An amusing and thoughtful political tale.
In this novel, a Donald Trump supporter dreams of building the restaurant of the future while others conspire to hold him accountable for the low wages he pays his workers.
George Dealy and his wife, Suzanne, have always had their differences politically. Republican George came from a working-class background and now owns several McDonald’s franchises. Suzanne, whose heritage includes wealthy parents, currently co-chairs the Democratic Committee in their town of Canaandale, New York. On a fateful night in the summer of 2016, George antagonizes his wife by insulting the French economist Thomas Piketty in front of her cultured European friends Hugo and Francesca. Later that evening, when Suzanne mentions a local news story about an impoverished woman who shoplifted, George suggests that if she empathizes so much with the plight of the poor, she should try it herself. Enraged, Suzanne sets out to do just that, hoping to humiliate her husband. Her plans change when she runs into Steve Harris, an underemployed marketer recently separated from his wife. The two bond over a mutual affection for Piketty. Harris sees their meeting as kismet while Suzanne senses another opportunity for revenge on her husband. Meanwhile, Harris’ daughter Cindy is hoping her dad and mother can reconcile and that her boyfriend, a Fight for $15 organizer, would be more supportive. The economic arguments the characters have should be familiar to readers. But their entertaining antics and Hallberg’s (Boon Juster or The Reason for Everything, 2014) snappy prose make for a very engaging read. The only problem with this absorbing story is the foreword, in which the author defines his book as a “social novel,” comparing it to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Jungle, and The Grapes of Wrath. This seems like a misclassification; instead of depicting the struggles of the working class, the tale skillfully shows readers how middle- and upper-class people talk about the rights of workers. (At one point, Hugo tells George: “There is a role for government in helping prevent the worst excesses of an economic system that is fundamentally based on maximizing personal gain. The minimum wage…is only there to protect the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.”) While perhaps bordering on a social novel, Hallberg’s book is delightfully more satirical in tone. It is a relatable and humorous caper and a cogent breakdown and sendup of modern political discourse.
An amusing and thoughtful political tale.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9913770-4-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: The Reason for Everything, LLC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A bold but flawed debut novel.
There’s a mystery, a coming-of-age, abundant melodrama and even more abundant medical lore in this idiosyncratic first novel from a doctor best known for the memoir My Own Country (1994).
The nun is struggling to give birth in the hospital. The surgeon (is he also the father?) dithers. The late-arriving OB-GYN takes charge, losing the mother but saving her babies, identical twins. We are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1954. The Indian nun, Sister Mary Joseph Praise, was a trained nurse who had met the British surgeon Thomas Stone on a sea voyage ministering to passengers dying of typhus. She then served as his assistant for seven years. The emotionally repressed Stone never declared his love for her; had they really done the deed? After the delivery, Stone rejects the babies and leaves Ethiopia. This is good news for Hema (Dr. Hemalatha, the Indian gynecologist), who becomes their surrogate mother and names them Shiva and Marion. When Shiva stops breathing, Dr. Ghosh (another Indian) diagnoses his apnea; again, a medical emergency throws two characters together. Ghosh and Hema marry and make a happy family of four. Marion eventually emerges as narrator. “Where but in medicine,” he asks, “might our conjoined, matricidal, patrifugal, twisted fate be explained?” The question is key, revealing Verghese’s intent: a family saga in the context of medicine. The ambition is laudable, but too often accounts of operations—a bowel obstruction here, a vasectomy there—overwhelm the narrative. Characterization suffers. The boys’ Ethiopian identity goes unexplored. Shiva is an enigma, though it’s no surprise he’ll have a medical career, like his brother, though far less orthodox. They become estranged over a girl, and eventually Marion leaves for America and an internship in the Bronx (the final, most suspenseful section). Once again a medical emergency defines the characters, though they are not large enough to fill the positively operatic roles Verghese has ordained for them.
A bold but flawed debut novel.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-41449-7
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2008
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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