“It’s kind of hard to believe that this is Gary Shteyngart’s first essay collection! Expect humor, expect pathos, expect watches and martinis probably. You’ve undoubtedly read some of these essays (he’s been in Best American Essays nine times) but some of these are brand new and should be a hoot and a half.”—Lit Hub
“Gary Shteyngart’s The Sensualist is a hilarious and heartfelt ode to joy. It’s a reminder that we are human beings and not life-optimizing, productivity-maxxing robots mixing tablespoons of protein powder into fat-free plain yogurt. Live a little!”—Roz Chast, author of Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York
“Gary Shteyngart’s hilarious ode to pleasure reminds me of a fat-washed, navy-strength martini: powerful, dizzying, and necessary. More than just a hedonistic travelogue, The Sensualist is a rousing call to arms, a reminder to wring as much joy out of life as you can and to stop clutching your pearls, unless pearls are your thing, in which case, go nuts.”—Simon Rich, author of Glory Days
“What would we do without Gary Shteyngart? Probably the same things we do now but without knowing that there’s a uniquely wise and luminously funny writer among us, chronicling this ridiculous life.”—Sloane Crosley, author of Grief Is for People
“Gary Shteyngart is an invaluable literary bon vivant: hilarious, cranky and superbly observant. He’s at his very best in the essays of The Sensualist, at first succumbing to the delirious allure of the perfect martini, an obsessive wristwatch hunt, and the joys of fine tailoring. He segues into accounts of travel, where his status as a Russian émigré provides a fresh and essential perspective on global chaos, especially when he sequesters himself at a Four Seasons hotel to watch days of Putin-sanctioned TV, and endures the special horrors of a luxury cruise ship. Finally, through heart-wrenching accounts of illness and great devotion to his wife and son, he triumphs with courage and panache.”—Paul Rudnick, author of The Tuxedo Society
