Super sad true love story
a novel
by Gary Shteyngart, Adam Grupper, Ali Ahn · first published 2001
58% recommend42% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Satirical near-future novel about a society where apps rank people and constant sharing is the norm; readers praise its dark, funny take on technology and social media, and it suits anyone interested in tech culture.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the New York Times [review][1] written by Michiko Kakutani, June 2010: "Gary Shteyngart’s wonderful new novel, “Super Sad True Love Story,” is a supersad, superfunny, superaffecting performance — a book that not only showcases the ebullient satiric gifts he demonstrated in his entertaining 2002 debut, “The Russian Debutante’s Handbook,” but that also uncovers his abilities to write deeply and movingly about love and loss and mortality. It’s a novel that gives us a cutting comic portrait of a futuristic America, nearly ungovernable and perched on the abyss of fiscal collapse, and at the
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…movie star, but part of me winces when I open up twitch and see that all this awkwardness is so public and often permanent. If anyone is curious about where some of this could go, I'd recommend reading Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart, a sort of near-future fiction that got a lot of this stuff right before it happened. I consider it the Network (as in the 70s movie) of our age. I fear for the day when the influencers…
on “YouTube Created a Generation of Young Stars. Now They Are Getting Burned Out” ↗If you haven't read Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart (author of this piece) you should.
on “A Trans-Atlantic Trip Turns Kafkaesque” ↗I’m getting into Gary Shteyngart. Just read Lake Success and now reading Super Sad True Love Story. Both sort of dark and really funny.
on “Ask HN: What Are You Reading?” ↗This dress seems like something straight out of Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story. It's almost a cross of the 'onion-skin' jeans and the apparats that everyone wears. If you haven't read the book (you should): Apparats: It’s a wonderful invention that ranks everybody. When I enter…
on “Intimacy 2.0 - a dress that flirts” ↗On an semi-related note: Some of this sounds exactly like Gary Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story". The way the girls talk to themselves and about other people, it's incredible a 40-year-old Russian male to capture female American teenagers so well.
on “My Little Sister Taught Me How to “Snapchat Like the Teens”” ↗…calorie restriction (CR) brought to mind a piece by NYmag reporter Julian Dibbell on his experience trying out CR for two months: http://nymag.com/news/features/23169/ On the sillier side, I recommend "Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart. It's an entertaining novel with themes of life extension and near-future dystopian technology. Anyone who liked the "please drink a verification can" greentext will probably enjoy…
on “The fight to cheat death is heating up” ↗For those interested in dystopian works on this subject I always recommend Super Sad True Love Story[0] by Gary Shteyngart. It's a little closer to the "Her-style" near future that is a lot more mundane. What if you walked into a bar and everyone was pre-ranked on your phone? What if news was replaced…
on “The benefits of staying off social media” ↗…perspective on both countries and can find eerie echoes to the dying days of the Soviet Union in his experiences in the modern US) has a similar style to DFW in many ways. I particularly recommend his Super Sad True Love Story set in the near future, as Infinite Jest was.
on “Pynchon in Public Day” ↗…Scores are out of 5. If there is a + it means I found it to be extra special for some reason or other. = Jan = Smarter Than You Think - Clive Thompson 3 The positives of tech and the internet. = Feb = Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart 4 Science fiction set in the not too distant future. Main themes include life extension and surveillance. = Mar = The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 4 The Restaurant…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗If you are interested in exploring a world where something like what you suggest is a generally-accepted part of life, check out the book Super Sad True Love Story. http://supersadtruelovestory.com/ This novel is set in a world that takes current social and sharing trends and extrapolates out a dozen years or so. Depending on your thinking, it could be seen as…
on “Russian photographer matches random people with social network photos” ↗For some negative consequences of this, check out the book Super Sad True Love Story.
on “The U1 chip in the iPhone 11 is the beginning of an Ultra Wideband revolution?” ↗Oh man, Super Sad True Love Story had me seeing its storylines surface in American culture for months. Even new news I’m like; “this is just how it happened in the book!” Great read and great author.
on “Ask HN: What Are You Reading?” ↗Reminds me of Super Sad True Love Story. "Super Sad True Love Story is the third novel by American writer Gary Shteyngart.[1] The novel takes place in a near-future dystopian New York where life is dominated by media and retail." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Sad_True_Love_Story
on “Selfie-seeking Instagrammers are ruining the world’s beautiful places” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sad-True-Love-Story/dp/08129778...
on “Facebook has asked U.S. banks to share financial information about customers” ↗An intresting book review of 'Super Sad True Love Story'.
on “Sad as Hell” ↗