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The Subprimes
A wickedly funny dystopian parody set in a financially apocalyptic future America, from the critically acclaimed author of Triburbia
In a future America that feels increasingly familiar, you are your credit score. Extreme wealth inequality has created a class of have-nothings: Subprimes. Their bad credit ratings make them unemployable. Jobless and without assets, they've walked out on mortgages, been foreclosed upon, or can no longer afford a fixed address. Fugitives who must keep moving to avoid arrest, they wander the globally warmed American wasteland searching for day labor and a place to park their battered SUVs for the night.
Karl Taro Greenfeld's trenchant satire follows the fortunes of two families whose lives reflect this new dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-financially-fittest America. Desperate for work and food, a Subprime family has been forced to migrate east, hoping for a better life. They are soon joined in their odyssey by a writer and his family—slightly better off, yet falling fast. Eventually, they discover a small settlement of Subprimes who have begun an agrarian utopia built on a foreclosed exurb. Soon, though, the little stability they have is threatened when their land is targeted by job creators for shale oil extraction.
But all is not lost. A hero emerges, a woman on a motorcycle—suspiciously lacking a credit score—who just may save the world.
In The Subprimes, Karl Taro Greenfeld turns his keen and unflinching eye to our country today—and where we may be headed. The result is a novel for the 99 percent: a darkly funny comedy about paradise lost and found, the value of credit, economic policy, and the meaning of family.
In a future America that feels increasingly familiar, you are your credit score. Extreme wealth inequality has created a class of have-nothings: Subprimes. Their bad credit ratings make them unemployable. Jobless and without assets, they've walked out on mortgages, been foreclosed upon, or can no longer afford a fixed address. Fugitives who must keep moving to avoid arrest, they wander the globally warmed American wasteland searching for day labor and a place to park their battered SUVs for the night.
Karl Taro Greenfeld's trenchant satire follows the fortunes of two families whose lives reflect this new dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-financially-fittest America. Desperate for work and food, a Subprime family has been forced to migrate east, hoping for a better life. They are soon joined in their odyssey by a writer and his family—slightly better off, yet falling fast. Eventually, they discover a small settlement of Subprimes who have begun an agrarian utopia built on a foreclosed exurb. Soon, though, the little stability they have is threatened when their land is targeted by job creators for shale oil extraction.
But all is not lost. A hero emerges, a woman on a motorcycle—suspiciously lacking a credit score—who just may save the world.
In The Subprimes, Karl Taro Greenfeld turns his keen and unflinching eye to our country today—and where we may be headed. The result is a novel for the 99 percent: a darkly funny comedy about paradise lost and found, the value of credit, economic policy, and the meaning of family.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2015
47 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
About the author
Karl Taro Greenfeld
23books83followersI'm the author of six books, including the recent novel Triburbia, the story collection NowTrends, the memoir Boy Alone and the Japanese youth culture collection Speed Tribes
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
March 23, 2016
2.5/5 Stars
Received this book from a ŷ First Reads Giveaway!
Summary:
The world has gone to hell and all over a credit score. Anyone with an unacceptable credit score is forced out of their home and made to fend for themselves in this decaying world. You follow a couple different characters throughout the book, one of them being a mysterious girl who has no credit score.
Likes:
I liked the attempt at setting up the world and I enjoyed the idea of the plot.
Dislikes:
This book was a little jumpy to me and just didn't flow like I wanted it to. I'm a huge lover of dystopian and I was just left wanting more from the story and characters.
Overall:
Not the best dystopian I've read due to the execution not being all there. The concept though was wonderful and I can see the potential in the writing.
Received this book from a ŷ First Reads Giveaway!
Summary:
The world has gone to hell and all over a credit score. Anyone with an unacceptable credit score is forced out of their home and made to fend for themselves in this decaying world. You follow a couple different characters throughout the book, one of them being a mysterious girl who has no credit score.
Likes:
I liked the attempt at setting up the world and I enjoyed the idea of the plot.
Dislikes:
This book was a little jumpy to me and just didn't flow like I wanted it to. I'm a huge lover of dystopian and I was just left wanting more from the story and characters.
Overall:
Not the best dystopian I've read due to the execution not being all there. The concept though was wonderful and I can see the potential in the writing.
April 21, 2015
I received this book through the ŷ First Read program.
Having read some of this authors previous work, I knew I would like the voice, and I wasn't wrong. The book is generally written in the third person, except for one character who writes in the first person, which was a little unusual, but not distractingly so. The basic plot follows two families who are struggling to make sense of a world gone mad, interspersed with the story of Sagram, a loner who believes the only way out of the madness is "People helping People." While the US was drastically changed from anything I know or recognize, there was enough familiarity with current viewpoints (cutting the social safety net, corporations gaining more and more power in our political system, and extreme income inequality) to concern me. I doubt the world is going this way, but I also could see how we could get there without too much trouble. It's a chilling and thought-provoking story.
The ending (and I promise, no spoilers) wrapped up a little too tidily, with a little too much Deus Ex Machina for my liking. Actions taken have consequences that are then erased, and the author relies a little too much on mystical problem-solving. But overall, I enjoyed the book, would recommend it to friends, and will likely read it again.
Having read some of this authors previous work, I knew I would like the voice, and I wasn't wrong. The book is generally written in the third person, except for one character who writes in the first person, which was a little unusual, but not distractingly so. The basic plot follows two families who are struggling to make sense of a world gone mad, interspersed with the story of Sagram, a loner who believes the only way out of the madness is "People helping People." While the US was drastically changed from anything I know or recognize, there was enough familiarity with current viewpoints (cutting the social safety net, corporations gaining more and more power in our political system, and extreme income inequality) to concern me. I doubt the world is going this way, but I also could see how we could get there without too much trouble. It's a chilling and thought-provoking story.
The ending (and I promise, no spoilers) wrapped up a little too tidily, with a little too much Deus Ex Machina for my liking. Actions taken have consequences that are then erased, and the author relies a little too much on mystical problem-solving. But overall, I enjoyed the book, would recommend it to friends, and will likely read it again.
June 17, 2015
I would have ranked this book much higher for its engaging writing and astute politics. This is the world we all fear is coming: an economy and planet devastated by special rights for corporations and rich people. But I have mixed feelings because what saves this book from being thoroughly depressing as a story is also the thing that made me cringe. I would have been much more impressed if Greenfeld had trusted the humanity of his central character and not made her magical. So even though this story isn't depressing as a story -- it is ultimately much more depressing, as this book posits that the solution to the tailspin we are in in the actual world -- is a fantasy.
March 29, 2019
I liked the idea of this book more than I liked reading this book.
April 18, 2022
Decent, if a bit uninventive. As it goes on, the book seems to lean further and further away from reality, but more in a YA novel way than going deeper into satire (which would have been more interesting imo). Also not a huge fan of how this book, which is purportedly about how people can band together to aid one another in the face of an oppressive society & how people helping others can kickstart a meaningful revolution, had to feature an obvious Jesus figure at the helm leading the revolution. It would have been much more rewarding if Sargam (aka Jesus) was given the same depth of character that (some of) the other characters had. It really makes the central conflict of the book feel like make-believe, detracting from the fascinating realness that the first 2.5 chapters entice you with. Sargam was very clearly just a mouthpiece for the author's beliefs instead of her own character, and I mean that literally: a lot of scenes about life in Valence—the community of subprimes living peacefully in an abandoned suburb in Nevada—open up with exposition along the lines of "Darren thought they should do x thing, but Sargam said y, because of z reasons." In case you forgot—I did—Darren is Sargam's boytoy, who the novel occasionally mentions is upset by Sargam being better than him. Bro, you're literally dating the Second Coming, idk what you expected.
Speaking of Sargam, most of the female characters in this book are very obviously Written By A Man. I don't think there's a single POV female character who doesn't give needless and unwarranted exposition on her sex appeal to men and how much of a threat other women perceive her as. Not to mention the (thankfully, blessedly brief) sex scenes, which had me rolling my eyes the whole time. They are, like, physically painful to read. And then there's also Vanessa, a 15 year old girl who has sex with a guy and then instantly ~becomes a woman~ and is eager to have a baby. At fifteen. If this was treated with any nuance that would be fine, but it's just lowkey (highkey) viscerally uncomfortable.
On the positive side, there's some good humor in here, and interesting worldbuilding as well. Gemma's storyline was pretty great, though I feel like the whole sideplot about what her husband is up to ended up inconsequential to the overall plot and could've been reduced greatly. Richie was also pretty great, and the way their stories intertwined was without a doubt the highlight of the novel. The final act was a really fun way of bringing together all the different stories, but was also kinda bullshit. I can't say why because of spoilers, but like, if you read it you'll get it.
I know I just ripped into it throughout the whole review, but The Subprimes is pretty short and genuinely quite entertaining. I can't say its pros make up for its cons, but they do enough of a good job at distracting you from them that I hesitate to call it a bad book. Just don't think about it too hard.
Speaking of Sargam, most of the female characters in this book are very obviously Written By A Man. I don't think there's a single POV female character who doesn't give needless and unwarranted exposition on her sex appeal to men and how much of a threat other women perceive her as. Not to mention the (thankfully, blessedly brief) sex scenes, which had me rolling my eyes the whole time. They are, like, physically painful to read. And then there's also Vanessa, a 15 year old girl who has sex with a guy and then instantly ~becomes a woman~ and is eager to have a baby. At fifteen. If this was treated with any nuance that would be fine, but it's just lowkey (highkey) viscerally uncomfortable.
On the positive side, there's some good humor in here, and interesting worldbuilding as well. Gemma's storyline was pretty great, though I feel like the whole sideplot about what her husband is up to ended up inconsequential to the overall plot and could've been reduced greatly. Richie was also pretty great, and the way their stories intertwined was without a doubt the highlight of the novel. The final act was a really fun way of bringing together all the different stories, but was also kinda bullshit. I can't say why because of spoilers, but like, if you read it you'll get it.
I know I just ripped into it throughout the whole review, but The Subprimes is pretty short and genuinely quite entertaining. I can't say its pros make up for its cons, but they do enough of a good job at distracting you from them that I hesitate to call it a bad book. Just don't think about it too hard.
June 4, 2021
It's an interesting story, but it seemed a bit tedious.
March 18, 2018
a little heavy handed but some of the characterization was great
October 19, 2021
4 ½ ⭐️ rounded up
June 16, 2015
tl;dr: This story depicts a world three elections from now, when the elites have finally bought everything and the world is going to hell. While its skewerings of capitalist excesses and liberal paranoias are both spot-on, the solution it offers is beyond anyone's means. Even the characters in the novel aren't sure what happened, or why.
The Subprimes is a book in the classic SFnal genre "If this goes on..." Set somewhere around 2030, the book describes life after the second great real estate bubble, when almost everyone who wasn't in the top 1%, or wasn't amusing and entertaining to them, was suddenly and irrevocably dispossessed of their homes. Some states, such as California, become so dysfunctional their neighboring states set up roadblocks and checkpoints, and to cross you need to pass a credit check. The wealthy have bought Congress and dismantled any and all "socialist" policies: the only police are the ones the wealthy can afford, the only roads the ones corporations need to get goods from one place to another, the only schools are sponsored by fast food companies and don't teach anything at all. The Subprimes are homeless people who once had middleclass jobs.
The story goes a bit off the rails in its final act, as a grand guginol scene of the people of a small town face off both an army of low-trained hired guns and a robotic fracking machine that brings those gigantic sea-going oil-extraction rigs onto land in a nightmare of steel, diesel smoke, and pepper spray. It asks too much of the reader, has too many points violating one's suspension of disbelief, and in the end tells the sad story that the only way "If this goes on..." will be disrupted probably requires divine intervention.
This book does have it all: the 1% are building "sanctuaries" in distant mountain retreats and water-rich obscure Pacific islands, defensive manses to wait out the coming megadeaths wrought by global warming, drought, and starvation. The villainous Pepper Sisters (the Koch Brothers), remind the governor of New Mexico that if he doesn't support them in their effort to evict the town, there are plenty of other candidates they can put their money behind in the next election. Pastor Roger is a Franklin Graham knock-off, a man convinced of American exceptionalism, the power of money, and that God always wants exactly what he wants.
The security state comes in for a beating: solar power is banned: upgrading the grid to support it *and* secure it against terrorist attacks was too expensive, and the corporations knew which one they'd rather pay their senators to vote for. Open public WiFi is banned: you must sign in with a credit card or a confirmed account so the government knows you're not a terrorist. Electric cars are banned: the existing lifecycling recycling was "deemed" too expensive too upgrade for lithium batteries and carbon fibers, mostly by the existing lifecycle recyclers.
Liberal paranoias get their fair share of skewering: the hero is on notice with child protective services because he went outside to join a soccer game with his son and bumped another kid in the process, marking him as a "potential sexual predator." His twelve-year-old son gets the same label because he pinched a girl's bottom at his middle school.
Overall, though, this book is an "If this goes on..." in the counter-capitalist tradition. Workers have almost no relation to the means of production. The vast majority of employed people depicted in the book are guard labor, those among the desperate impoverished whom the wealthy hire to make sure the even more desperate impoverished aren't "cheating" somehow. Ultimately, this system will collapse in fire and pain, and maybe we'll learn our lesson from the disaster. What Das Kapital and The Abolition of Work both missed was the sheer scale of environmental disaster industrialism would wreak, but The Subprimes brings it front and center.
I do recommend this book, if only to give the reader a good idea of what we're all up against, with "liberty-loving oil extractors" at one end, and "free-speech zones" at the other.
September 3, 2015
Dystopian With a Plausible Premise
Yes, you heard me right--this is a dystopian novel with an actual plausible premise. This was a case where the book's "blurb" description made me want to read the book. I don't usually include blurbs in my reviews, but I'll reproduce this one, since it's what pulled me in:
In the tradition of Orwell, Greenfeld cannily assesses the current conditions in the U.S. economic situation and extrapolates a highly likely not-too-distant future. There is dark humor here, but it's the kind of laugh where you feel uncomfortable at the same time that you are laughing, because it's "funny 'cause it's true," and it's a truth that hurts. There is a painful recognition over the practice of naming laws for the opposite of what they actually do. Like the "National Energy Independence Act" abolishing renewable-energy technology, the "National Right to Work" act removing the minimum wage, the "National Internet Freedom Act" outlawing free wireless, and so on. Unfettered capitalism has increased the disparity between the 1% and everyone else, and privatization has helped make life untenable for most. Even calling 911 entails a choice between premium service and standard.
Often while listening to this book, I caught myself thinking that it felt like something that T.C. Boyle might write if someone slipped him a pill that gives him hope and assures him that not every single person in the world is a hypocrite. But on the other hand, I don't think even TCB would end a book in just the way Greenfeld ends this one. I have some mixed feelings at the end,
In case you can't tell, I recommend this heartily. I even recommended it to my husband, a finance geek who almost never reads fiction. I hope he actually reads it!
Yes, you heard me right--this is a dystopian novel with an actual plausible premise. This was a case where the book's "blurb" description made me want to read the book. I don't usually include blurbs in my reviews, but I'll reproduce this one, since it's what pulled me in:
In a future America that feels increasingly familiar, you are your credit score. Extreme wealth inequality has created a class of have-nothings: Subprimes. Their bad credit ratings make them unemployable. Jobless and without assets, they’ve walked out on mortgages, been foreclosed upon, or can no longer afford a fixed address. Fugitives who must keep moving to avoid arrest, they wander the globally warmed American wasteland searching for day labor and a place to park their battered SUVs for the night.
Karl Taro Greenfeld’s trenchant satire follows the fortunes of two families whose lives reflect this new dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-financially-fittest America. Desperate for work and food, a Subprime family has been forced to migrate east, hoping for a better life. They are soon joined in their odyssey by a writer and his family—slightly better off, yet falling fast. Eventually, they discover a small settlement of Subprimes who have begun an agrarian utopia built on a foreclosed exurb. Soon, though, the little stability they have is threatened when their land is targeted by job creators for shale oil extraction.
But all is not lost. A hero emerges, a woman on a motorcycle—suspiciously lacking a credit score—who just may save the world.
In The Subprimes, Karl Taro Greenfeld turns his keen and unflinching eye to our country today—and where we may be headed. The result is a novel for the 99 percent: a darkly funny comedy about paradise lost and found, the value of credit, economic policy, and the meaning of family.
In the tradition of Orwell, Greenfeld cannily assesses the current conditions in the U.S. economic situation and extrapolates a highly likely not-too-distant future. There is dark humor here, but it's the kind of laugh where you feel uncomfortable at the same time that you are laughing, because it's "funny 'cause it's true," and it's a truth that hurts. There is a painful recognition over the practice of naming laws for the opposite of what they actually do. Like the "National Energy Independence Act" abolishing renewable-energy technology, the "National Right to Work" act removing the minimum wage, the "National Internet Freedom Act" outlawing free wireless, and so on. Unfettered capitalism has increased the disparity between the 1% and everyone else, and privatization has helped make life untenable for most. Even calling 911 entails a choice between premium service and standard.
Often while listening to this book, I caught myself thinking that it felt like something that T.C. Boyle might write if someone slipped him a pill that gives him hope and assures him that not every single person in the world is a hypocrite. But on the other hand, I don't think even TCB would end a book in just the way Greenfeld ends this one. I have some mixed feelings at the end,
In case you can't tell, I recommend this heartily. I even recommended it to my husband, a finance geek who almost never reads fiction. I hope he actually reads it!
October 14, 2015
I think the premise of this book is terrifying in its plausibility--the environment is slowly collapsing due to human exploitation, the government is ignoring these signs and continues to pursue more aggressive means of obtaining energy, and the worth and freedom of people is determined by their wealth and good credit score. It's a bleak picture, but one that doesn't seem far off. I enjoyed the way Greenfeld intertwined multiple story lines and perspectives of people in very different life situations, from the "subprimes", to the disillusioned wealthier folks, to the massively rich.
All of that being said, there were some elements that didn't work for me. I didn't love the one first person character, the writer guy (I finished the book earlier today and already can't remember his name, shows what a great impression he made on me). There's something about reading about middle aged dude ennui that just isn't my cup of tea, even if it's set in a dystopian hellscape future. I also wasn't a huge fan of the "adolescent guys should be able to pinch/touch whatever girls they want" vibe, although that was a minor plot point. **Tiny spoiler alert!** My biggest problem was with the magical realism at the end. I feel like the book did a brilliant job of creating a frightening future world that's actually plausible, but that plausibility went out the window with the magical realism elements, and I think undermined the rest of the novel.
Overall I did find it to be an enjoyable and quick read which gave me a lot to chew on, but the ending was a bit disappointing and there were other minor issues that hindered this title from being a really memorable one for me.
All of that being said, there were some elements that didn't work for me. I didn't love the one first person character, the writer guy (I finished the book earlier today and already can't remember his name, shows what a great impression he made on me). There's something about reading about middle aged dude ennui that just isn't my cup of tea, even if it's set in a dystopian hellscape future. I also wasn't a huge fan of the "adolescent guys should be able to pinch/touch whatever girls they want" vibe, although that was a minor plot point. **Tiny spoiler alert!** My biggest problem was with the magical realism at the end. I feel like the book did a brilliant job of creating a frightening future world that's actually plausible, but that plausibility went out the window with the magical realism elements, and I think undermined the rest of the novel.
Overall I did find it to be an enjoyable and quick read which gave me a lot to chew on, but the ending was a bit disappointing and there were other minor issues that hindered this title from being a really memorable one for me.
May 16, 2015
[Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book as a First Reads. My first win! I got nothing other than a copy of the book; and nothing was required of me, not even this review.]
A post-economic-apocalyptic story centering on SW USA after massive economic changes. Extreme corporatism is in effect and any laws or rules that hinder them are removed (think EPA, min wage, etc). People are judged by their credit score, and anyone who is subprime is effectively wandering homeless. A group of subprimes start to make a community, in an area a corporation ends up desiring.
The story tracks five different people/groups; some are subprimes, others are the very rich. They all come together at this community for the climactic conclusion.
I enjoyed this book. It was incredibly easy and quick to read. I did find one part of the ending to not really fit with the rest of the story (you will know it when you read it). That aspect seemed to be the author's need to do something to get the plot to the conclusion he wanted, and I don't know that it was even really necessary. It lessens the book, but not a lot.
The characters are interesting and varied. Some come with very realist internal contradictions, flaws and uncertainties. These all make them more believable and the story more alive.
I don't know that I really see the USA going the economic direction this author does, but it is a possibility. And it was interesting to explore this bit of it. Thanks for the thought provocation.
A post-economic-apocalyptic story centering on SW USA after massive economic changes. Extreme corporatism is in effect and any laws or rules that hinder them are removed (think EPA, min wage, etc). People are judged by their credit score, and anyone who is subprime is effectively wandering homeless. A group of subprimes start to make a community, in an area a corporation ends up desiring.
The story tracks five different people/groups; some are subprimes, others are the very rich. They all come together at this community for the climactic conclusion.
I enjoyed this book. It was incredibly easy and quick to read. I did find one part of the ending to not really fit with the rest of the story (you will know it when you read it). That aspect seemed to be the author's need to do something to get the plot to the conclusion he wanted, and I don't know that it was even really necessary. It lessens the book, but not a lot.
The characters are interesting and varied. Some come with very realist internal contradictions, flaws and uncertainties. These all make them more believable and the story more alive.
I don't know that I really see the USA going the economic direction this author does, but it is a possibility. And it was interesting to explore this bit of it. Thanks for the thought provocation.
November 22, 2015
My 8th book in my Mr B's reading year.
This is described as a dystopian satire on modern America. The America that lent to much money to people who couldn't afford it. As with all satires it ratchets up the reality. So in this America, you have gangs of homeless, the subprimes, unable to get mortgages, jobs, even schooling, because they have no credit score.
Into this world enters Sargram, a messiah like character on a motorcycle. She makes those around her think differently about themselves and their situation. She challenges the status quo.
This is a really interesting book, with some good characters. The satire takes a pop at the banks, police, government, religion and media. Some with more success than others. The ending was a bit neat for me.
Another book I probably wouldn't have chosen myself and I'm glad it was picked for me.
This is described as a dystopian satire on modern America. The America that lent to much money to people who couldn't afford it. As with all satires it ratchets up the reality. So in this America, you have gangs of homeless, the subprimes, unable to get mortgages, jobs, even schooling, because they have no credit score.
Into this world enters Sargram, a messiah like character on a motorcycle. She makes those around her think differently about themselves and their situation. She challenges the status quo.
This is a really interesting book, with some good characters. The satire takes a pop at the banks, police, government, religion and media. Some with more success than others. The ending was a bit neat for me.
Another book I probably wouldn't have chosen myself and I'm glad it was picked for me.
April 19, 2015
I received a free copy of this book through "The Good Reads First Reads Giveaway". This book is not for a supporter of modern day Capitalism or organized religion, for that matter, since it distorts both. The paranoia of the Far Left is exposed by greatly distorted views on oil drilling and climate change. The author seems to forget that the use of "Eminent Domain" is exclusively a government function and powerful class action law suits would destroy overreaching corporations in our country.
No sane person wants the world described here, but a balance between Capitalism and a Liberal point of view would be welcome.
No sane person wants the world described here, but a balance between Capitalism and a Liberal point of view would be welcome.
August 26, 2016
A Donald Trump/Bill Clinton Future
This is a deadly serious book about America's future. It's all here - The Freedom of Education Act, where all schools are operated by corporations and teachers are Temp workers; the elimination of Food Stamps, where the poor receive a one use (lifetime) voucher to fast food; where all road repair has been privatized, so there are more holes than pavement and super-expressways are only available to the 1% - from their gated communities to private airports. The humor is of the "it's better to laugh than cry" variety. This is the Kurt Vonnegut satire, a warning that may be too late.
This is a deadly serious book about America's future. It's all here - The Freedom of Education Act, where all schools are operated by corporations and teachers are Temp workers; the elimination of Food Stamps, where the poor receive a one use (lifetime) voucher to fast food; where all road repair has been privatized, so there are more holes than pavement and super-expressways are only available to the 1% - from their gated communities to private airports. The humor is of the "it's better to laugh than cry" variety. This is the Kurt Vonnegut satire, a warning that may be too late.
May 19, 2015
Greenfeld's take on a world where the capitalists and 'libertarians' have been allowed to run amok is at times incredibly cynical, but ends on a hopeful note with a message we would all do well to remember. "People helping people"
The politics displayed in the book will offend many, and hit too close to home for others, it should be withstood, since the tangle of first and third person narratives is engrossing and all of the characters are simultaneously heroes and villains in somebody's eyes.
The politics displayed in the book will offend many, and hit too close to home for others, it should be withstood, since the tangle of first and third person narratives is engrossing and all of the characters are simultaneously heroes and villains in somebody's eyes.
Read
May 11, 2017Somewhere between The Grapes of Wrath and The Stand, two great books chronicling massive societal breakdown and the inevitable reconstruction, The Subprimes creates a new tale perfect for our time. It's too bad that the author had to rely on the real world of credit scores to create this dystopia; that's the real horror of this story. But this book is good, sly, scary, artful, creative and above all, difficult to stop reading. The plot holds your attention every step of the way. This is one book that will outlive its economic timing; it’s just that good.
-Suzanne R.
-Suzanne R.
March 11, 2016
I got through this book pretty quicky, but almost the whole time I felt like I was mad at it. I found the premise a little too on-the-nose. Deregulation and pull yourself up by your bootstraps to the extreme felt too now - maybe it was hitting too close to home paired with all the Republican debates. The writing itself was good, but the characters just all felt shallowly rendered - it was difficult for me to feel invested in what was going on. The last 10% started feeling better and then the ending was just silly. I wasn't feeling it.
November 15, 2016
Couldn't stick the ending, which is really sad because it is a fantastic book. . I'd still recommend it. This is the high-brow version of Idiocracy, with satire much more pointed than just "people dumb"
October 12, 2015
The book was an interesting, albeit single sided view of the future world. But in the last chapter is just seems really preachy and takes a weird abrupt turn to conclude the storyline. I don't really feel like anything was solved, and I don't know if the author was just setting up for a sequel.
June 29, 2018
More Troubling Prescient Each Year
Greenfeld's satirical, often cynical, novel imagines what might become of the U.S. if the most rabid proponents of unfettered capitalism have their way. Needless to say, for the vast majority of people, even, ironically, the handful of beneficiaries, the endgame is quite ugly: massive poverty, perpetual uncertainty and fear, a complete distortion of institutions and values, and a devastated environment. Yet, in the midst of the dystopian suffering and chaos, Greenfeld finds humor because, let's face it, we can laugh at our own stupidity, as long as it is a good long arms distant.
In the not too far off future, the one-percent have gotten their way. They control all the resources, which they exploit ruthlessly. Government, services outsourced and officials reduced to vassals, kowtows to the elites' demands. Religion functions as cheerleading flimflam. The former middle-class roams the land in search of pennies, worse off than serfs of old as they and their families have become rootless wanders. And the world both floods on the coasts and sizzles in the center, an endless wasteland of ravagement.
The novel follows the lives of three families, a mysterious motorcycle-riding woman, an ersatz preacher, and a pair of self-righteous capitalists. Jeb, Bailey, and children Tom and Vanessa, stand-ins for the middle-class, want to live decently, instead of as they do in hastily organized and as quickly rousted Ryanvilles (Paul, perhaps?). Arthur, Gemma, and daughters Ginny and Fanny, once enjoyed the lifestyle of the elite, until Arthur was exposed as a fraudulent charlatan, costing his family everything (but also revealing to them, minus Arthur, what counts in life). Richie, ex Anya, children Ronin and Jinx, are a mix of the cynical (husband), new age (wife), and neglected (children). Rounding out the cast are Pastor Roger, embodying everything most people dislike about shallow televangelists, and the Pepper sisters (Koch brothers in drag?), major capitalists who might just believe in everything they have done. And the star of the novel, the one woman who unites a community, who leads a revolution of sorts against the system, and who proves to be something more than earthbound, a mystic with some extraordinary powers that manifest in the final pages of the novel. All converge on a resurrected community in the Nevada desert as the Pepper sisters prepare to launch fracking to a whole new level of despoilment.
Surprisingly, though it might strike you as sounding a bit cartoonish, Greenfeld's a skillful enough writer to make most of the tale compelling. Categorize this one under "best watch what you wish for.�
Greenfeld's satirical, often cynical, novel imagines what might become of the U.S. if the most rabid proponents of unfettered capitalism have their way. Needless to say, for the vast majority of people, even, ironically, the handful of beneficiaries, the endgame is quite ugly: massive poverty, perpetual uncertainty and fear, a complete distortion of institutions and values, and a devastated environment. Yet, in the midst of the dystopian suffering and chaos, Greenfeld finds humor because, let's face it, we can laugh at our own stupidity, as long as it is a good long arms distant.
In the not too far off future, the one-percent have gotten their way. They control all the resources, which they exploit ruthlessly. Government, services outsourced and officials reduced to vassals, kowtows to the elites' demands. Religion functions as cheerleading flimflam. The former middle-class roams the land in search of pennies, worse off than serfs of old as they and their families have become rootless wanders. And the world both floods on the coasts and sizzles in the center, an endless wasteland of ravagement.
The novel follows the lives of three families, a mysterious motorcycle-riding woman, an ersatz preacher, and a pair of self-righteous capitalists. Jeb, Bailey, and children Tom and Vanessa, stand-ins for the middle-class, want to live decently, instead of as they do in hastily organized and as quickly rousted Ryanvilles (Paul, perhaps?). Arthur, Gemma, and daughters Ginny and Fanny, once enjoyed the lifestyle of the elite, until Arthur was exposed as a fraudulent charlatan, costing his family everything (but also revealing to them, minus Arthur, what counts in life). Richie, ex Anya, children Ronin and Jinx, are a mix of the cynical (husband), new age (wife), and neglected (children). Rounding out the cast are Pastor Roger, embodying everything most people dislike about shallow televangelists, and the Pepper sisters (Koch brothers in drag?), major capitalists who might just believe in everything they have done. And the star of the novel, the one woman who unites a community, who leads a revolution of sorts against the system, and who proves to be something more than earthbound, a mystic with some extraordinary powers that manifest in the final pages of the novel. All converge on a resurrected community in the Nevada desert as the Pepper sisters prepare to launch fracking to a whole new level of despoilment.
Surprisingly, though it might strike you as sounding a bit cartoonish, Greenfeld's a skillful enough writer to make most of the tale compelling. Categorize this one under "best watch what you wish for.�
December 15, 2020
This was fun! I guess that everyone would like to say that this book should be read in this specific time, since the fuckaroo presented here is a potential future. But well, I guess that goes for any given moment in time where humanity exists.
This is stuff about duality, and how there are no winners in might is right society. It's a good reminder on how fragile our financial system is, and how near the collapse is. And how total it will be. Then again, I don't find much questioning about he owner/worker division as such. Actually most of the subprimes seem to be aspiring to get back to old normal.
Besides economic disarray, there's small hints about ecologic disasters, but it's not really in the main scope here. Except well, whales. I can live with it. I would have liked to know a bit more about the world at large, but then again the scale of economic fall is detailed vividly enough to keep interest.
Most of the funny stuff happens with Richie, our lovable dopey journalist. And when the book decides to be funny, it takes it to extreme enough to be hilarious and that's a skill in itself. I referred some of the funny stuff to my girlfriend and she looked at me weird, so I take it that the humour here is at times safely far from good taste.
The perspective in the book switched from 3rd person to 1st, even in mid chapter. Took me a while to get into this.
The only actual problem I have is inside spoiler tags here:
all in all, funny. Probably a classic of sorts.
This is stuff about duality, and how there are no winners in might is right society. It's a good reminder on how fragile our financial system is, and how near the collapse is. And how total it will be. Then again, I don't find much questioning about he owner/worker division as such. Actually most of the subprimes seem to be aspiring to get back to old normal.
Besides economic disarray, there's small hints about ecologic disasters, but it's not really in the main scope here. Except well, whales. I can live with it. I would have liked to know a bit more about the world at large, but then again the scale of economic fall is detailed vividly enough to keep interest.
Most of the funny stuff happens with Richie, our lovable dopey journalist. And when the book decides to be funny, it takes it to extreme enough to be hilarious and that's a skill in itself. I referred some of the funny stuff to my girlfriend and she looked at me weird, so I take it that the humour here is at times safely far from good taste.
The perspective in the book switched from 3rd person to 1st, even in mid chapter. Took me a while to get into this.
The only actual problem I have is inside spoiler tags here:
all in all, funny. Probably a classic of sorts.
March 1, 2018
The Subprimes is a what if story.What if all local, state and federal services were privatized, what if your whole life were controlled by your credit score, what if there were no government regulations on anything? What would our country be like?
Climate change is here. After 11:00 a.m. the heat is unbearable. Fracking is being done in our National Parks. Solar power and all alternative power sources have been banned. If your credit score is not high enough you are unemployable. There are no minimum wage laws so those with low credit scores line up each morning for day jobs and take what ever pay is given. Even what highway you are allowed to drive on is controlled by your credit score. Have a medical degree but fell behind on your student loan? Sorry no job for you. You are a subprime.
The subprimes travel and live in their SUVS avoiding the authorities. They squat in abandoned houses. In one subdivision of foreclosed homes a community springs up. People plant food, pool their money. But big business can't allow this to go on. There is valuable fossil fuel that needs fracking under those homes.
Very interesting story. It does jump around a bit. But it did not bother me. I would love for Netflix to do a series based on this book.
Climate change is here. After 11:00 a.m. the heat is unbearable. Fracking is being done in our National Parks. Solar power and all alternative power sources have been banned. If your credit score is not high enough you are unemployable. There are no minimum wage laws so those with low credit scores line up each morning for day jobs and take what ever pay is given. Even what highway you are allowed to drive on is controlled by your credit score. Have a medical degree but fell behind on your student loan? Sorry no job for you. You are a subprime.
The subprimes travel and live in their SUVS avoiding the authorities. They squat in abandoned houses. In one subdivision of foreclosed homes a community springs up. People plant food, pool their money. But big business can't allow this to go on. There is valuable fossil fuel that needs fracking under those homes.
Very interesting story. It does jump around a bit. But it did not bother me. I would love for Netflix to do a series based on this book.
November 21, 2023
*3.75 stars*. Interesting book with a very interesting plot. “In a future America that feels increasingly familiar, you are your credit score. Extreme wealth inequality has created a class of have-nothings: Subprimes. Their bad credit ratings make them unemployable. Jobless and without assets, they’ve walked out on mortgages, been foreclosed upon, or can no longer afford a fixed address. Fugitives who must keep moving to avoid arrest, they wander the globally warmed American wasteland searching for day labor and a place to park their battered SUVs for the night.� (Book blurb). The story follows 2 families who have become Subprimes and are on a journey to find somewhere to survive. They and others find a home in the desert and become a community-until the 1% decide to take it away. Some of the characters are a bit shallow & cliched but the world building is great. The ending is a little too neat but overall I liked the book and I would recommend it.
April 10, 2023
A dystopian future where the haves really screw the massively enlarged population of have-nots. The rich are ridiculously rich and continuously shame and harass the poor, rarely letting them rest in one place more than a few nights.
Then the poor come across an abandoned suburb in the desert near Las Vegas and occupy the rundown homes there. It's not a rosy life, but it is much better than never knowing where they will sleep or if they will be able to eat. Able-bodied people in this new community cultivate food for the community, scare off packs of marauding coyotes, and do the back-breaking work of raising the llevy that prevents the waste water from shale mining from flooding the land.
Eventually, a rich, religious, super capitalistic group wants to bulldoze the new community to get at the shale it sits on. There is bloodshed and magic in the ensuing battle.
Then the poor come across an abandoned suburb in the desert near Las Vegas and occupy the rundown homes there. It's not a rosy life, but it is much better than never knowing where they will sleep or if they will be able to eat. Able-bodied people in this new community cultivate food for the community, scare off packs of marauding coyotes, and do the back-breaking work of raising the llevy that prevents the waste water from shale mining from flooding the land.
Eventually, a rich, religious, super capitalistic group wants to bulldoze the new community to get at the shale it sits on. There is bloodshed and magic in the ensuing battle.
January 10, 2020
This dystopian future feels all too real. In a U.S. besieged by climate change, social and economic inequality, and unrestricted corporate power, the "subprimes" are a class of outcasts who have lost their jobs, access to credit, and any hope of prospering in the gated society of the rich that continues to ravage the landscape. An assorted crew of these outcasts attempts to create their own community in an abandoned and deteriorated housing development in Nevada. Greenfeld writes with a snarky dark humor that satirizes some of the worst inclinations of our society. He delivers a highly entertaining story that will pull you in and have you rooting for the desperate survivors challenging the grinding corporate monolith.
May 1, 2020
I liked it a shade more than three stars, actually. This is a book about a possible very near future - a present day circumstance for some. Your life depends on your credit rating, and that can be subject to a lot of life's vagaries in a late stage capitalist USA. It feels contemporary enough to be disturbing, so the humor in the story is appreciated. There's some incisive social satire here that's refreshing and a river of hope runs through it. I don't always find that hope convincing, but it spares us the despair of following this story to its more likely, more nihilistic conclusion. So it serves as fair warning and a cathartic read, an entertaining combination. Recommended.
February 10, 2022
Dystopian fiction, based on a future time when everything is determined by a person’s financial ability and credit rating, this was a very realistic, relatable read. There is some good satirical humor, along with a scary look at the potential for humanity to be judged and limited (even more) by their ability to maintain a high credit score. There are interesting characters, a good look at family dynamics, and in the midst of all the chaos, there are those people who work to make changes and be heroes. I listened to this as an audiobook, and the reader added to the enjoyment of the book. 4.25/5 stars.
February 4, 2018
I couldn’t finish this. The story’s ok, but the writing left lots to be desired. Much too didadic (and I friggin love socialist sci-fi), way too close to our own world to make any new points other than wealth inequality is messed up (true), the “main character� is a over-idealized Mary Sue, and worst of all, bad prose reigns on every page. The writing is just limp and dull; little happens chapter to chapter. The nonfiction book Nomadland is essentially the same story, but told with much more charm and detail.
April 30, 2021
I picked this book because it sounded very Black Mirror-y. The idea was great, I enjoyed following the different characters from different social backgrounds go about their lives in a dystopian future where people’s lives depends on their credit scores. The whole Sagram turning out to have healing abilities caught me by surprise and I must say, I didn’t hate it.
Like I said, I enjoyed following the characters, including the ones I don’t agree with. I feel like none of them got a proper ending.
Like I said, I enjoyed following the characters, including the ones I don’t agree with. I feel like none of them got a proper ending.
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