Set in a near future which given the state of global politics is coming nearer all the time, Vera is a ten year old who is trying to make sense of everything and hold her world and family together. Vera suffers from anxiety, which to a lot of the adults in her life seems inexplicable, but to Vera, with her spiralling to do lists and the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, does not seem inexplicable at all. Told through Vera's eyes this is the story of the pressures of modern life filtered through the lens of a child who is 'only ten.' Beautiful, sometimes funny, often devastatingly sad, this is brilliant.

This is great fun - excellent humour and a good story too.

Our main character is Vera, 10 years old, super smart and - because of that - having difficulties making friends.

One day she overhears her father (a progressive intellectual of sorts and pretty insufferable, but a great character) explain to her stepfather that her biological mother has cancer, making Vera want to meet her at all cost.

The novel is set in the near future United States, perhaps 10 years from now - AI plays a much greater role in everyday life and politically the extreme right has been doing well in implementing all kinds of idiotic policies.

I had never read Gary Shteyngart before, but - in his own words - he is a writer "we might need to take seriously".

This is the kind of fiction I love to read: smart, well-written, darkly funny yet poignant. I blazed through ‘Vera, or Faith’ in just a few hours, it’s such an enjoyable book and so absorbing. It helps that it has a lightning-quick pace, with not a single unnecessary word or scene, and at 256 pages, it’s a fairly short read.

Telling a story from the perspective of a child is always a risk, but for this story, it’s perfect, and the author pulls it off faultlessly. I love ten-year-old Vera. She feels so real and relatable—as are all the characters who surround her. I can still see the image of Vera’s father crying in “Daddy’s Little Pool”, aka the hot tub at their summer house.

The dystopian setting feels very real, too. Unfortunately, I can imagine just this kind of scenario occurring in America within the next decade, with the “Five-Three” amendment granting enhanced votes to “exceptional Americans” (read: those who can trace their ancestry back to white settlers who arrived pre-Revolutionary War and who were not slaves), and with menstrual cycle checking upon entry and exit to certain states as a way of controlling women’s reproductive choices. This makes the book particularly insightful and important, as it invites the reader to consider how the future might look for children like Vera if the adults of today don’t recognise the threat we all face and do something to stop such a decline from democracy.

The struggle with identity, particularly around ethnicity, is something that a lot of readers will relate to as well. As is the amount of pressure placed on children nowadays.

‘Vera, or Faith’ is a great choice for anyone looking for an entertaining read with a lot of heart and important underlying themes. With its wonderful characters and accessible writing style, it’s also great for anyone looking to dip their toes in Literary Fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Gary Shteyngart and Atlantic Books for the ARC. My review will be posted on Instagram, Amazon UK, Goodreads and The StoryGraph near or on the publication date.

Set in a near-future America grappling with a chilling “5/3 law” that would give immigrants less voting power, Vera, or Faith follows a sharp, inquisitive young girl who suspects her father may be a Russian spy. Vera doesn’t quite fit in; she’s Russian and South Korean, lives with her white American stepfamily, and confides mostly in her AI chess-playing companion. The story unfolds through her limited, often fragmented perspective, which gives it a haunting, sometimes whimsical feel. While we don’t always get the full picture, I couldn’t help but love Vera. Shteyngart weaves timely political commentary into a tender, funny, and unsettling coming-of-age story.