Rarely do I enjoy reading material assigned for a class. Books from my university's assigned reading list may be thought provoking and informative, but rarely are they entertaining. So I was surprised to catch myself laughing at US!, Chris Bachelder's gruesomely dark satire chronicling the life, death and resurrection of American Socialist author Upton Sinclair.
Bachelder's novel begins with a bold proposition; Upton Sinclair routinely returns to life, crawling out of his grave like a zombie, when America needs him the most only to be subsequently assassinated once he no longer serves his purpose. This flight into magical realism is handled very well and the author only scarcely reminds the readers that Upton Sinclair is a member of the walking dead. Using that as a jumping off point, Bachelder lampoons everything from American celebrity culture to the establishment of literary canon in his trademark dark wit. Though the ever-present aura of death lingers around Bachedler's America, he challenges the reader not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole scenario.
At the end of the day, US! is a heavy hitting political satire that is as thought provoking as it is entertaining. There are two kind of books I stop reading; the ones I stop reading because I have hurled it across the room and the ones I stop reading because it's four in the morning. This book falls squarely in the latter category
Score: 4/5
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