A review by sonia_reppe
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart

2.0

I picked this up because it was in the Tournament of Books. The set-up was interesting: a successful couple, now in financial trouble, invite some of their wealthy, successful friends to stay with them in their cottage village at the start of the pandemic, with the idea of quarantining for two weeks and then co-mingling. There are jealousies and other dramas set up between the characters, most of whom have known each other for a long time.
The reviews said this is a character-driven novel, but their characters didn't drive any of the plot; I feel this lacked plot. The second half lost me, it dragged on and nothing really happened. The second half was full of boring flashbacks and long dream sequences.
Some reviews say this book tips it's hat to Chekhov's plays, which I have not read or seen, so maybe I didn't get much out of it due to that.