The terrible threes

Book by Reed, Ishmael

Reed's jazzlike, surreal phantasmagoria is set in the late 1990s, in an America where millions of surps (homeless people) forage for food, while U.S. President Jesse Hatch is a figurehead manipulated by televangelist Rev. Clement Jones, his spiritual adviser. The former president, ex-fashion model Dean Clift (star of The Terrible Twos , this novel's predecessor) has been removed from office but will soon stage a comeback. Among the convoluted subplots, two drive the action: White House communications chief Robert Krantz's "lone cowboy" scheme to drop neutron bombs on New York and Miami, then place the blame on Nigeria; and billionaire toymaker Elder Marse's plan to exploit the charisma of dwarfish Rastafarian Black Peter. Reed's uproarious, wisecracking, deadly serious farce swings between the inspired and the heavy-handed, but when he is on target, which is much of the time, he is one of the sharpest socio-political satirists around, hurling pointed barbs at racism, the CIA, women, the Vatican, the New York literary crowd and Americans' demand for instant gratification.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reed's eighth novel seems aimed at a select audience filled with unfocused anger. Dystopian in theme, it is set in the late 1990s, and what passes for narration apparently involves Santa Claus's taking over America and punishing assorted villains. The plot, however, exists only to allow Reed to attack his favorite pet peeves and, as an added attraction, sophomorically to hit out at famous folk, regardless of creed or color. Nasty little references abound, with American women the favored target: "always kvetching and talking about being unhappy, without knowing what they are talking about." Though a few satirical jabs hit home, this mean-spirited, hapless little novel strains to be humorous, but alas only adds up to a flat, mildly disturbing embarrassment.
- Charles Shapiro, York Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.