Some creative writers believe that stories carry a responsibility. The duty to entertain, of course, but also to educate, challenge and question the character(s) of the most powerful, the wealthiest. I am one of them. As an author, screenwriter, stage, and film actor, Iāve always believed in using stories as a platform to convey positively disruptive ideas, to highlight potentially destructive ideologies, to combat imperialism, expansionism, racism, and other toxic practices while delivering a neutral message devoid of political affiliations and emotional responses with no logical ground. Not unlike my latest novel, America is a Zoo, I am the product of a passionate soul, one whoās apolitical by design, yet political by conviction.
Gripping. Frantic. Dark. Uncomfortable. And many more adjectives.Sensation Machinesis an explosive, uncompromising satirical novel disguised as a crime thriller. It offers the best of both worlds: a sustained beat, a visual journey, and the questioning of our very own significance in a post-Trump America, one that closely resembles ours.Ā
Adam Wilsonās 2020 novel is a prime example of art being used to fulfill a perceived social responsibility. It follows the journey of a Brooklyn-based couple fighting to salvage their marriage. Connected by a string of murders, market crashes, and shady employment opportunities, they begin plunging into the gargantuan mouth of a rabbit holeā¦
A razor-sharp, darkly funny, and deeply human rendering of a Post-Trump America in economic free fall Ā Michael and Wendy Mixner are a Brooklyn-based couple whose marriage is failing in the wake of a personal tragedy. Michael, a Wall Street trader, is meanwhile keeping a secret: he lost the coupleās life savings when a tanking economy caused a major market crash. And Wendy, a digital marketing strategist, has been hired onto a data-mining project of epic scale, whose mysterious creator has ambitions to solve a national crisis of mass unemployment and reshape Americaās social and political landscapes. When Michaelās best friendā¦
Satires are mostly identified with laughter and larger-than-life figures moving in equally absurd settings with thisā¦ theatrical tone used to amplify, highlight very realĀ issues. But satirical novels also demand change. Chuck Palahniukās novel,Adjustment Day, is both fun and challenging, and expertly executed.Ā
What is it about? A mysterious blue-black book carries directives leading to an āAdjustment Day.ā It is shared among private circles, triggering a countdown to an earth-shattering schism.Ā
Brilliant, layered, and complex, a must-read: a nightmarish vision of our twisted and fractured societal body.
Adjustment Day is an ingenious darkly comic work in which Chuck Palahniuk does what he does best: skewer the absurdities in our society. Geriatric politicians bring the nation to the brink of a third world war to control the burgeoning population of young males, while working-class men dream of burying the elites. Adjustment Day's arrival makes real the logical conclusion of every separatist fantasy, alternative fact, and conspiracy theory lurking in the American psyche.
A witchy paranormal cozy mystery told through the eyes of a fiercely clever (and undeniably fabulous) feline familiar.
Iām Juno. Snow-white fur, sharp-witted, and currently stuck working magical animal control in the enchanted town of Crimson Cove. My witch, Zandra Crypt, and I only came here to find her missingā¦
A group of animals rises against their owner, a dysfunctional farmer with a penchant for alcohol. They build a parallel society on the farmās grounds, led by a couple of charismatic pigs and seven commandments.Ā
One of my biggest influences is George Orwell. Animal Farmwas to be expected here: it is a cornerstone of satirical novelsā legacy. But beyond the praises, the novelās broad coverage and reach in academic settings, Orwellās massive brand recognitionā¦What makes Animal Farm such an amazing exercise in storytelling? One word: timeless. Originally written to mock the former Soviet bloc,Animal Farm shapeshifts based on the readerās perspective. It is a tale of betrayal that would fit within our current framework, a stress test performed on alliances and friendships, the demonstrated failures of politics as we know it. All far too relatable, to this day.Ā
And this is what makes Animal Farm unique, precious, dense, and witty: it is a patchwork of boundaryless themes woven into the thick fabric of a sharp narrative.
The perfect edition for any Orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover Orwell's classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist Shepard Fairey
'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.'
Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, theā¦
In an age of codified and tropey stories with uninspired characters and safe plots designed to satisfy whatever market drivers the Big Five publishers are pushing, Trump Sky Alpha gives me hope. It is not about aesthetics, or one-dimensional coffee shop, shirtless Brads, or conforming political views. It is bonkers, aggressive, and hilarious.Ā
In the aftermath of a nuclear war initiated by Trump, the āOrange Manā, an American journalist, finds herself in a containment zone, documenting the defunct internetās wild humorous takes: viral memes and twitterās heated exchanges. The journalistās assignment soon uncovers references to an enigmatic figure, only known as Birdcrash, one who might know how to stop Trump from flying in a luxurious zeppelin for "the very best people who look terrific.ā Yes, you read that right.Ā
A novel on the political madness of our time and the Internetās deep workings, by the author of The Infernal
One year after the president has plunged the world into nuclear war, a journalist takes refuge in the Twin Cities Metro Containment Zone. On assignment, she documents internet humor at the end of the world, hoping along the way to find the final resting place of her wife and daughter. What she uncovers, hidden amid spiraling memes and twitter jokes in an archive of the internetās remnants, are references to an enigmatic figure known only as Birdcrash, who may holdā¦
This is the fourth book in the Joplin/Halloran forensic mystery series, which features Hollis Joplin, a death investigator, and Tom Halloran, an Atlanta attorney.
It's August of 2018, shortly after the Republican National Convention has nominated Donald Trump as its presidential candidate. Racial and political tensions are rising, and soā¦
If I had to use one word to describe The Sellout, it would be āchargedā.Ā
The Sellout tells the story of a young black man who lost his father to a police shooting. As he attempts to cope with this new reality, his hometown is gradually fading into oblivion. To salvage whatās left of it, he decides on the craziest plan: reinstating slavery. An action that will drag our protagonist to the Supreme Courtās doorsteps.
Unconventional and wild, The Sellout is one of the best social commentaries on Americaās racial issues youāll ever read. I guarantee it, I stand behind it.
'Outrageous, hilarious and profound.' Simon Schama, Financial Times
'The longer you stare at Beatty's pages, the smarter you'll get.' Guardian
'The most badass first 100 pages of an American novel I've read.' New York Times
A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game.
Born in Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in his father's racially chargedā¦
America is a Zoois a thrilling cautionary tale on the rampant corruption plaguing U.S. politics.Ā
Shadowy characters of questionable ethics and morals (well, politicians and government officials) are targeted by a mysterious organization with capabilities beyond anything known to men.Ā They begin an otherworldly transformation, trapped inside the U.S. Capitol, as the world outside begins rising against its oppressors, in the wake of a loudrevolution.
In an underground coal mine in Northern Germany, over forty scribes who are fluent in different languages have been spared the camps to answer letters to the deadāletters that people were forced to answer before being gassed, assuring relatives that conditions in the camps were good.Ā
