A lightweight but amusing farce that pokes fun at political turmoil.
Bender explores the bizarre but familiar world of political optics in this satirical comedy about a public relations specialist for an authoritarian president.
In the near future, the American government operates under the thumb of a dictatorial man-child—a former pop idol referred to exclusively as “Our Leader.” The president’s megalomaniacal impulses are kept in check by his beleaguered staff, particularly by crisis communications manager Blake Hamner (the N is silent). Blake has made a name for himself as the PR wunderkind who paved the way for Our Leader’s electoral victory, but two years of placating the public and the erratic president have left him questioning his choices. After one of Our Leader’s robot attack dogs runs amok and mauls two people, Blake suddenly finds himself in an escalating series of crises he can’t escape: His sadistic intern is promoted above him, a secret government operation is revealed to the public, and a masked revolutionary is inciting a rebellion against the president. Desperate to regain control of his life and maintain his strained marriage amid the chaos, Blake employs increasingly ridiculous tactics with disastrous results, all while promising himself that one day he’ll quit his job. In a tale that’s reminiscent of political farces such as the HBO TV series Veep, Bender employs a smooth, amusing, and straightforward prose style that’s briskly paced. The story is frequently absurd and often doubles down on the buffoonish ineptitude of Our Leader and the people with whom he surrounds himself. Its tone is irreverent, and readers looking for a quick chuckle will likely enjoy Bender’s winking comedy, which is punctuated with genuinely sweet, sincere moments. That said, it uses its trappings of dystopia and revolution as mere window dressing, so readers who may be looking for incisive political satire or an insightful examination of government ethics should look elsewhere.
A lightweight but amusing farce that pokes fun at political turmoil.Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 205
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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