U.S.!

Wow, what a pleasant surprise - a funny, intelligent, ambitious, playful, political novel that avoids both cynicism and pretense. And a great ending too.

Take this into consideration what if a bear and a shark and Upton Sinclair fight it out in a tank of water deep enough for the shark to maneuver efficiently, shallow enough to give the bear an even chance to hold its own, and large enough to hold Sinclairs inflated socialist ideals. Who would win? Chris Bachelder returns to the ring after his debut novel, Bear v Shark, found its way into the hands of readers not too long ago. That novel was a wonderful mix of humor, poignancy, and Chris' style of what I like to call "chapter concepts" He takes your basic novel structure but instead of just telling the story in a straight forward manner he will use various different storytelling concepts in each chapter. In one chapter you may get a poem, or a television interview, and in another chapter you could simply get a listing of ebay auctions. Its a brilliant way to view his themes and characters from different points of view. In his sophomore effort Chris Bachelder refines his techniques and tightens his themes for a novel that somehow manages to surpass the simple yet wonderful Bear V Shark. Again he comes in with a concept that seems rather absurd, muck raker Upton Sinclair continues to live on through an unexplained method of resurrection. Used as a tool for the left he lives on to spread his beliefs in socialism and the evils of capitalism. Bachelder never shows bias he simply portrays the man as he was and how he would adjust to this day and age. I am ashamed to admit I knew very little about Mr. Sinclair going into the novel and trust me this is not a dull protagonist. He's akward, ambitious, and has the drive of a young man despite his frail dying body. The novel makes me wonder what would happen to Michael Moore if he found a way to live on. What happens to ones causes over a long period of time? Does change ever truly happen? Must we lose hope if the answer to that question is no? You won't get an answer after reading U.S.! but you will certainly get a little closer to forming one of your own. A gem that has just happened to take the form of a book. Hopes and shovels forever.

U.S. is a refreshing and original political satire. It could have taken its subject, the undead Upton Sinclair, seriously. It could have simply used him as an obvious stand-in for the moribund American left. But instead Chris Batchelder makes him a complex character who appears to be based largely on the facts and writings of the real life Upton Sinclair. That person was a likeable but flawed, ridiculous, puritanical yet courageous and compassionate man; part crackpot and part saint but all American. The larger function of this character is to point out the current bankrutpcy of American politics. How it has no ideas, no passion, no commitment just plenty of hype, gloss and spin. But if someone like Upton Sinclair can keep his hope alive that idealism matters, that all people have dignity and deserve respect and a decent wage for their labor, then maybe all is not lost. The book is divided into two distinct sections. The first is a series of rifts on how popular culture would respond to the idea of Upton Sinclear existing as an eternal target for the American Right. There are several inventive and hilarious setpieces; a series of haikus, an interview with a photographer of a naked Upton Sinclair, a transcript of a phone call by a would-be assassin. The second half is pure narrative driven by a malevolent prank and the Upton Sinclair's naivete. The conclusion is funny, sad and terrifically satirical. If you need a therapeutic tonic to cope with the absymal state of idealism and the American left, this should do the trick.

In one chapter of this brilliantly satiric novel, Upton Sinclair has lunch with a favorite novelist, E.L. Doctorow, -- and upbraids him for letting art get in the way of politics in his novels. This encounter captures a key theme in the novel: the role of the artist in society. And since the real Sinclair had little or no literary talent himself, as Bachelder makes comically clear throughout the novel,the famous muckraker's position might seem more than a little self-serving, but the beauty of this book lies in the complex manner in which Bachelder refuses to set up Sinclair as an easy target -- no pun intended, for the fictional Sinclair is assassinated repeatedly by anti-Socialist "patriots," only to be resurrected each time to carry on with his quixotic attempt to foment revolution against capitalism -- instead Bachelder portrays both the virtues and the flaws of a talentless and exasperating but committed ideologue who believes in the power of words to promote reform. In the hands of a lesser writer, this zany plot -- complete with outlandish complications like publishing agents recruiting Sinclair assassins and 4th of July book burnings -- would quickly turn into one-dimensional entertainment, but Bachelder raises the stakes by constantly shifting the tone from near burlesque to moments of quiet poignancy, while exploring the dark underside of our American notions of fame, political faith and family loyalty. Equally adept at portraying the adolescent boy who wants to please his father by lighting the annual book burning bonfire, the rising assassin looking to make a name for himself, and the weary secretary trying to save his writer-hero from yet another shooting, Bachelder never fails to capture the humanity in this large cast of misfits, zealots, sellouts, blind optimists and failures. But unlike the sometimes cold cynicism of other writers who address similar themes, Don DeLillo, for example (a writer whose work I greatly admire nonetheless), Bachelder offers us a most sympathetic understanding of the all too human forces that keep hope for change alive while parading it through the streets with a target on its back. This book deserves more attention; Bachelder is the real thing. He can sling the politics in ways so entertaining, artistic and provocative that Upton Sinclair and E.L. Doctorow would be honored to make a space for him at the same table. He's that good.

This book is insane!! I love it! I haven't even finished it but had to express my feelings. (!) Everything about this book - from the concept to the execution (no pun intended) is fresh and original and oh so clever. Like nothing else I've ever read. Actually, if you liked A Confederacy of Dunces, you'll like this. But this takes absurd to the next level. To hear an interview with the author, go to the npr website; it aired Sat., March 11 ('06) on weekend edition.