Book Review: Boomsday, by Christoper Buckley (audio)
I could sum this book up in one word: "meh."
I really enjoyed Thank You for Smoking when I read it a few years ago, so I was looking forward to reading something else by Buckley. There was even a little TYfS Nick Naylor shout out toward the beginning, which was kind of fun. But the book was a little slow and not quite as fun as TYfS. It wasn't bad, by any stretch, but I found my attention wandering and I kept having to push the rewind button on my CD player -- never a good sign.
Boomsday takes its name from the day in which all of the Baby Boomers start to retire and begin sucking up all of the Social Security money. Cass, the protagonist, introduces the idea that Boomers who decide to "early transition" themselves (in other words, commit suicide at 65 or 70) should be eligible for tax breaks and other perks, like a two-week vacation and a Segway scooter. Other characters include a one-legged senator, a Bible-thumping southerner with an itch for some Russian lovin', a president with an incredibly foul mouth, a bumbling Catholic priest, and a generation of under-thirties who are not going to pay Social Security to fund the Baby Boomers' luxurious retirements.
Basically I felt that Buckley was trying to be Carl Hiassen, something I noticed early on and which I believe even more strongly after there was a little CH mention in the middle of the book. His characters aren't quite unique enough to be as good as CH. But some were better than others. I particularly liked the priest, and the reader, Janine Garafalo, did a great job bringing him to life. JG did sort of speak like William Shatner sometimes. That was annoying.
My Rating: 6 out of 10 for being not as good as TYfS or most of Carl Hiaasen's stuff. But the priest was funny.
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