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Outraged over the mounting Social Security debt, Cassandra Devine, a charismatic 29-year-old blogger and member of Generation Whatever, incites massive cultural warfare when she politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of citizens, chief among them "an ambitious senator seeking the presidency." With the help of Washington's greatest spin doctor, the blogger and the politician try to ride the issue of euthanasia for Boomers (called "transitioning") all the way to the White House, over the objections of the Religious Right, and of course, the Baby Boomers, who are deeply offended by demonstrations on the golf courses of their retirement resorts.… (more)
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Plus - every single character turned out to be a dud - not one of them was either pure satirical evil or Stepford Wife angelic - just a rather dull dishwater grey. I will buy Buckley's next book - but probably not with the same sense of glee that I bought this one.
This story centers around Cassandra Devine, a PR firm VP and
The plotline is pretty imaginative and fun, and the dialogue is sharp and witty. The interplay between characters of different viewpoints makes for a fairly realistic view, which is essential to the satire. And it is funny; I did still find myself laughing several times over the course of the book, and that's no small feat.
The flaws I found, though, were that the plot felt like it dragged, particularly towards the end, when the presidential campaign is playing out. It also came to feel like it was hard to tell how much time was going by. Also, the characters felt somewhat stagnant, and particularly the relationships between them felt like they didn't change sufficiently for the actions that had gone on. There were points where that aspect felt almost sitcom-esque, even if I did like the characters themselves.
Still, this book was a lot of fun, and a good satire; I wouldn't start reading Buckley from here, but I wouldn't have much of a problem recommending it at all.
Read in January, 2007
Who else could invent a pro-life
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Cassandra Devine is a 29-year-old on a crusade. She feels passionately that her generation should not be bankrupted paying for the retirement benefits of baby boomers. With the government apparently unwilling to propose a workable solution she decides to bring this front and center in American politics as a "meta-issue." With her PR background and her senatorial mouthpiece she can make it happen. Suddenly "voluntary transitionsing," (legalized suicide at the age of 70 for tax breaks and other benefits) is all anyone can talk about. It goes from being a tool for dialogue to being seriously considered by voters.
Buckley has an amazing eye for skewering our culture. The reason he's so funny is that everything he observes is so painfully true! Fans of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report will surely enjoy.
Buckley begins with a provocative and timely issue -- the Social Security crisis. He serves up a "solution" with a Jonathan Swift flair. His characters are humorous, but they start to wear on you after a while. I have to agree 100 percent with those LTers who
June 2007
Buckley continues this trend with a farcical
The book is an enjoyable romp, satirizing Washington politics (especially politicians and paid consultants), the media, and those that try to gain influence with both. Although the book begins with a focus on Social Security, the focus becomes more diluted as the book progresses and incorporates other issues; this is most likely a conscious -- and serious -- reflection of how reform efforts of all types are typically diluted and deconstructed by the federal government.
The "Boomsday" issue -- referring to the time when the Baby Boomers start collecting Social Security -- becomes an issue in the looming presidential race, attracting various types of attention from those running, including the incumbent president, the senator with enough money to self-finance his campaign, and the well-known preacher who's testing the waters.
Occasionally the story drags a little bit, though it is hard to imagine how Buckley could keep up the satire of the book's central outlandish proposition -- a national debate over a plan to give financial incentives to people age 75 and older who voluntarily kill themselves in order to maintain the solvency of Social Security. But Buckley's style is entertaining throughout, filled with wit and sometimes scathing observations of a system that really seems broken.
For 80% of the book, I was captivated and intrigued with where the
But, why did Buckley rush the ending? He builds this great story, then apparently gets bored and dashes off an ending that features the last chapter being a summary of what happened. It's a shame he didn't spend more time with the latter parts of the book.
Overall, however, this is a great book that is definitely worth reading. I look forward to having a new author to read.