“As You Know, Bob...” The Novel

The three stars are for trying to tackle an interesting speculative conceit. But all the little “jokes” aren’t particularly funny or interesting, and over half the characters speak in Wikipedia articles, even at age 13.

I’m not going to tell people not to read any book, but I’m definitely not going to reread this one. ( )

Far too much economics for my taste (and understanding) ( )

Lionel Shriver paints an all-too-credible scenario of a USA going through hyperinflation and societal breakdown in the wake of a renunciation of the national debt and a global flight from the US dollar. From the richest to the poorest, life is turned on its head and existence is eked out in under the new realities of drastic shortages and money being made more worthless as the clock ticks.

The Mandibles were Old Money; a wealthy family already in decline when The Renunciation hit and wiped out pretty much all of their remaining assets. As tenured academic posts disappear and gated retirement communities close the various branches of the family descend on the woefully inadequate house of social worker Florence and her teenage son Willing.

Amidst all of the family's discombobulation, Willing proves to be the most adept at adjusting to the new realities, and gradually asserts a leadership role, although resented by some of his relatives. Willing is "willing" to abandon morals and ethics to do the brutally practical things that will help the family survive. Shriver makes the point that when things go to hell the poor do not feel it because they just assumed that they would get the shaft; only the rich get outraged by having things taken away from them.

Shriver tells a great story here, with some quite biting wit at times. Her dystopian future makes a lot of sense and can be clearly seen as a possible outcome of trends in train today. She drops a few sly references to things like the "Chelsea Clinton Presidency", which help make her vision of the USA's future resonate. There are some strong characters, but I could have done without stupid names like Bing and Goog.

I didn't really like the end of this book. It felt rushed and reminded me of the closing credits of some films, where they give you a one-sentence snippet on what happened to each character. It thought this was a very clumsy and inelegant way to finish what had been a very good read. ( )

Feels all too plausible at the moment, right down to the toilet paper shortage! ( )

Lionel Shriver is another favorite author of mine, and this book did not disappoint; it looks at what could happen if US currency loses its value worldwide, and some of its predictions hit a little close home in our current Covid world. ( )