To provide for his family in an America run by libertarianism, a man becomes a living organ farm for a large medical corporation.
In the not-too-distant future, the charismatic Enrico Prima and the Freedom First party have transformed America into a libertarian country where big corporations rule. In order to pay his son’s growing health care expenses in this uncaring society, Jonathan Newman is forced to take a lucrative but horrific job with the medical conglomerate QualLab. As their new “employee,” Jonathan is strapped to a table that will mine and sell his body for fluids and tissues over the next two years, all the while isolating him from his family. Rosell’s debut tosses the reader headfirst into the antiseptic world of Jonathan’s QualLab cell, with effective imagery recalling works like Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. Obviously political, the novel is respectably transparent with its leanings (take its slogan “and life is no tea party”), and even as a partisan cautionary tale the plot is never sacrificed for its message. The novel’s greatest strength is its world-building, hypothesizing the horrors of an unregulated free market and the nuance and gaudiness of such a system. In the spirit of good future histories, the book employs excellent foreshadowing, revealing the cracks in its world gradually, while organically introducing the reader not just to this new America, but also showing the ways in which the country was changed so dramatically. It falls short in places—the novel’s use of footnotes feels uninspired, as much of their information could have been fed naturally into the narrative and better served the story overall. Also the circumstances that allowed Enrico Prima to lead America into a libertarian dystopia are a little too vague, even with liberal suspension of disbelief. There are a few smaller problems—cliché villains and trite sexual situations, but this feels like nitpicking since Rosell’s novel is a consistently fun read with a strong message at its core. Occasionally shallow, but absolutely entertaining.
Pub Date: July 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-1461157458
Page Count: 325
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.
Passion, friendship, heartbreak, and forgiveness ring true in Lovering's debut, the tale of a young woman's obsession with a man who's "good at being charming."
Long Island native Lucy Albright, starts her freshman year at Baird College in Southern California, intending to study English and journalism and become a travel writer. Stephen DeMarco, an upperclassman, is a political science major who plans to become a lawyer. Soon after they meet, Lucy tells Stephen an intensely personal story about the Unforgivable Thing, a betrayal that turned Lucy against her mother. Stephen pretends to listen to Lucy's painful disclosure, but all his thoughts are about her exposed black bra strap and her nipples pressing against her thin cotton T-shirt. It doesn't take Lucy long to realize Stephen's a "manipulative jerk" and she is "beyond pathetic" in her desire for him, but their lives are now intertwined. Their story takes seven years to unfold, but it's a fast-paced ride through hookups, breakups, and infidelities fueled by alcohol and cocaine and with oodles of sizzling sexual tension. "Lucy was an itch, a song stuck in your head or a movie you need to rewatch or a food you suddenly crave," Stephen says in one of his point-of-view chapters, which alternate with Lucy's. The ending is perfect, as Lucy figures out the dark secret Stephen has kept hidden and learns the difference between lustful addiction and mature love.
There are unforgettable beauties in this very sexy story.Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-6964-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An overstuffed tale that can’t decide if it’s a mystery or a romance.
Moriarty’s second novel follows the Doughty clan as they fight to protect family secrets.
The Doughtys became famous more than 70 years ago when Connie and Rose Doughty found a baby on their island home, Scribbly Gum. The baby’s parents, Alice and Jack Munro, vanished, leaving few clues to their whereabouts. The circumstances around the abandonment created a national media sensation. Dubbed “The Baby Munro Mystery,” the case captivated Australians and turned sleepy Scribbly Gum Island into a tourist destination. Connie and Rose jumped at this chance to make money. They offered tours and concessions based on the Munro’s disappearance. Their schemes created a financial windfall for the Doughty family. As the business grew, Connie and Rose managed to keep the younger generations of Doughtys on a tight leash by controlling the purse strings. After setting up this bleak bit of history, Moriarty focuses on the island’s current residents. The Doughty grandchildren and great-grandchildren seem to have prospered in their pristine surroundings, but in reality they are a tortured bunch. The family’s troubles surface when the matriarch, Connie, dies. Infighting breaks out among the relatives, and the careful fabric that bound the family together for years starts to unravel. The comparatively sane and notably saucy Sophie Honeywell is thrown into this den of nutcases—Sophie had only met the dowager a handful of times, when she was dating one of the Scribbly Gum natives, but apparently Sophie made such an impression that Connie bequeathed to her her home. Eager to toss aside Sydney’s stale singles scene for the opportunity to live rent-free on the picturesque island, Sophie joins the fray. Moriarty (Three Wishes, 2004) presents far too many characters (five generations are accounted for), and none of them are likable. The old ladies are cantankerous and the younger folk are addle-brained. Sub-plots involve postpartum depression, gay relationships, mid-life crises and weight-control issues.
An overstuffed tale that can’t decide if it’s a mystery or a romance.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-089068-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
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