Men Like Ours
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Jun 2026 on The Ezra Klein Show.
The general take
Gary Shteyngart speaks highly of "Men Like Ours" by his former Columbia student Bindu Bansinath, praising it for its New Jersey setting and dark humor that manages to be genuinely funny despite its dystopian bleakness. He emphasizes the quality of the work, suggesting it represents the kind of strong writing coming from his students.
About
“Bindu Bansinath's Men Like Ours shows that the Immigrant Novel is not dead yet. Absolutely hilarious, mesmerizing, and disturbing.” --Gary Shteyngart, The Guardian "A genuine and offbeat talent . . . like the writers Ottessa Moshfegh and Tony Tulathimutte, [Bansinath] is dialed in to the aesthetics of disgust." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times From a brilliant new voice in fiction, a darkly comic and moving story about death, life, and community in a South Asian suburban enclave of New Jersey. When Matthew Pillai is found dead, slumped over the wheel of his BMW, the women of Willow Road are roped into the investigation of their friend's death. At the center of the case are the Sharmas--Anita, a widow whose late husband introduced Matthew to the neighborhood, and her boundary-pushing daughter, Leila, who called him Uncle.
Who said what
Gary Shteyngart👍 Recommends
…book recommendations from author's students and mentors
“So I'm going to start with a book by one of my students. I love my students. Such good work. Columbia graduate a couple of years ago. The book is called Men Like Ours. Her name is Bindu Bansinath. I hope I pronounced that correctly. Set in New Jersey. I love anything set in New Jersey. Talk about dystopia, right? That is the best. Really dark humor, but as dark as it is funny.”
The Ezra Klein Show — I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novelat 31:53
Listener reviews
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