52nd out of 191 books
—
169 voters
The United States of Air: a Satire
by
J.M. Porup (Goodreads Author)
Food Enforcement Agent Jason Frolick believes in America. He believes in eating air. He struggles to get the food monkey off his back. As part of the Global War on Fat, his job is to put food terrorists in Fat Camp.
When a pizza dealer gets whacked in the park across the street from the Thin House, the Prophet Jones himself asks Frolick to investigate. For the first time ev...more
When a pizza dealer gets whacked in the park across the street from the Thin House, the Prophet Jones himself asks Frolick to investigate. For the first time ev...more
Kindle Edition, 225 pages
Published
August 8th 2012
by J.M. Porup
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Dec 08, 2012
Mesha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads,
books-on-shelf
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaways. First of all, I would very much like to point out that this is the very first book I've read that fascinated me with its chapter and a half, five eights and ninety-eight one-hundreths. Fun to see. So one point for originality.
"See the change you wish to be." Just the starting message of the book will make you want to root for the naive main character, The United States of Air's only hope, Agent Frolick. The thing about this story is it wan...more
"See the change you wish to be." Just the starting message of the book will make you want to root for the naive main character, The United States of Air's only hope, Agent Frolick. The thing about this story is it wan...more
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaways, I'm waiting for the delivery, can't wait to read it! ^^
Update:
It has finally arrived! Let's see how it is...
I have never read a satire before, and it leaves me uncertain ... I dare say that for a person with food disases it feeds a certain distaste for the food itself, or so it was in my case. However it made me laugh at certain points and the book is well written, the narrative flows well, making it a fairly quick read.
So what can I say?...more
Update:
It has finally arrived! Let's see how it is...
I have never read a satire before, and it leaves me uncertain ... I dare say that for a person with food disases it feeds a certain distaste for the food itself, or so it was in my case. However it made me laugh at certain points and the book is well written, the narrative flows well, making it a fairly quick read.
So what can I say?...more
Oh dear.
This book showed really great promise, a whacky idea where America has abandoned its pursuit of food and abolished eating calories.
The whole faux redneckisms like the misspelling of terrorist and foreign and foreigner. Funny at first, annoying as hell after seeing it more than 10 times.
The whole concept of Fat Camps that are at first places like Guantanamo but later more like Auschwitz.
The story has a decent enough plot, an agent investigating a murder that the secret service seem to be...more
This book showed really great promise, a whacky idea where America has abandoned its pursuit of food and abolished eating calories.
The whole faux redneckisms like the misspelling of terrorist and foreign and foreigner. Funny at first, annoying as hell after seeing it more than 10 times.
The whole concept of Fat Camps that are at first places like Guantanamo but later more like Auschwitz.
The story has a decent enough plot, an agent investigating a murder that the secret service seem to be...more
After reading the first chapter of J.M. Porup’s new satire, The United States of Air, I thought, this is going to be wacky. A global war on fat? Waged by America? Destroy all food? Live by eating air alone? By the second chapter I was hooked.
The Prophet takes America by storm. Announces if elected he would begin a worldwide war on food, and that eating is the basic source of all America’s woes. It doesn’t take very many pages for the reader to understand how skilled Porup is, and how easily he c...more
The Prophet takes America by storm. Announces if elected he would begin a worldwide war on food, and that eating is the basic source of all America’s woes. It doesn’t take very many pages for the reader to understand how skilled Porup is, and how easily he c...more
Do you have a copromania? Then this book is definitely for you! :))
The United States of Air is a satire about the way people look at food,(defecation) and the government. A combination that's not seldom used in literature but it works for me.
The message this book tells is definitely delivered in a farce. Some moments are just plain ridiculous but it serves its purpose to show the, contradicting, intuitive message it wants to convey: the right way to eat food and the dynamics in political matter...more
The United States of Air is a satire about the way people look at food,
The message this book tells is definitely delivered in a farce. Some moments are just plain ridiculous but it serves its purpose to show the, contradicting, intuitive message it wants to convey: the right way to eat food and the dynamics in political matter...more
I won this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaways. Overall, I give this book major points for it's originality. I have never read anything even like this book, and I mostly enjoyed it. The theme and message were so powerful, but what this book really lacked was excitement.
Before I review this book in more detail, let me explain what it is about. This book is really a parody of the Dystopian novels we have today. Set in a futuristic America, it tells the story of what happens after citizen...more
Before I review this book in more detail, let me explain what it is about. This book is really a parody of the Dystopian novels we have today. Set in a futuristic America, it tells the story of what happens after citizen...more
I won this on Goodreads and I was curious about receiving a satire. Satire is not easy to write. When you're dealing with an international audience, it makes the humour element of satire even harder. This book stemmed from funny ideas in themselves:It's advertised as mocking the war of terror, but the element of a United States that is anti-food is quite funny in itself. The protagonist is Ambassodor to France from the United States of Air. Of course, France would still be reluctant to give up f...more
A very big thank you to Goodreads, the publisher and J.M. for my free copy of this book. I won it through the Firstreads section and so could you! Actually, an extra big thanks to J.M. for getting me a copy so quickly after he discovered there was a problem with Canadian winners receiving theirs.
The premise of this book was very amusing to me and that is what led me to enter the draw. The war on fat. Taken to the extreme (as any good satire would). Our hero - Agent Frolick - is quite simply a bu...more
The premise of this book was very amusing to me and that is what led me to enter the draw. The war on fat. Taken to the extreme (as any good satire would). Our hero - Agent Frolick - is quite simply a bu...more
The War on Drugs.
The War on Terror.
The War on Fat.
So we're talking satire, with as much subtlety as a politician on the election campaign. Which is not my favourite sort of satire I've got to admit. So THE UNITED STATES OF AIR and I struggled to come to an understanding from the beginning.
You can see the point it's trying to make - the willingness of people to believe any old garbage spouted at them from "on high" - whether the "on high" is religious, political, some combination of both or just...more
The War on Terror.
The War on Fat.
So we're talking satire, with as much subtlety as a politician on the election campaign. Which is not my favourite sort of satire I've got to admit. So THE UNITED STATES OF AIR and I struggled to come to an understanding from the beginning.
You can see the point it's trying to make - the willingness of people to believe any old garbage spouted at them from "on high" - whether the "on high" is religious, political, some combination of both or just...more
May 08, 2013
Ian
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed,
librarything-giveways
I received this book as a LibraryThing give away in return for a review.
Don't believe the blub that the book is a satire on the so called War on Terror, it goes much further than that. I like my satire subtle and pointed whereas The United States Of Air is in your face, lampooning everything which smacks of zealous, centralised, control and the willingness of a populace to suck up fear and propoganda on the basis that it must be good for them and that dissenters must therefore be an enemy.
Where...more
Don't believe the blub that the book is a satire on the so called War on Terror, it goes much further than that. I like my satire subtle and pointed whereas The United States Of Air is in your face, lampooning everything which smacks of zealous, centralised, control and the willingness of a populace to suck up fear and propoganda on the basis that it must be good for them and that dissenters must therefore be an enemy.
Where...more
I won this book here at first reads.
This book was a really funny experience!
What would it be like if the president of the USA implemented his ideals of non-food air-only diet into the entire country? This country would have its name changed to "The United States of Air" and its president would be adressed as "The Prophet". What would his people be like? Fanatics who only eat air or food terrorists? How would the law succeed in prohibit food consumption? What would happen to diabetic patients who...more
This book was a really funny experience!
What would it be like if the president of the USA implemented his ideals of non-food air-only diet into the entire country? This country would have its name changed to "The United States of Air" and its president would be adressed as "The Prophet". What would his people be like? Fanatics who only eat air or food terrorists? How would the law succeed in prohibit food consumption? What would happen to diabetic patients who...more
Umm.... I am really astonished to read the kind of concept being introduced in this book. I must say it is really new and something i have never read or even heard of. I really appreciate the way Mr. Porup has really gone out of the box to think of such an amazing concept and create a story around it.
What disappointed me the most was that this books is really very abrupt at certain stages. I believe it would have been really great if the flow of the story was more in a concise way. At certain st...more
What disappointed me the most was that this books is really very abrupt at certain stages. I believe it would have been really great if the flow of the story was more in a concise way. At certain st...more
I won this book through Goodreads giveaways. Many thanks to the author (or his publisher? ;) ) for putting many many more books up for grabs than other authors! :)
I actually really liked this book. It is told from the limited first person point of view of Jason Frolick, a government agent, whose picture you would find if you looked up "naive" in the dictionary.
I liked how this restricted source of information really drew you into the absurdity of the whole system, while also allowing you to rea...more
I actually really liked this book. It is told from the limited first person point of view of Jason Frolick, a government agent, whose picture you would find if you looked up "naive" in the dictionary.
I liked how this restricted source of information really drew you into the absurdity of the whole system, while also allowing you to rea...more
Book Review: The United States Of Air By J M Porup: A Powerful Satire Against Hollow Wars
The United States of Air: a Satire that Mocks the War on Terror by J.M. Porup
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a lovely gift from GoodReads through First Reads giveaways – The United States Of Air – a satire by J. M. Porup. Porup is not a new name in literature. He was associated with Lonely Planet earlier and then started writing satire. He was born in America, loves Australia as his first choice, married to...more
The United States of Air: a Satire that Mocks the War on Terror by J.M. Porup
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a lovely gift from GoodReads through First Reads giveaways – The United States Of Air – a satire by J. M. Porup. Porup is not a new name in literature. He was associated with Lonely Planet earlier and then started writing satire. He was born in America, loves Australia as his first choice, married to...more
Pulling no punches Porup takes aim directly at the heart of America's "Policemen of the World" mentality, and in doing so, exposes some of what America doesn't understand about itself. He does it in a satirical, backhanded and often hilarious way. Watch for the little things that remind you of the other things. Yes it's over the top. Yes, you will groan sometimes. Yes, it takes a dirty nailed finger and pokes America's bruised ego. But in all great satire there is truth, and it's here.
I loathe this book and its dastardly author. This Porup, this Judas, is a traitor to The United States of Air, an illegal emigrant, and a food terrist. Because of his doubt, our ability to digest air is compromised. We could starve to death because of him!
So why, perhaps, you ask, am I rating his book five stars?
It's very strange. I don't quite understand it myself. It's almost as though... there was a hand... up my back... like I was a... sock puppet or something...
So why, perhaps, you ask, am I rating his book five stars?
It's very strange. I don't quite understand it myself. It's almost as though... there was a hand... up my back... like I was a... sock puppet or something...
The was a Goodreads giveaway book (Thank you very much)
The story is about (one assumes) the absurdity of the Bush government and pokes fun at ideology in general by creating a 'prophet'/president who believes that eating food is an addiction that should be forcibly cured.
The idea that people follow such absurdity and lie to themselves in order to survive is a fair observation and it is milked for all it is worth in this book.
The problem I have had with the concept and the execution of it all is...more
The story is about (one assumes) the absurdity of the Bush government and pokes fun at ideology in general by creating a 'prophet'/president who believes that eating food is an addiction that should be forcibly cured.
The idea that people follow such absurdity and lie to themselves in order to survive is a fair observation and it is milked for all it is worth in this book.
The problem I have had with the concept and the execution of it all is...more
Mar 10, 2013
Pinaki Sadhukhan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-reads
When I started reading the book I felt it was very absurd imagining US of Air where air is the only thing to eat. But as you go on reading the book grows on you and then it starts bombarding you with a lot of poo-poo and wee-wee jokes. But below all this the author beautifully hides the sarcasm showing a flawed and corrupt government of today and it is because of this that criminals roam free in broad daylight mocking the world. You have to 'see the change you wish to be.'

Careful! The NSA is watching ...
Normally, I begin these reviews by thanking Goodreads, but this time I’d like to thank the author, Mr. Porup, for making it possible for me to read and review this book. My copy was inexplicably lost in the mail, so when I reported this loss Mr. Porup and his associates became involved and sent me another. Thanks again!
I truly enjoyed this book. It made me snicker and chuckle, and was just an overall pleasure to read. I know some people were bothered by the toilet...more
I received this complimentary copy in exchange for review from www.LibraryThing.com
Quite a parody! I could not help but laugh out loud. Loved the whol ''food police" bit. And the ditsy ATFF agents Frolick and Green, what a pair they made, they are what made this such a comedy. I do look forward to reading more from this author!
Quite a parody! I could not help but laugh out loud. Loved the whol ''food police" bit. And the ditsy ATFF agents Frolick and Green, what a pair they made, they are what made this such a comedy. I do look forward to reading more from this author!
Originally published on my blog:
http://vanillamoonblog.com/2013/01/26...
I won this book thanks to Goodreads First Reads Giveaways. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it at all.
I wasn't even the slightest bit amused by the jokes in this book. It was way too exaggerated for my taste and as much as I hate not finishing books, I was so annoyed after 100 pages that I had to drop it. I honestly don't know how I managed to get that far. I thought it might get better, but instead it only got worse and wors...more
http://vanillamoonblog.com/2013/01/26...
I won this book thanks to Goodreads First Reads Giveaways. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it at all.
I wasn't even the slightest bit amused by the jokes in this book. It was way too exaggerated for my taste and as much as I hate not finishing books, I was so annoyed after 100 pages that I had to drop it. I honestly don't know how I managed to get that far. I thought it might get better, but instead it only got worse and wors...more
At first impression I thought I would like to read about the idea of a satire about the United States..but further on...I just couldn't enjoy this book...first of all...all the anti-food thing...made me very uncomfortable...yeah I know too much is bad but seriously...TERRORISM..the concept scared me...also I couldn't sympathize with the main character, who in exchange for loosing his loved ones does not realize his own and all of his "kinds" stupidity...and in the end of the book this fact just...more
Interesting one. I had trouble getting through it around the second quarter, but then it picked up again, and I enjoyed the rest of the book. I'm not giving it more stars, though, because some aspects of the book weren't so subtle, and I'm not sure this sits very well with satire. Let's just say I tend to prefer a more subtle kind of satire?
I won this book on Goodreads and I didn't mind the first few chapters I even found it a little witty. After about the first five chapters I just found myself burnt out on the whole story line. This was my first direct satire I've ever read so take my view point for what it's worth. I think everyone should give all books a chance, because you never know what you'll love until you try it.
I received this book through a First Reads giveaway.
I have always loved satires and this one was particularly amusing with a whimsical touch. While it pokes fun, it also has truth to it. The Prophet claims that food is the root of all evil in America and decides to live on air. It's both absurd and intriguing at the same time. It is a brilliant story that could have been better written. At some parts I had to force myself to keep reading. It could do with some refining.
Overall, I did enjoy the...more
I have always loved satires and this one was particularly amusing with a whimsical touch. While it pokes fun, it also has truth to it. The Prophet claims that food is the root of all evil in America and decides to live on air. It's both absurd and intriguing at the same time. It is a brilliant story that could have been better written. At some parts I had to force myself to keep reading. It could do with some refining.
Overall, I did enjoy the...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aussie Lovers of...: Taking the p*** out of the War on Terror | 1 | 22 | Oct 01, 2012 02:27pm | |
| Dystopian (And Ot...: a funny dystopia | 1 | 11 | Sep 21, 2012 07:11pm | |
| Relaxing Fun: A satire that mocks the so-called War on Terror | 1 | 8 | Sep 21, 2012 07:04pm |
Former Lonely Planet author J.M. Porup now spins a tale or two for his daily crust. He has lived on three continents, speaks six languages, and has worked as a kelp harvester, apple tree pruner, goatherd, cowherd, computer programmer, copywriter and journalist.
American by birth, Australian by choice, Colombian by marriage and Canadian by accident, he's currently plotting a move to Chile. His first...more
More about J.M. Porup...
American by birth, Australian by choice, Colombian by marriage and Canadian by accident, he's currently plotting a move to Chile. His first...more
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