More Troubling Prescient Each Year

Greenfeld's satirical, often cynical, novel imagines what might become of the U.S. if the most rabid proponents of unfettered capitalism have their way. Needless to say, for the vast majority of people, even, ironically, the handful of beneficiaries, the endgame is quite ugly: massive poverty, perpetual uncertainty and fear, a complete distortion of institutions and values, and a devastated environment. Yet, in the midst of the dystopian suffering and chaos, Greenfeld finds humor because, let's face it, we can laugh at our own stupidity, as long as it is a good long arms distant.

In the not too far off future, the one-percent have gotten their way. They control all the resources, which they exploit ruthlessly. Government, services outsourced and officials reduced to vassals, kowtows to the elites' demands. Religion functions as cheerleading flimflam. The former middle-class roams the land in search of pennies, worse off than serfs of old as they and their families have become rootless wanders. And the world both floods on the coasts and sizzles in the center, an endless wasteland of ravagement.

The novel follows the lives of three families, a mysterious motorcycle-riding woman, an ersatz preacher, and a pair of self-righteous capitalists. Jeb, Bailey, and children Tom and Vanessa, stand-ins for the middle-class, want to live decently, instead of as they do in hastily organized and as quickly rousted Ryanvilles (Paul, perhaps?). Arthur, Gemma, and daughters Ginny and Fanny, once enjoyed the lifestyle of the elite, until Arthur was exposed as a fraudulent charlatan, costing his family everything (but also revealing to them, minus Arthur, what counts in life). Richie, ex Anya, children Ronin and Jinx, are a mix of the cynical (husband), new age (wife), and neglected (children). Rounding out the cast are Pastor Roger, embodying everything most people dislike about shallow televangelists, and the Pepper sisters (Koch brothers in drag?), major capitalists who might just believe in everything they have done. And the star of the novel, the one woman who unites a community, who leads a revolution of sorts against the system, and who proves to be something more than earthbound, a mystic with some extraordinary powers that manifest in the final pages of the novel. All converge on a resurrected community in the Nevada desert as the Pepper sisters prepare to launch fracking to a whole new level of despoilment.

Surprisingly, though it might strike you as sounding a bit cartoonish, Greenfeld's a skillful enough writer to make most of the tale compelling. Categorize this one under "best watch what you wish for.” ( )

More Troubling Prescient Each Year

Greenfeld's satirical, often cynical, novel imagines what might become of the U.S. if the most rabid proponents of unfettered capitalism have their way. Needless to say, for the vast majority of people, even, ironically, the handful of beneficiaries, the endgame is quite ugly: massive poverty, perpetual uncertainty and fear, a complete distortion of institutions and values, and a devastated environment. Yet, in the midst of the dystopian suffering and chaos, Greenfeld finds humor because, let's face it, we can laugh at our own stupidity, as long as it is a good long arms distant.

In the not too far off future, the one-percent have gotten their way. They control all the resources, which they exploit ruthlessly. Government, services outsourced and officials reduced to vassals, kowtows to the elites' demands. Religion functions as cheerleading flimflam. The former middle-class roams the land in search of pennies, worse off than serfs of old as they and their families have become rootless wanders. And the world both floods on the coasts and sizzles in the center, an endless wasteland of ravagement.

The novel follows the lives of three families, a mysterious motorcycle-riding woman, an ersatz preacher, and a pair of self-righteous capitalists. Jeb, Bailey, and children Tom and Vanessa, stand-ins for the middle-class, want to live decently, instead of as they do in hastily organized and as quickly rousted Ryanvilles (Paul, perhaps?). Arthur, Gemma, and daughters Ginny and Fanny, once enjoyed the lifestyle of the elite, until Arthur was exposed as a fraudulent charlatan, costing his family everything (but also revealing to them, minus Arthur, what counts in life). Richie, ex Anya, children Ronin and Jinx, are a mix of the cynical (husband), new age (wife), and neglected (children). Rounding out the cast are Pastor Roger, embodying everything most people dislike about shallow televangelists, and the Pepper sisters (Koch brothers in drag?), major capitalists who might just believe in everything they have done. And the star of the novel, the one woman who unites a community, who leads a revolution of sorts against the system, and who proves to be something more than earthbound, a mystic with some extraordinary powers that manifest in the final pages of the novel. All converge on a resurrected community in the Nevada desert as the Pepper sisters prepare to launch fracking to a whole new level of despoilment.

Surprisingly, though it might strike you as sounding a bit cartoonish, Greenfeld's a skillful enough writer to make most of the tale compelling. Categorize this one under "best watch what you wish for.” ( )

Ok, so, this is another novel about a dystopian future, but this one really hits close to home. This does not feel like a distant future and it feels quite familiar: in this not-so-distant future, climate change hits hard, the real estate collapse seems irreversible, and right-wing libertarian politics has prevailed. As a result, people are defined by their credit score, creating a stratification system with "sub-primes" at the bottom, those with low credit score, having sometimes abandoned their homes whose mortgage they could no longer afford. At the top are the financial class, living in gated communities and getting ready to move to sanctuaries (isolated islands - literal or metaphorical - of wealth, away from the social disintegration).
The subprimes, on the other hand, live from Ryanvilles (get it?) to Ryanvilles. It has a taste of Grapes of Wrath and the dustbowl 2.0. The American economy is now fully privatized and voucherized. Right work is the law. Collective bargaining has been eliminated. And the American economy has switched from service / consumer-based, to energy-producing, mainly, through fracking.
The novel follows a set of familiar character on both sides of the social class divide. At the top, the Pepper sisters (looking a lot like the Koch brothers), energy tycoons, a megachurch pastor who seems a mix of Joel Osteen (prosperity gospel, Christianity capitalism) and Glenn Beck.
At the bottom, the drifter Sagram and a few others. Stuck in the middle, a couple of other families either up or down the social ladder. The confrontation is inevitable.
So far so good. The only thing I really, REALLY, did not like was the mystical, Sagram as healer thing. This was completely unncessary and kinda ruined the end of the story for me. Hence the 4 stars (instead of 5 I would otherwise have given).
That being said, it's a page-turner and a good cautionary tale. ( )

My review for Electric Literature...http://electricliterature.com/the-sounds-of-madness-the-subprimes-by-karl-taro-greenfeld/ ( )

A Donald Trump/Bill Clinton Future

This is a deadly serious book about America's future. It's all here - The Freedom of Education Act, where all schools are operated by corporations and teachers are Temp workers; the elimination of Food Stamps, where the poor receive a one use (lifetime) voucher to fast food; where all road repair has been privatized, so there are more holes than pavement and super-expressways are only available to the 1% - from their gated communities to private airports. The humor is of the "it's better to laugh than cry" variety. This is the Kurt Vonnegut satire, a warning that may be too late. ( )