Gary Shteygart is the author of Little Failure. The book is actually his memoir of his life as an immigrant from Russia. Born in Leningrad, Gary was named Igor. His parents changed his name to Gary when they immigrated when he was 8 years old in the 1970's. According to Gary, his father called him little failure and also snotty. Gary was born with asthma and was a sickly child. Steroid inhalers for asthma were not available in Russia. While Gary's father called him names and sometimes disciplined him with physical force, his mother gave him the silent treatment when he acted out. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer and since Gary didn't have the aptitude nor interest in law school, he thinks of himself as a failure. Each chapter starts out with an actual photograph of himself at that age and the author is very self deprecating and humorous throughout his memoir.
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