Sep 9, 2014 Posted in Buffalo Rising

On Monday, September 22nd, the public is invited to the first ever Humanities Festival Book Group for an engaging discussion of Gary Shteyngart’s New York Times bestselling memoir, Little Failure, at Betty’s restaurant, 370 Virginia Street, from 7:30 to 9:30pm. The Los Angeles Times calls Little Failure “an ecstatic depiction of survival, guilt, and perseverance… as vivid, original, and funny as [anything] contemporary U.S. literature has to offer.” UB Professor of English Joseph Conte will be on hand at Betty’s to lead the discussion, and light fare and drinks will be served. The cost of the event is $8, and tickets are available at buffalohumanities.org.

Gary Shteyngart will be speaking later that same week at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery on the evening of Friday, September 26th as the keynote speaker of this year’s first annual Buffalo Humanities Festival, “Migration Nation: Moving Stories.” “In the Humanities Festival Book Group, we invite members of the public to really dig in to this moving and hilarious book about Shteyngart’s experiences growing up as a Russian Jewish immigrant in New York. It is also a terrific way to warm up for the Buffalo Humanities Festival,” stated Erik Seeman, Director of UB’s Humanities Institute.

Little Failure is available for purchase at Talking Leaves Bookstore as well as at most major bookstores. Tickets for the Humanities Festival Book Group and for all Festival events can be purchased at the buffalo humanities festival website.