The Resisters

The perfect summer read for Late Pandemic Times: a dystopian novel about a young woman with a “golden arm” being raised by resister parents in an ultra-connected, hyper consumerist dystopia. A group of “Surplus” parents decide to start an underground baseball league and Gwen's pitching catches the attention of the surveillance state. With baseball suddenly declared an Olympic sport, and with a major Olympic showdown with ChinRussia coming up, Gwen is recruited to university so she can train with other elite athletes.

Themes of class and race underpin the story, which is also set in a chaotic ecological climate: many “Surplus” people have to live on boats because sea level has risen due to climate change. One possible punishment for misbehavior is for people to be cast off of land and forced to live entirely at sea for a period of time. Storms at sea have become so dangerous that being Cast Off can be a death sentence.

The whole story is narrated by Gwen's father, Grant, a former teacher who is good at making gadgets to help his family evade the constant state surveillance. His pragmatic, sensible, slightly wry voice gives the impression of steadiness, even when he is deeply worried. I found this combination of calm affect and scary circumstances very familiar after the last 4 years, and especially after the last year.

Highly readable, emotionally complex, very satisfying. Also, Ann Patchett says it's a “Stone cold masterpiece.”