Boomsday
by Christopher Buckley
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Book Reviews of Boomsday
Book Review: No "Smoking"
Summary: 2 Stars
Christopher Buckley's title as the master of the "nothing-sacred" school of satire is as steady as ever with his latest novel, 2007's "Boomsday". But black humor only goes so far without interesting characters or story.
Cassandra Devine is 20-something, beautiful, and has something of a chip on her shoulder. High-profile PR flack by day, Red Bull-swilling blogger at night, she sets in motion a taxpayer revolt like no other. Her target: Baby Boomers about to enter retirement and force working America to pay for their martini-soaked Social-Security-funded dotage. Her recommended solution: Kill them all!
Actually, her recommendation for what she euphemistically terms "transitioning" would work on a voluntary basis, and her actual commitment to the idea, like much else in this book, is left vague. "Boomsday" lacks focus in a lot of ways. It seems to be a conscious revisiting of the theme of his best-known novel, "Thank You For Smoking", with a Washington spinmeister pushing death on the masses. Only this time the story gets away from Buckley rather quickly.
Buckley still crafts engaging prose, presenting Cassandra's central thesis with memorable pungency: "Our grandparents grew up in the Depression and fought in World War Two. They were the so-called Greatest Generation. Our parents, the Baby Boomers, dodged the draft, snorted cocaine, made self-indulgence a virtue. I call them the Ungreatest Generation."
But when you make it past the snarky set ups and whip-smart rejoinders, you find little in the way of a story. Buckley's dialogue works for a while, until you realize everyone has the same clever-preppy voice. Cassandra whines about the mess of her life even as she beds a Senator, lands on the cover of Time magazine, and suffers no fallout from her controversial position. Even the shady boss of her PR firm stands beside her, for reasons never made clear. If this is supposed to make us hate Cassandra's elders for holding her down, it's not working.
Maybe Buckley thought of this, and was aiming to shoot Cassandra down at some point, the way he did "Smoking's" anti-hero Nick Naylor. Only he doesn't pull the trigger. He doesn't resolve her story in any way, nor any of the other subplots here, such as an evangelist who discovers sex, a tech-billionaire who craves a Cabinet post, or a President who uses domestic espionage to extend his unpopular administration. They are instead tossed up for evanescent amusement, then conveniently forgotten.
"Thank You For Smoking" isn't a classic; it's a bit facile and lacks the sense of humanity, however dyspeptic, that marks the work of satirists like Swift or Waugh. But its smart narrative mechanics and Naylor's character arc make it a veritable classic beside "Boomsday's" mentality of "whatever".
Read "Boomsday", if you must, for the relevant argument on Social Security and with the understanding Buckley can, and has, done better.
Book Review: Kill the Baby Boomers?
Summary: 4 Stars
If I were to rate Boomsday based on its insightful analysis of politics or social trends, or for its well developed characters, I'd only give it three stars. But it is such a hilarious, cynical and entertaining romp through the corrupt swampland of Washington D.C. that I had to give it four.
Christopher Buckley's satirical novel is named after the day when the Baby Boom generation starts to retire. I'm not sure if the word is his invention (and I'm too lazy to Google it right now) or not, but the concept is that younger workers are going to have to pay higher taxes to fund the Boomer's social security checks. Cassandra, the closest thing to a protagonist among the novel's motley array of amoral schemers, is a twenty-nine year old, ex-military PR genius who sets off a near revolution by writing some inflammatory blogs on the issue.
Cass works for a borderline sleazy (well, maybe not so borderline really) PR firm run by a Boomer (everyone in this novel is characterized by their generation, a device that lends itself towards oversimplification, of course) named Terry. During her stint in the army, she became involved with Randy Jepperson (who is constantly reminded that he's no Jefferson), an opportunistic Congressman with presidential aspirations. The three scheme to form a platform that will galvanize younger voters in anti-Boomer anger to vote Randy into the White House. Cass comes up with a rather draconian solution -give Boomer's tax credits if they kill themselves at age seventy.
Boomsday, though obviously a satire, tackles a real issue, though in a rather superficial manner. In this way, it's a bit of a disappointment. The big issues raised by Buckley seem to fizzle out as the novel progresses, reduced to mere fodder for the humor. Yet the book is funny enough that this isn't a total loss. Another criticism is that the characters are not really developed beyond the point of being spokespersons for their generations, causes and lobbies. Oddly enough, the most complex character in the novel is probably Gideon Payne, a fundamentalist Christian preacher who naturally opposes Cass's bizarre solution to the social security problem. While Cass,Terry and Randy spend most of the novel plotting strategy, Gideon goes through something of a moral crisis.
Its rapid pace, funny, snappy dialogue and overall absurdism make Boomsdsay an enjoyable read from start to finish. It's fun in a trashy way, similar to the more entertaining nighttime soaps like Dallas and Melrose Place, where almost everyone is devious and selfish but you can't help but like them anyway. If you have strong political or religious convictions, you might be better off not reading Boomsday. It is likely to offend you, and at best you'll find it trivial and irresponsible. If, however, you are already a total cynic about politics and you like to laugh, I'd definitely recommend it.
Book Review: A riotous political novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (4/07)
"Boomsday" is a hilarious look at America's political scene in the near future, when Baby Boomers are all set to retire while the current generation pays for it. The demise of Social Security is a ripe subject, and Christopher Buckley spins it to the utmost degree in this political satire. Cassandra Devine is a young public relations executive in Washington, DC who comes up with a crazy idea for solving the national Social Security debt by suggesting that all Boomers sign up for "Voluntary Transitioning" at the age of seventy. By this she means choose euthanasia as a way to save the younger generation the burden of paying for their retirement years. She puts this idea out on her blog and starts riots all over the country. A Junior Senator from Massachusetts latches onto the idea and a wild presidential race begins with "Transitioning" as a core subject of debate.
Christopher Buckley is a skilled writer who obviously knows his subject matter. He has written a dozen books, all of a political nature, with his best-known book being the national best-seller and now movie "Thank You for Smoking." Buckley keeps the action moving and the politics from being dry and boring with his witty characters and over the edge storylines.
The fun of this book is that it is for everyone. The younger generation will relate to Cassandra and her world of blogging and Blackberries. The baby boomers will get a kick out of this book as long as they are not too sensitive to being referred to in terms such as "Wrinklies." As a Generation Xer, I felt like I was in the perfect position; just sitting in the middle watching it all whirl around me. But that is what we slackers are good at.
I particularly enjoyed Cassandra as the heroine. She was tough, sexy, smart, and funny. She never gave up on her convictions. In typical DC style, when everyone started stabbing each other in the back to climb the political ladder, she joined right in and got her own foothold.
I must admit I am not a big follower of the political issues, and I was worried this book would be a little over my head and bogged down with current events. I was pleasantly surprised. "Boomsday" is an exciting read that makes the circus of Capitol Hill a fun one. With Christopher Buckley as my political advisor, I could find myself paying attention to the news. I look forward to reading more books by Buckley.
Book Review: The Funniest Book About Fiscal Policy
Summary: 5 Stars
Just out this week, Christopher Buckley once again proves his prowess for political satire. The title of Boomsday refers to the impending fiscal crisis coming from the retirement of the Baby Boomers. This will cause strain on the Social Security system and Medicare. The protagonist of the novel, Cassandra Devine, spin doctor by day, blogger by night (with the help of Red Bull) has had a lot of troubles in her young life, but rallies the "Whatever" Generation to cause when Congress once again places the Boomers financial cost onto post Gen-Xers.
Buckley once again provides laughs at the expense of those in power, and presents a masterful understanding of politics. Overall, I enjoyed Boomsday more than Florence of Arabia, but not as much as Thank You For Smoking. I think the reason for this is that the character of Nick Naylor in Smoking is just utterly captivating, and it is his character that drives the story.
Cassandra Devine is perhaps not as fully realized as Naylor, but is still someone the reader can latch onto. As a blogger myself, I assume people might expect me to make some comment as to Cassandra's hobby as a blogger. Well it's pretty spot on, except I personally don't write into the wee hours of the day blogging. It's good in that she's a blogger, but she isn't sitting home in her pajamas all day, and thus perhaps reflects most bloggers who are regular (or semi-regular people). The character also makes reference to not having post times at odd hours of the morning. That I find especially funny, as I have done that on more than one occasion.
Randy Jepperson, the other main character in the book is interesting. A Senator from Massachusetts, and it isn't clear whether or not Buckley wants us to like him or not. Mostly in his dealings with Cassandra does this come out. You end up liking him when she does, and hating him when she does.
In the end, Boomsday is highly entertaining, and much funnier than one would expect a book dealing with the looming fiscal crisis as a plot device to be. Highly recommended.
Book Review: Cruder and blunter than Buckley's best, but still on-target
Summary: 3 Stars
One gets the strong sense, reading Christopher Buckley's satirical fiction, that his books contain more truth about how Washington D.C. really works than anything that appears in the newspaper, newsmagazines, or the many political tomes cranked out by inside-the-Beltway pundits.
"Boomsday" is an up-to-the-moment political novel that skewers many of Buckley's (and Buckley fans' - myself included) favorite targets: two-faced hypocritical politicians without an ethical or ideological bone in their body, who will say and do anything to get elected ad infinitum (or in other words 99% of the U.S.'s politicians); the entire Washington D.C. political system, power distribution, and process; the religious right; the loony left; and the citizen voters who "petition the government for a redress of grievances", or more accurately try to get as much federal largess steered into their own pocketbooks as possible.
Coming under special fire in "Boomsday" are the baby boomers who will soon be bankrupting Social Security. Buckley is to be commended for focusing on this very serious problem. He has given it more thought and attention than most Washington D.C. politicians, with the exception of George W. Bush, who was widely vilified for suggesting any changes at all to the status quo - and hence we continue today at full-speed, heading for the cliff. "Boomsday" presents a scenario that would delight a fiscal conservative or libertarian: an uprising among young working class people who tire of the increasing tax burden to further enrich the retirements of wealthy boomers. Buckley quickly takes it to somewhat absurd lengths, stimulating both thought and laughter along the way.
My primary reason for the middle-of-the-road rating is that Buckley's humor is less subtle, cruder and blunter than usual. He is at his best when he is at his wryest, as he is in my two favorite Buckley books: "Thank You for Smoking" and "God is My Broker". I will continue to read Buckley, hoping that someday he can produce that third masterpiece.