Why people recommend it
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart is a pandemic-era novel that follows a group of friends who isolate together in a country house as the world shuts down. On The Book Review podcast, Pamela Paul highlighted the book as a personal favorite outside of the official best-of lists. Molly Young discussed reviewing the novel, stating that she loved it, while Andrew Lavallée mentioned that he was currently reading the freshly released work which had quickly garnered considerable attention as a quintessential pandemic novel. Later on the podcast, Pamela Paul welcomed Gary Shteyngart as a guest to discuss the book and his writing process. Alexandra Alter also brought up the title in a broader conversation about literature published during COVID-19, noting that the novel received stellar reviews following its release the previous fall. Across multiple episodes, critics and hosts frequently circled back to the book's clever premise and its resonance with contemporary anxieties, solidifying its status as a notable entry in lockdown literature. The discussions frequently emphasized how the author managed to capture the claustrophobia and forced intimacy of that unique historical moment without losing his trademark narrative sharpness.
Who recommended it
- Pamela Paul Recommended
- Molly Young Recommended
- Andrew Lavallée Recommended
- Alexandra Alter Discussed
Pamela Paul — 3 mentions
“I'm G to add one personal favorite of mine which is our country Friends by Gary steinart”
“Gary steinart will be here to talk about his new novel our country friends Liz heris will be here to talk about what's going on in the publishing World”
“Gary steinart author of many novels joins us now his latest one is called our country friends”
Molly Young — 2 mentions
“I've recently written about Gary Stein's pandemic novel which is called our country friends and and I loved it”
“I reviewed our country Friends by Gary steinart and Alexander”
Andrew Lavallée — 1 mention
“I am reading our country Friends by Gary steinard which is it just came out and it's getting a fair bit of attention as kind of being built as a pandemic novel”
Alexandra Alter — 1 mention
“like Gary steinard who wrote a pandemic novel our country friends that came out last fall got great reviews”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- 2666
- A Wrinkle in Time
- After me comes the flood
- Amity and Prosperity
- Baggage
- Beautiful World, Where Are You
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and I'm reading our country Friends by Gary steinard and I read the overstory by Richard Powers”