The Disaster Tourist

THE DISASTER TOURIST is a new book in the climate fiction subgenre. This dark satire looks at workplace harassment, feminism, and disaster profiteering. The word “manufactured” sticks with me as a central theme, and not in the obvious way of being fake or unrealistic; I'm referring to the societal tendency to influence the future with our past and current actions. Mentally this book felt like it had three distinct phases, each one unraveling further.

Content warnings: sexual harassment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Counterpoint Press for the digital ARC and opportunity to review early.

Bong Joon-ho adaptation when???

Without giving too much away, this gave me the same feelings I had when reading The Man Who Was Tuesday by G.K. Chesterton. Its critiques are sharp, its beats are  thrilling, and it has the conviction to keep following the premise to the bitter end. I loved every minute, and genuinely would love to see an adaptation. Initially I thought it might be more in the wheelhouse of Park Chan-wook, but by the end it's Bong-ho or bust.

Amazing...

Some things one needs to know here.
In Korea a 30+ female employee is “old news”. She can't really get a new job, and everyone assumes she's going to get married if she quits. Quitting a job is basically a suicide. Especially if you quit like Yona did. The company wanted to get rid of her, and was just squeezing the rest of her out before throwing her out, so she wouldn't be getting any good resume either. This is why she was in such a horrible position.
But, she submitted her resignation letter. Her work had become insufferable.
She was accepting the trip, not as a possibility to keep her job, but as some sort of compensation for the bullying and harassment the company had put her through.
So, she chose the most expensive trip.

Frankly, I'm not sure if she died or not...