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Quote by Gary Shteyngart

“The reflexive sense of wonder, of crying over a medal of the Madonna del Granduca and not knowing why, will be mostly replaced by survival and knowing perfectly well why. And survival will mean replacing the love of the beautiful with the love of what is funny, humor being the last resort of the besieged Jew, especially when he is placed among his own kind.”

Quote by Gary Shteyngart

Work

Little Failure: A Memoir

This memoir delves into the author's journey from his early life as an immigrant child to his development into a respected writer. The narrative is filled with humor and introspection, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs of assimilation and self-discovery. more

Author

Gary Shteyngart
Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart, born on July 5, 1972, is an American writer known for his focus on immigration, cultural conflicts, and modern urban life, characterized by his humor and satire. more

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“Mina morbröder skämtade och skojade och parodierade sig själva genom att härma min mormors bakvända språkbruk. Efter några timmars vilda upptåg var släkten helt förvandlad och raglade omkring av ordberusning. I deras tillstånd av praktisk surrealism blommade den judiska humorn och försatte mig i en nästan svindlande extas. Jazzpianisten spelade klarinett och ingenjören hanterade det enradiga dragspelet medan de övriga slog på kastrullock och spelade på kam. Med rytmen sprittande i kroppen tvingade jag fram fiolen ur likkistan och lät stråken glida över fårtarmarna. Och jag frambringade toner som endast en tvättäkta neger kunde uppskatta. Det var rytmkänslan som brusade fram utan musikaliska ambitioner. Min högsta önskan var att bli neger.”

“بل وصل الحال فى عهد معاوية أن دخل عليه أحدهم وهو فى مجلس الخلافة فحياه قائلا : السلام عليك أيها الأجير.وعندما اعترض عليه نفر من الجالسين أصر على مقولته متسائلا: ألم يستأجرك الله لرعاية هذه الأمه؟.وهو ذاته الذى هب فى وجه معاوية عندما حبس بعض الهبات المالية عن المسلمين وقال له أمام الجميع: كيف تمنع العطاء وأنه ليس من كدك ولا من كد أبيك ولا من كد أمك؟!”

“Saints, unknown to early Islam, became numerous in Sufism. One of the earliest was a woman, Rabia al-Adawiyya of Basra (717-801). Sold as a slave in youth, she was freed because her master saw a radiance above her head while she prayed. Refusing marriage, she lived a life of self-denial and charity. Asked if she hated Satan, she answered, "My love for God.1eaves me no room for hating Satan." Tradition ascribes to her a famous Sufi saying: "0 God! Give to Thine enemies whatever Thou hast assigned to me of this world's goods, and to Thy friends whatever Thou hast assigned to me in the life to come; for Thou Thyself art sufficient for me.”

“Muslims are assured in the Qur’ân, ‘You have become the best community ever raised up for mankind, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, and having faith in God’ (III, 110). Earnest men have taken this prophecy seriously to the point of trying to mould the history of the whole world in accordance with it. Soon after the founding of the faith, Muslims succeeded in building a new form of society, which in time carried with it its own distinctive institutions, its art and literature, its science and scholarship, its political and social forms, as well as its cult and creed, all bearing an unmistakable Islamic impress. In the course of centuries, this new society spread over widely diverse climes, throughout most of the Old World. It came closer than any had ever come to uniting all mankind under its ideals.”