Review by mayaellenson -- Final Notice by Van Fleisher
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mayaellenson
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Review by mayaellenson -- Final Notice by Van Fleisher
[Following is a volunteer review of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a staggering political satire, unveiling a wide range of social issues of post-modern America. As a former management consultant, Van Fleisher had spent a lot time abroad, living currently in California and the South of France. His knowledge of foreign cultures allows him to look at his own country from a broader perspective.
A reader is about to discover a gripping novel of suspense, morphing into a mind-boggling reportage. In this fast-paced political satire, the author’s verbal camera focuses on various social problems, encompassing the main and secondary characters with their set of values and lifestyles. Set in the nearest future, the novel puts a spotlight on the present-day existential challenges. The major leitmotif of the novel is a deeply unsettling question: “What Would You Do If You Knew For Certain That You Had One Week To Live?"
The action spins around a sport/health watch, invented by a high-tech genius, Vijay Patel. The watch not only monitors with unmatched accuracy blood chemistry of the body, but even reports the time of death in the course of 10, 20, and 30 days. The protagonists, portrayed in the book, live in different states and belong to diverse social milieu. What these people have in common is the sport watch and the guns. The two create quite an explosive cocktail, detonating periodically as the story evolves.
After receiving the fatal notice, some protagonists rush to put things in order, complete their final chores, and donate to charities. Conversely, the others burst into killings, wearing jointly the sport watch and the firearms. Sadly, even the most intellectual individuals are not immune to destructive impulses as they face their imminent end. Yet it’s not all too bad. Auspiciously, there are characters who are able to transcend in the time of crisis.
Vince and Trudy, for instance, become better versions of themselves as their humanity is being tested. Under tremendous pressure from his mean-spirited colleagues --right before his death--US Senator John McAdam turns into a farseeing paradigm shifter, leaving behind him his visionary blueprints for the country’s economic, social, and political betterment.
One of the pivotal issues accentuated in the novel is the lack of control and the total irresponsibility in firearms sales. Even geriatric patients and mentally not quite stable citizens are allowed to purchase them. The National Rifle Association (NRA), offering 20% discount, reach record high profits, targeting vulnerable seniors. The gun culture, pervading the social landscape of the United States, becomes a true minefield anyone can fall victim to. Ironically, the minefield scenario plays out at the NRA convention itself.
I enjoyed the book’s clear-cut syntax and the sweeping portrayal of contemporary America. The characters sketched in bold contours exemplify the social ills in today’s society. At the same time, we observe their pace of daily life with all its spectrum of good and bad. To some degree, Fleisher’s literary style is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut’s manner of storytelling with its strong emphasis on the absurd. So it was not a complete surprise for me to come across Vonnegut’s “The Breakfast of Champions”, being read by one of the characters.
Rendered in the best traditions of satirical literature, Final Notice is an innovative work of fiction, interlacing the elements of a crime novel with a narrative, stylized as the news coverage. In this eye-opening book, the characters are pictured as the pawns of self-serving and cynical politicians who stop at nothing to perpetuate the status quo. However, as a genuine satirist, Van Fleisher unmasks concurrently those who are in power, grasping what to sell, and the consumers who are obsessed with their Right to Bear Arms. In fact, it’s the citizens who crave the guns. As William Thackeray stated in his masterpiece, “The Book of Snobs”, “The public wants a thing, therefore it is supplied with it; or the public is supplied with a thing, therefore it wants it.”
That been said, I rate Final Notice four out of four stars.
******
Final Notice
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like mayaellenson's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a staggering political satire, unveiling a wide range of social issues of post-modern America. As a former management consultant, Van Fleisher had spent a lot time abroad, living currently in California and the South of France. His knowledge of foreign cultures allows him to look at his own country from a broader perspective.
A reader is about to discover a gripping novel of suspense, morphing into a mind-boggling reportage. In this fast-paced political satire, the author’s verbal camera focuses on various social problems, encompassing the main and secondary characters with their set of values and lifestyles. Set in the nearest future, the novel puts a spotlight on the present-day existential challenges. The major leitmotif of the novel is a deeply unsettling question: “What Would You Do If You Knew For Certain That You Had One Week To Live?"
The action spins around a sport/health watch, invented by a high-tech genius, Vijay Patel. The watch not only monitors with unmatched accuracy blood chemistry of the body, but even reports the time of death in the course of 10, 20, and 30 days. The protagonists, portrayed in the book, live in different states and belong to diverse social milieu. What these people have in common is the sport watch and the guns. The two create quite an explosive cocktail, detonating periodically as the story evolves.
After receiving the fatal notice, some protagonists rush to put things in order, complete their final chores, and donate to charities. Conversely, the others burst into killings, wearing jointly the sport watch and the firearms. Sadly, even the most intellectual individuals are not immune to destructive impulses as they face their imminent end. Yet it’s not all too bad. Auspiciously, there are characters who are able to transcend in the time of crisis.
Vince and Trudy, for instance, become better versions of themselves as their humanity is being tested. Under tremendous pressure from his mean-spirited colleagues --right before his death--US Senator John McAdam turns into a farseeing paradigm shifter, leaving behind him his visionary blueprints for the country’s economic, social, and political betterment.
One of the pivotal issues accentuated in the novel is the lack of control and the total irresponsibility in firearms sales. Even geriatric patients and mentally not quite stable citizens are allowed to purchase them. The National Rifle Association (NRA), offering 20% discount, reach record high profits, targeting vulnerable seniors. The gun culture, pervading the social landscape of the United States, becomes a true minefield anyone can fall victim to. Ironically, the minefield scenario plays out at the NRA convention itself.
I enjoyed the book’s clear-cut syntax and the sweeping portrayal of contemporary America. The characters sketched in bold contours exemplify the social ills in today’s society. At the same time, we observe their pace of daily life with all its spectrum of good and bad. To some degree, Fleisher’s literary style is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut’s manner of storytelling with its strong emphasis on the absurd. So it was not a complete surprise for me to come across Vonnegut’s “The Breakfast of Champions”, being read by one of the characters.
Rendered in the best traditions of satirical literature, Final Notice is an innovative work of fiction, interlacing the elements of a crime novel with a narrative, stylized as the news coverage. In this eye-opening book, the characters are pictured as the pawns of self-serving and cynical politicians who stop at nothing to perpetuate the status quo. However, as a genuine satirist, Van Fleisher unmasks concurrently those who are in power, grasping what to sell, and the consumers who are obsessed with their Right to Bear Arms. In fact, it’s the citizens who crave the guns. As William Thackeray stated in his masterpiece, “The Book of Snobs”, “The public wants a thing, therefore it is supplied with it; or the public is supplied with a thing, therefore it wants it.”
That been said, I rate Final Notice four out of four stars.
******
Final Notice
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like mayaellenson's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Concealment by Rose Edmunds
