Boomsday by Christopher Buckley Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Boomsday
Book Review: Articulate, funny and witty read on current sham of the Social Security System,
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first book of his I've read, and now find myself waiting for his next novel to come out. It was dead on in that it shows the ridiculous inner-workings of DC and how the games and conspiracies played at that level of gov't are prolific.
Very easy and fun read...would definitely recommend it to anyone who's even the slightest bit dismayed by the current incompetence of the Bush administration.
Book Review: Avoid The Audiobook
Summary: 5 Stars
Great story and well developed characters.
However, the audiobook reading by Janeane Garofalo must be avoided.
A shrill voice that places urgency in every sentence.
It seems like every sentence should end with an exclamation point.
"She went to sleep! She woke up! She brushed her teeth!", and so on.
I listen to about one audiobook a week, and as a result of this one, I will be looking closely to see who is doing the reading from now on! (Exclamation point).
Book Review: Beware Mr. Congressman because Buckley's got you in his crosshairs
Summary: 4 Stars
If you like the Daily Show, this book will be right up your alley. It's a great satire on the current political scene. No one is safe from the shrapnel exploding from Mr. Buckley's words. Like John Stewart, Mr. Buckley holds up a magnifying glass to show how our political system works in real life. Even though it is meant to be a comical novel, there is more honesty here then you would ever get from the New York Times or Fox News. I've enjoyed most of Mr Buckley's novels and I'm glad he has brought back his A game as his previous novel, Florence of Arabia, was a big drop off.Book Review: Book on CD
Summary: 5 Stars
I was given this book on CD and began listening to it on a long drive to a conference. I have never laughed so hard! I was disappointed when the drive was over, and I wasn't done listening yet... The book is read by Ganine Garofalo, and she does an amazing job with lots of different voices. It is funny for multiple reasons: similarities to our current politics, brash honesty, unforgettable characters! STFU! <- very funny part of the book...Book Review: Boom! Goes the Dynamite
Summary: 4 Stars
Amid the problems of the Iraq war, the collapsing housing market, global warming, oil dependency, terrorism, and immigration is another problem that America's been on course for since 1937 when FDR created the Social Security Administration as part of his Depression relief programs. Unfortunately, with the government's characteristic short-sightedness the Social Security program essentially operates as a pyramid scheme with the people at the bottom paying for the retirees at the top. That was all fine except for the Baby Boom generation born from 1946-1964.
The "Boomers" are not only one of the most populous generations in American history, but in their short-sightedness have run up huge national debts and failed to produce enough offspring to cover their Social Security payments. Hence, conventional wisdom dictates that one day the whole pyramid scheme will collapse on a date known as "Boomsday."
Fortunately for all of us, Christopher Buckley's novel is far more interesting than those dry facts I've just presented. The story revolves around Cassandra Devine, a regular Supergirl being young, blond, and vice-president of a public relations firm without using her body to get ahead. Her father squandered her college money to start up a software company in the '90s, so Cassandra entered the Army, where she met Congressman Randy Jepperson on a fact-finding tour in Bosnia. Jepperson commandeers Cass's vehicle, driving it into a minefield that blows off his leg while leaving her relatively unharmed. Fast forward about ten years to where Cass is leading a Blogger revolution to fix the Social Security program without burdening the younger generation with high taxes. Her solution is to encourage Boomers to kill themselves at age 70, sort of a voluntary "Logan's Run." She finds an unlikely ally in now-Senator Jepperson, who champions the "Transition" program to garner attention for himself and a presidential run. But the proposal brings Cass and Jepperson into conflict with a southern minister named Gideon Payne (who might have run his mother off a cliff), the president of the United States, and Cass's now-wealthy father. It all leads to the most bizarre presidential campaign in history.
The main problem with the book is that this campaign is covered in all of sixty pages. I think we all know that especially now days these campaigns seem interminable. So it feels like a lot of build-up only to get let down by a rushed ending.
However, Buckley's story is witty and provocative. It serves as the same kind of "meta-issue" as Cass's Transition program in that it gets the reader to consider yet another of the many, many problems facing Americans in the 21st Century. You might not agree with the facts and opinions presented--especially if you're a Boomer ready to retire--but it does get you thinking about not only the problem with Social Security, but the government in general.
To me it was kind of like Tom Wolfe Lite, with a quick pace and without the kind of minute details that make Wolfe's novels twice as long. The downside of that is the characters feel more shallow than Wolfe's. As well, "Boomsday" is a novel that clearly exists only in the immediate moment of its conception with its references to blogging, Google, iPods, and "Desperate Housewives" and lacks the kind of in-depth anatomy of society that makes "Bonfire of the Vanities" relevant twenty years later. Which is to say that in five years no one will care about "Boomsday" the novel. Boomsday the real thing on the other hand might be another story.
But then most of us don't buy new books because we want to read them five years later--that's what the "classics" are for. So why not give this witty, insightful book a try? Best of all, you can look smart at cocktail parties (or whatever social gathering) by being able to intelligently discuss this important issue.
That is all.