An enjoyably irreverent depiction of political alarmism.
In Pepper’s novel, a young woman, wracked by anxiety over the earth’s environmental degradation, becomes the poster child for a newly named nervous disorder.
New Yorker Missy Mayburn Crowe is so anxious about the effects of climate change on the planet that she develops a nervous twitch in her right arm—a tic she finds embarrassing. In addition to fear, she’s freighted with feelings of guilt, as she hails from a wealthy family that made its money in the energy business; in fact, she nominally works for the Crowe Power Company as the vice president of strategy at its green subsidiary, CroFusion. Her psychologist, Dr. Iz, a charlatan, immediately sees opportunity in Missy’s condition and spontaneously invents a new disorder, “climatosis,” which he characterizes as an affliction that threatens to become a “mass psychogenic illness.” Practically overnight, Missy becomes—as her mother, Lindsey Harper Crowe, the chairperson of the company, puts it—the “global mascot” for the new ailment. The president of the United States, Dewey Fenwick, declares a National Climatosis Emergency, authorizes the Defeat Climatosis Act, and even establishes a Federal Climatosis Commission. The Chinese government is equally enthusiastic to do its part, but only as a means to push the United States into economically self-destructive acts. Pepper’s plot is satirically sharp and wittily portrays how opportunistic cynicism can drive fearmongering, and the hypocrisy of those who publicly express their fears while privately refusing to curb reckless, indulgent behavior. Occasionally, the novel hits a didactic, sermonizing note; for example, the principal role of Missy’s friend, Blair, seems to be to provide a counterpoint to Missy’s intemperance, but her characterization (“I’m a skeptic, alright? So many of these climate horror stories seem like the same bullshit they’ve been peddling for years”) also involves a fair amount of preachiness. However, this is a generally thoughtful work that’s edifying, entertaining, and often very funny.
An enjoyably irreverent depiction of political alarmism.Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 979-8986262949
Page Count: 220
Publisher: North Cove Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sweet bedtime story.
A boy and his stuffed bear head into the woods.
Having captured readers’ attention with Born a Crime (2016), his bestselling memoir of growing up in South Africa, comedian and television host Noah has written a parable about decision-making. As he puts it in a brief prologue, “It’s about disagreements and difference—but it’s also about how we bridge those gaps and find what matters most, whether we’re parents or kids, neighbors, gnomes, or political adversaries. It’s a picture book, but it’s not a children’s book. Rather, it is a book for kids to share with parents and for parents to share with kids.” With plentiful illustrations by Hahn and in language aimed at young listeners, it tells the story of a small boy so impatient to start his Saturday adventures that he rebels against the rules of his household and heads out without brushing his teeth or making his bed, despite the reminders of his stuffed bear, Walter. “We can’t just run away,” protests the bear. “Your mother will miss you. And where will we sleep? And who will make us waffles?” “We’ll build our own house,” the boy responds. “And we’ll grow our own waffles!” From there, the pair go on their walkabout, encountering a garden gnome, a pair of snails, and a gang of animated coins who have lessons to offer about making choices. Though the author suggests in the introduction that adult readers might enjoy the book on their own, those looking for a follow-up to the memoir or a foray into adult fiction should be warned that this is not that book.
A sweet bedtime story.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593729960
Page Count: 128
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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