One scene in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story that I have found particularly dystopic is sadly a very realistic occurrence. On pages 246 to 248, Lenny is fleeing Staten Island with Eunice, Noah, and Amy, after receiving orders from Joshie to return to Manhattan as soon as possible. There are two ferries departing Staten Island, and Noah and Amy board a different ferry than Lenny and Eunice. While Lenny is communicating to his “American Mama” Nettie Fine that he is on a ferry to Manhattan and his friend Noah is on a different ferry but they are both safe, she asks Lenny which ferry he is on. This should alert him to an incoming problem, but he doesn’t see the red flag. Almost immediately after Lenny tells Nettie Fine which ferry he is on, the opposing ferry is blown up in the water.

The image I have chosen to represent this scene is a photograph taken of New York City on September 11^th, 2001. The twin towers, located in lower Manhattan, were hit by airplanes as part of a terrorist attack on the city. Many were killed, even more were injured, and the city was shut down for weeks. This event hits particularly close to home for me, literally and physically, as I was living in New York City when this occurred. Nobody could believe what they were watching on the news, that something like this could actually happen. For months after 9/11, New Yorkers were scared to leave their homes, worried that the city was going to be targeted and hit again. As I was reading this scene of Super Sad True Love Story, I knew one of the ferries was going to be blown up. I got a gut wrenching feeling and immediately thought back to 9/11. I don’t remember this specifically, but my mother has told me that I knew something bad was happening in New York, even though she hadn’t told me. I was only 4 years old; I wasn’t supposed to know that. On this one day in New York’s history, the beloved city appeared to be a dystopic nightmare.