The Sensualist

Essays on Pure Pleasure

By: Gary Shteyngart

The first collection of personal essays, each a delightfully hilarious pursuit of the sublime and the absurd, from the New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Vera, or Faith

“Shteyngart is one of the best comedians in literature today.”—BookPage

“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. That dexterity speaks to the range of his sympathy and the depth of his attention.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

A frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The Atlantic, Gary Shteyngart is one of the most beloved and viral-y essayists of our day, with nine of his essays appearing in The Best American anthologies. 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 world's largest (and cutest) rodent. He joins 7500 fellow passengers on earth's biggest cruise ship. He schleps around New York City in search of the best martini. He visits wool merchants and tailors in pursuit of the perfect blue suit. He travels to Mexico City, Rome, Naples, Bombay, and Dubai. He sits on his porch in upstate New York. He puts down his phone and looks up at the stars.

To Gary, a sensualist believes the details of one's life are always worth savoring and happiness can be found from looking around. A sensualist isn't a glutton or an aesthete (and certainly not a snob), but someone who embraces the sublime—and the absurd. In The Sensualist Gary takes us across town and across the world, showing us how to appreciate the joys of life, no matter what.