Althouse: "I remember one of the first things my parents would say about Americans when we immigrated to America, was that they always seemed so unhappy..."

June 22, 2026

"I remember one of the first things my parents would say about Americans when we immigrated to America, was that they always seemed so unhappy..."

"... despite the fact that they were so much richer than us. We were living on government cheese for a time, and my parents and other Russians would say: Oni ot zhira besyatsa. Which translates very vaguely as: They’re wild with their own fat. They’re so juicy and fat, and yet they don’t know what to do with it. Just enjoy the fat. But sometimes this greater meaning combines with this egotistical impulse to have more and more and more. And to not die is one of those almost Protestant extensions of everything. And striving. Why should the striving ever end?"

Said Gary Shteyngart, in his interview with Ezra Klein, the "I" in the headline "I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novel" (NYT). The novel is Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story" (commission earned).

81 comments:

tim maguire said...: "I remember one of the first things my parents would say about Americans when we immigrated to America, was that they always seemed so unhappy..."

Had they met any Americans at that point?; 6/22/26, 9:21 AM
CJinPA said...: Well, that's fine way to relate to your new neighbors who took you in: Miserable sods

Maybe they came to a particularly grim U.S. locale.; 6/22/26, 9:24 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: For once, I’ll quote Dylan:

“I pity the poor immigrant
Who wishes he would’ve stayed home.”; 6/22/26, 9:26 AM
n.n said...: Diversity, really? They left a bloc culture. Socialists. That said, diversity of individuals, minority of one. #HateLovesAbortion; 6/22/26, 9:28 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: We are not headed toward a dystopian future. We’re headed toward a future of unimaginable wealth and personal freedom, courtesy of the AI/robotics revolution. Read Andreessen’s “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto.” Musk is predicting a ten fold increase per year in GDP within the next five years! Kurzweil sees LEV kicking in by 2030. Diamandis predicts that by 2030: “Money won’t matter.” Ignore the doom scrollers. Buy a self-driving Tesla Model 3 and see for yourself the glorious future.; 6/22/26, 9:32 AM
Peachy said...: If America sucks so bad - please leave.

Especially New York progs.; 6/22/26, 9:38 AM
n.n said...: No one is gay, all the time.; 6/22/26, 9:39 AM
Known Unknown said...: Ezra Klein, miserable? Who woulda thunk it?; 6/22/26, 9:41 AM
Aggie said...: "I remember one of the first things my parents would say about Americans when we immigrated to America, was that they always seemed so unhappy..."

Really, they said that, coming from Russia? Don't we need a little more context?; 6/22/26, 9:53 AM
Leland said...: This is a misinterpretation of the American spirit of seeking better. It suggests unhappiness with what we have, such as Sheryl Crow might put into song. I’m happy with what I have, but why should I be satisfied with simply achieving that and not trying to do better?

Imagine if we were satisfied with a life expectancy of 65? Nothing wrong with only having 65 years and nothing to be unhappy about, but isn’t 70, 80, 100 years better? Why is it wrong to seek that better?

Is that egotistical? I don’t think so. I think it is more egotistical to suggest to others they have enough and that you decided that they don’t need more.; 6/22/26, 9:59 AM
Mary Beth said...: If you watch the news, you will see a lot of unhappy people. No matter what the news story, they will find someone who has complaints. If his parents were used to Soviet news where everything (at least everything Soviet) was a good thing and people had only good things to say about it, the comparison must have been stark.; 6/22/26, 9:59 AM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: all irrelevant banter, leave for the young ones,odds are,many up in here, won't be around to see any mind blowing changes that we haven't seen in the past(in last quarter). Your clocks are ticking,enjoy your life partner and let it roll. dirt nap coming soon. Moving on to ETERNITY! (believers)Prov 3:5-6 "trust in the Lord with all your heart and not leaning on your own understanding, being promised He will make your paths straight" All the rest is sinking sand. Isaiah 23:13 "let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die"(non believers,might as well party it up cause there isn't anything else) :) Can't take them material things with ya but gives you a kick during... :); 6/22/26, 10:06 AM
Peachy said...: Many Americans are over-weight.
If that bothers you - again - there's the door.; 6/22/26, 10:07 AM
Peachy said...: The left's non-stop lecturing on "you have enough" - is laughable in the face of their punitive ideas for making damn sure - "you have enough" - because they demand to TAKE it all, punitively, so they can line their pockets.; 6/22/26, 10:10 AM
narciso said...: What a **** russian expletive; 6/22/26, 10:12 AM
ColoComment said...: This is Gary's WikiP entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Shteyngart
...he seems to have done ok for himself, that is, taken advantage of the gifts offered him by the Land of Opportunity.
Good for him.
Should his parents (and he) have stayed in 1970s Soviet Union, rather than have emigrated, and "striven" to be more, to do more, to give him the gift of growing up in America?
To ask the question is to answer it.
I am so so glad, and I give thanks every day, that my German ancestors arrived in 1852, and my Croatians in 1902 and 1904, and gave me that gift.; 6/22/26, 10:16 AM
Leland said...: Many Americans are over-weight.
If that bothers you - again - there's the door.

It seems the people most bothered by it are equally bothered if people use a GLP-1 to help lose weight. It is almost like they are bothered that others are not bothered.; 6/22/26, 10:17 AM
FullMoon said...: Of course everyone was miserable, Jimmy Carter was president when this guy arrived in 1979. Odd-even gas lines,
"mortgage rates rose to 15% in his 4 years which pushed 30-year mortgage rates up 6.4 percentage points from 1977 to 1980 to 15.1%." Iran revolution.
ETC.; 6/22/26, 10:17 AM
Mason G said...: "I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novel"

New York City just got done electing a communist mayor, so there's that.; 6/22/26, 10:28 AM
Johnula said...: As a non-American who visits your beautiful country regularly, I find Americans to be some of the most friendly, open and welcoming people anywhere. And I've been to a lot of places.

I suppose those traits are not exactly the same as "happy", but they serve as a good proxy.; 6/22/26, 10:39 AM
bagoh20 said...: The thing I love about America is all the American stuff.; 6/22/26, 10:55 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: "I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novel"

Dystopian is relative. Compared to novels inspired by Soviet Russia (Rand’s Anthem, Orwell’s 1984, Solzhenitsyn‘s One Day etc.) I’d say we're living in a Utopian novel.; 6/22/26, 10:57 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: When Russians are talking about unhappiness and misery, I always listen.; 6/22/26, 11:02 AM
Paul Zrimsek said...: I Keep Telling People They Should Buy My Book.; 6/22/26, 11:05 AM
rehajm said...: …hey interesting. At last, a story that isn’t intended as a metaphor for the loser left losing to Tru…

“against the backdrop of a country that often feels like it’s falling apart”

…oh.; 6/22/26, 11:05 AM
rehajm said...: "mortgage rates rose to 15% in his 4 years”

…when I was twelve my family moved to New York and desperately hunted for a decent mortgage. They were thrilled to find one at only 15 1/2 percent. no points…; 6/22/26, 11:09 AM
Denever said...: I just spent half an hour scrolling through videos posted on X of visitors here for the World Cup raving about how friendly and generous and kind Americans are. They're amazed at the infrastructure and the "wealth" -- and much of what they're referring to turns out to be middle-class neighborhoods in states that tourists seldom go to. The food and friendliness of American restaurants, especially in the South, astonishes them. Many of the videos show visitors saying, "Everything negative thing I've heard about Americans turns out to be completely untrue!" and "This World Cup is going to change a lot of minds in Europe." It's a wonderful antidote to the non-stop bitching we often hear from the likes of Shteyngart.; 6/22/26, 11:20 AM
rhhardin said...: What I remember, as a kid, was being bored.; 6/22/26, 11:28 AM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: Clicked on the link and read a sample from the novel. Shitty writing.; 6/22/26, 11:30 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Gee I don't know. Life here in the USA seems good, although not quite as good in California today as it was when I first came here 70 years ago.; 6/22/26, 11:32 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: @Denever, While some of those are indeed genuine, be aware that lots of those are paid influencers. I'd venture most are not organic based on timing, message, and followers alone. 'Rapidity of amplification' is another.; 6/22/26, 11:32 AM
Peachy said...: Leland - they live in a state of mental illness botheredness.
Perpetual grievance.
They are addicted to being bothered. and only a lecture or a firebomb, will set them free.; 6/22/26, 11:42 AM
Amexpat said...: I've been to Russian a few times and people weren't exaclty prancing down the street singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Sulleness seemed to be the common game face. In fact Russians often view smiling as a sign of idiocy.; 6/22/26, 11:44 AM
bagoh20 said...: Nothing I've seen in the America praising videos is false. They highlight real things that are mostly unique to America. Maybe their appreciation isn't always authentic, but it makes sense that these things are appreciated for their uniqueness and often their non-European scale and expressiveness. For example, Bass Pro Shops or Costco. These things are not new to me, but I'm still blown away every time I go to them. They are not normal in the world, and what's different is impressive.
The Bass Pro here in Vegas is like being in the forest, but with dozens of huge taxidermied animals like bears, wolves, elk, and antelope. There are dozens of large and small boats on sale, all the guns and ammo you could ever want to see, a giant fish tank full of large freshwater game fish, another giant aquarium full of ocean species of all kinds with live mermaids swimming about, connected to a casino and a giant hotel. I doubt Europeans even imagine there would be such a thing.; 6/22/26, 11:50 AM
Iman said...: They must’ve been living among the leftist demographic, with all their sorrows.; 6/22/26, 12:19 PM
doctrev said...: "Russian" origin, let's check his earl- ah, there it is. Round them and their descendants up, then send them back to Putin.; 6/22/26, 12:27 PM
Leora said...: There is a problem when people think NYC is America.; 6/22/26, 12:29 PM
doctrev said...: Amexpat said...
I've been to Russian a few times and people weren't exaclty prancing down the street singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Sulleness seemed to be the common game face. In fact Russians often view smiling as a sign of idiocy.

6/22/26, 11:44 AM

Yeah, they have zero trust for strangers with fake smiles. Which is part of why the Satangarts were never actually accepted among Russians. The "brain drain" of the Ukraine war saw many of them flee to Israel. Steps to reverse that will lack urgency.; 6/22/26, 12:31 PM
Mason G said...: "There are dozens of large and small boats on sale..."

Leftists don't like that you have so many choices, as Bernie noted: "You don't necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants or of 18 different pairs of sneakers..."

"all the guns and ammo you could ever want to see..."

Leftists REALLY don't like that you have those choices.; 6/22/26, 12:31 PM
Tina Trent said...: There is something so entitled and dishonest and smug about this man.; 6/22/26, 12:37 PM
Tina Trent said...: Maybe he'd be happier if both of his houses were only 600 square feet.

Bet they aren't.; 6/22/26, 12:40 PM
Humperdink said...: Fifteen years ago my spouse and I would take two Russian school teachers into our home. They taught English in Russia. We spent time with them, 24 hours/ day for two weeks. We did this every year, with a different pair, for three years. It was an exchange program through our church.

As each pair departed I asked them what surprised them the most about America. Same answer every time. They could not believe how friendly Americans were. They were told the opposite in Russia.; 6/22/26, 12:48 PM
bagoh20 said...: "...they always seemed so unhappy..."

I wonder if they really said this. Everybody, especially writers make up shit for a narrative. If they did say it, it's not unusual for poorer people to look at richer people and wonder why they have anything to be sad about, but it's all relative. I bet a good day of fishing makes me as happy as Elon Musk ever gets. Nobody needs to be a trillionaire...
to be happy.; 6/22/26, 12:52 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: The science is pretty much settled by now that most people think they would achieve lasting happiness with about a 25% annual increase in government cheese.; 6/22/26, 12:54 PM
Ampersand said...: For Shteyngart, happiness has been becoming a fervent leftist at Oberlin College and then using his success as a writer as a platform from which to disrespect exiled Soviet Jewry and the country that gave them (and him) shelter.; 6/22/26, 1:15 PM
tcrosse said...: I'm glad those Scottish and English football fans are having fun here in the US. Back in the UK they are members of a severely marginalized group, I.e. indigenous Brits.; 6/22/26, 1:19 PM
Mason G said...: "Nobody needs to be a trillionaire...
to be happy."

Seems like there are plenty of people who would be happy if there were no trillionaires. Or billionaires or millionaires, for that matter.; 6/22/26, 1:27 PM
RMc said...: No, Ezra, you're living in a dystopian novel...and loving it!; 6/22/26, 1:31 PM
Denever said...: @RideSpaceMountain Sure, and it's a good idea to be skeptical at least half of everything on social media ... But a paid influencer can be sincere, too. Even if the ones recorded with lots of other people around -- at restaurants and bars and in airports -- aren't sincere, they're still making the Americans around them very happy with their (possibly fake) enthusiasm.; 6/22/26, 1:33 PM
hombre said...: Wow, Professor. Ezra Klein, NYT and London Times? Sour grapes in your granola this morning?; 6/22/26, 1:56 PM
Martin said...: Ezra Kline thinks he is the protagonist in a dystopian novel. He thinks he is a leader of the resistance when he is really teamed up with Big Brother.; 6/22/26, 1:58 PM
Earnest Prole said...: It seems only yesterday people here were openly wishing for a civil war against their fellow citizens. If that’s not American Unhappiness I don’t know what is. Or perhaps it was all LARPy Performative Theater, in which case, have fun storming the castle!; 6/22/26, 2:01 PM
IamDevo said...: They came from Russia, land of Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor and Solzhenitzyn's Gulag Archipelago, and they thought Americans were "unhappy"? Do tell.; 6/22/26, 2:02 PM
boatbuilder said...: Yeah those happy-go-lucky, always smiling Russians.
Said no one ever.; 6/22/26, 2:07 PM
narciso said...: What a country (yakov smirnoff); 6/22/26, 2:12 PM
narciso said...: Que pasa usa (my personal favorite); 6/22/26, 2:15 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: So different from what the FIFA World Cup tourists are saying about America as they experience it in full.; 6/22/26, 2:19 PM
RideSpaceMountain said...: "It seems only yesterday people here were openly wishing for a civil war against their fellow citizens. If that’s not American Unhappiness I don’t know what is."

Only "happy warriors" on this blog prole. We learned it from Kamala!; 6/22/26, 2:26 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I have a Russian neighbor who is an older woman, a long time widow from Moscow. We've been neighbors for many years. She has an adult daughter in her fifties, twice divorced, who visits frequently. They each dye their hair bright orange red.
I tried to always be friendly and kind to her, while she regularly made critical, mocking comments about me (as a joke?) while also noting what a nice person I am. She often expressed her opinion that Moscow is superior.
Years ago I was visiting my parents in NE Philadelphia and I encountered many Russians who had moved into the neighborhood. They opened many little shops. I discovered the Russian health food store consisted of processed meats. I was also surprised that cueing in the check out line at the grocery store was a shoving match as if pushing the person ahead of you would speed up the process.
I think it is possible that negativity and rudeness are a part of the Russian culture. Not that they can't be charming, attractive and very sweet if they choose, even my neighbor with the bright red orange hair. Although we are not on speaking terms because I succeeded in stopping her from blasting her stereo. I don't miss her.
If Russians are critical and hostile that comes from envy and egotism. imo. I'm not surprised that Russian immigrants would find fault with Americans.; 6/22/26, 2:32 PM
Rabel said...: Russian Jews escape the Soviet Union in1979 and find that the people in Queens are filled with gloom, despair, misery, deep, dark depression, and excessive misery.; 6/22/26, 2:33 PM
tcrosse said...: They're rioting in Africa, they're starving in Spain.
There's hurricanes in Florida and Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls.
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch
And I don't like anybody very much.; 6/22/26, 2:33 PM
Lance said...: "Shteyngart immigrated to the United States in 1979 and was brought up in Queens, New York." (Wikipedia)

If I lived in NYC I'd be unhappy too.; 6/22/26, 2:54 PM
Peachy said...: "RESIST" lunatics - who are told they may act above the law - are miserable.; 6/22/26, 3:07 PM
Bob B said...: He was raised in NYC and went to college at Oberlin. So, he has been surrounded by sad leftists his entire life. If he want to find happy Americans, they are everywhere, if he’s willing to leave his cocoon.; 6/22/26, 3:20 PM
ColoComment said...: For anyone who doesn't "get" the "tcrosse" reference at 6/22/26, 2:33 PM:
It's The Kingston Trio (live) at The Hungry i, released in January 1959.
Go here (and unfortunately, you have to suffer a couple of ads to get to the recording):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVUh5OaiADc&list=RDJVUh5OaiADc&start_radio=1; 6/22/26, 3:37 PM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: "ColoComment said..."

I thought it was a verse from National Brotherhood Week.
https://youtu.be/TlVa_ResDrs?si=2omf3sypj84Sf5r9; 6/22/26, 4:07 PM
rsbsail said...: From the transcript:

"Israel is controlled by a Smotrich-like party.

It’s called Security State Israel.

Security State Israel. It’s this kind of Jewish Iran, if you will, which I think is where we’re headed."

After an outrageous statement like that, I would have expected him to explain how Israel is like Iran. But no, just toss that off, and move on. So lazy.; 6/22/26, 5:01 PM
M Jordan said...: B.S. Americans are the happiest people on the planet … well, at least in the so-called first world. My time in the Baltics students often told me, You Americans smile too much. I just smiled.; 6/22/26, 5:08 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/22/26, 5:33 PM
Ambrose said...: I have read and very much enjoyed a couple of Shteyngart's novels; his true life thoughts and observations are another thing. I think he is trying to convince American liberals that he is one of them because he doesn't know any better.; 6/22/26, 6:05 PM
Peachy said...: The left have to square their hatred for Israel with hidden admiration of Islamic supremacists who subjugate women in Iran.
They support Iran.
and hide behind "lazy" smear campaigns. (rsbsail - right-o); 6/22/26, 6:08 PM
tcrosse said...: Many believe that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. It does not occur to them that the enemy of their enemy could also be their enemy. If Trump is their main enemy, they seem unable to accept that the IRGC is also their enemy, rather than a friend they should root for. Likewise Hamas.; 6/22/26, 6:18 PM
Eva Marie said...: This was an interesting passage in the interview:
EK: “There was a funny tweet I saw today. It said: Sisyphus’s life would’ve been much better if every time he got the rock to the top, he got some points.
And then he could exchange those points for stickers.”
GS: “For stickers that he could put on the rock.”
Now wouldn’t that make a difference - psychologically?; 6/22/26, 6:23 PM
narciso said...: Yeah thats extraordimarily stupid observation from shteingart; 6/22/26, 8:21 PM
Lazarus said...: One can't take what Shteyngart says literally. He says what people want to hear and what makes a good story. The last time his name came up here I mentioned how he went to a Reagan or Bush victory party in the 80s and the blonde, WASPy girls treated him like he was a waiter, which drove him over to the Democrat side. Sure, sure, that's just what his current audience wants to hear. It makes a good story, and it advances his career. Was it true? That's beside the point. Would the women at a Democrat party have recognized his true worth at that time or would they have assumed he was a servant? Also beside the point.

Since we know can't take what he says literally, don't get hung up on the Iran comment. Take a good look at Bezalel Smotrich and ask yourself if you like what you see.; 6/22/26, 8:26 PM
narciso said...: That seems unlikely; 6/22/26, 8:29 PM
narciso said...: Its a faction in israel so what; 6/22/26, 8:29 PM
Rustygrommet said...: Mason G said...
"Nobody needs to be a trillionaire...
to be happy."

"Seems like there are plenty of people who would be happy if there were no trillionaires. Or billionaires or millionaires, for that matter."

They still wouldn't be happy.; 6/22/26, 8:59 PM
Joe Bar said...: America sucks so bad, except compared to everyplace else.; 6/22/26, 9:08 PM
chuck said...: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • The Seattle Times • O: The Oprah Magazine • Maureen Corrigan, NPR • Salon • Slate • Minneapolis Star Tribune • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Kansas City Star • Charlotte Observer • The Globe and Mail • Vancouver Sun • Montreal Gazette • Kirkus Reviews

OK, OK, I'm convinced. It sucks.; 6/22/26, 9:09 PM
Lazarus said...: Reviewers are in the business of keeping dying arts alive and their reputation among their peers intact. Novelists are in the business of supplying what publishers and reviewers want. Shteyngart's novel flatters reviewers by letting them think that they are the last defenders of print culture.; 6/23/26, 10:14 AM