Vera, or Faith

Praise

“This irresistible little book is both a moving jeu d’esprit and a pocket-size war against cliché—Vladimir Nabokov’s Pnin meets Daisy Ashford’s eternal 1890 classic The Young Visiters. You’ll root for ten-year-old Vera, future woman of STEM, as she makes her way through a post-post-racial, AI-enabled America in search of her truth, or at least some decent Korean food. I loved it.”—Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

“Shteyngart’s new novel, his first since 2021’s Our Country Friends, is the story of a very volatile family in a very volatile America, filtered through the eyes of a child, who just wants to be loved (the most Shteyngartian of motivations, and the most human).”—Literary Hub, one of the “Most Anticipated Books of 2025”

“Vera, or Faith attests to Gary Shteyngart’s magic ability to write in multiple emotional octaves, his gift for both sharp-edged humor and heartfelt tenderness. Bonus: the novel also features one of the most captivating computer/robot characters since WALL-E.”—Michiko Kakutani

“Vera, or Faith is very funny, very sad, very sharp, and completely delightful—peak Shteyngart!”—Elif Batuman, Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Idiot

“In its swirls of emotion, its humor, its pathos, and the unsparing humanity of its vision, Vera, or Faith is like some fabulous, hitherto-unknown creature that’s been let out of its bottle and set free. It begins to seem that there’s nothing Gary Shteyngart can’t do.”—Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Day and The Hours

“Vera, or Faith is a novel that you can read in one sitting that will stay with you forever. Gary Shteyngart’s sentences are works of art, and his humor feels medicinal at this turbulent hour in our fractured America. Vera instantly became one of my favorite child narrators, and her lucid bewilderment is by turns poignant, funny, and wise. I loved this heartfelt and vulnerable exploration of the secret cargo that Vera must carry, the detective work that she must do to piece together her social reality and family history, and the howl of grief and love at this novel’s heart.”—Karen Russell, Pulitzer Prize finalist for Swamplandia!

“I consider myself a Gary Shteyngart superfan, but he has outdone himself with the charming, hilarious, and deeply moving Vera, or Faith. Vera is everything I want in a character—funny, curious, wise, and wildly original. She’ll make you laugh, break your heart, and fill you with hope, all at the same time.​ She’s easily one of my favorite characters​ in fiction, and this is now one of my favorite novels.”—Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek

“A beautiful, extraordinary, completely brilliant book that is so humane it makes me feel more human.”—Joe Weisberg, creator of The Americans