Book Review: The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver

Reading Lionel Shriver's books always makes me feel like a mental breakdown is at hand, as she manages to capture a sense of dread and anxiety relevant to the moment. The book is a satirical look at the extremes of each side of the argument around fiscal policy in the context of an aging population. The novel follows the extended Mandible family through a period of tumult. We learn of a recent hack to the U.S. which resulted in a complete technology blackout for a certain period of time, and the novel then follows the family through a coup on the dollar by Russia, China and other countries, which have developed a new digital currency called bancors, the government seizure of gold and eventually to a system whereby everyone is taxed automatically of any excess earnings that don't exactly match their requirements through a chip in their head.

Before the major turnaround in events, the author portrays the corrupting influence of a pending inheritance on the family and the way in which extravagance masquerades as need when one reaches a certain level of wealth.

The novel manages to tease out the blindness in the blind idealism wherein some politicians demonize the rich as stealing from the proletariat and universal care is supported by taxing them at punitive rates - essentially creating the world in which people are more equal but they're all poorer for it that fiscal conservatives always harp on about. The retirement age rises and before retirement people are stuck in dead-end jobs, perfecting the art of the go-slow, as there is no incentive to innovate. The novel explores the concept of "freedom" in the novel and to what extent money can motivate as an incentive in this respect.

One interesting thing about the novel is that nothing much changes for those at the bottom, except the sense of schadenfreude from seeing the rich brought down.

Later in the book, we see the other extreme, which is the mystical United States of Nevada, which has seceded from the USA proper. It is small-state conservatism realized, with no social security net other than relatives and friends willing to help out and substantially lower average life spans.

When the two systems are compared, although neither is perfect, the author implies that human nature is more at home when there is an incentive to work hard. The novel then seems to suggest that fiscal conservatism is the better evil of the two, and that the "American Dream" might not be as flawed when it comes to how humans work as the alternative.

I would definitely recommend reading the novel whatever your politics, as its more an exploration of the issues involved than an ideological screed. Intensely and uncomfortably gripping as Shriver's work always seems to be.