GAME CONTROL

In Nairobi, Eleanor Merritt works for a family planning group and becomes enmeshed with some zanies with a bizarre plan for saving the planet from overpopulation by killing two billion people. Author Lionel Shriver intends this to be a comic novel, but that’s not what Laural Merlington delivers. Rather, her utterly serious tone misses the comedy of the absurd, instead emphasizing the zealotry of the various factions involved. Eleanor's wavering devotion to Calvin, the architect of the plot, comes through, and some of the minor characters, like Panga, Calvin's ghost lover, are well portrayed, as is the plight of Africa's destitute. Overall, the novel comes across as a diatribe on population control—conscientiously read. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2009]