BOOMSDAY

Government-encouraged suicide isn't a new idea for fiction--think SOYLENT GREEN, WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE, and THE CHILDREN OF MEN. But Christopher Buckley's approach--mass suicide as a panacea for a defective Social Security system--is boldly absurd and, at the same time, sobering. In other words, it's everything you expect from good satire. The narrative is timely and amusing, but the real revelation is Janeane Garofalo's reading. She's great as the voice of Cassandra, the 29-year-old blogger who instigates this social revolution, and she's also excellent at voicing the roundtable of special interests--a right-wing evangelist, a dirty-tricks president, and a gung-ho senator who is an amputee. The result is a truly democratic audiobook that makes fun of all parties equally. R.W.S. 2008 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]