEM.” But Vera’s also fighting off despair as she tries to heal her father’s broken second marriage to her stepmom and fix her father’s cavalier, selfish inattention to her. But all this is infused with deep humor as the social pathos ratches up especially around quoted adult phrases she’s picked up from her parents and her many, many entries in her “Things I Still Need to Know” diary.

Vera, whose name means Faith in Russian, struggles to keep the faith in a world turned ruinous. Standing ovation!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.