The Sensualist: Adventures in Pure Pleasure

Gary Shteyngart

Nov 2026 · Atlantic Books

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288

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'Gary Shteyngart keeps getting better' Literary Review
'The abiding miracle of Shteyngart's work is that it seems just as timely as a Shouts & Murmurs gag in this week's New Yorker while staying fixed to the timeless absurdity of human life' Washington Post

A frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The Atlantic, Gary Shteyngart is one of the most celebrated and viral essayists of our day. The Sensualist collects his most electric pieces, showcasing why the New York Times describes Gary as 'one of his generation's most exhilarating writers'.

In The Sensualist, Gary chases capybaras, the largest (and cutest) rodent in the world. He joins 7500 fellow passengers on the world's biggest cruise ship. He schleps around New York in search of the best martini, and goes all the way from Turin to Tokyo in pursuit of the perfect blue suit.

To Gary, a sensualist isn't a glutton or an aesthete - and certainly not a snob - but someone who finds the sublime in the details of everyday life. Funny, moving and quietly philosophical, The Sensualist takes us across town and across the world, showing us how to appreciate the joys of life, no matter what.

'Gary Shteyngart keeps getting better' Literary Review 'The abiding miracle of Shteyngart's work is that it seems just as timely as a Shouts & Murmurs gag in this week's New Yorker while staying fixed to the timeless absurdity of human life' Washington Post A frequent contributor to The New Yor...

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About the author

Gary Shteyngart was born in Leningrad in 1972 and came to the United States seven years later. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. His second novel, Absurdistan, was named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review. His novel Super Sad True Love Story won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and became one of the most iconic novels of the decade. His memoir, Little Failure, was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and a New York Times bestseller. His most recent novel, Our Country Friends, was also a New York Times bestseller. His books regularly appear on best-of lists around the world and have been published in thirty countries. He has worked on several television shows, including HBO's Succession and The Regime. He lives in New York with his wife and son.

Gary Shteyngart was born in Leningrad in 1972 and came to the United States seven years later. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. His second novel, Absurdistan, was named one of the 10 Be...

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