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177th out of 1,672 books
—
2,445 voters
Boomsday
BOOMSDAY'S heroine is Cassandra Devine, a charismatic 29-year-old blogger who incites massive political turmoil when, outraged over mounting Social Security debt, she politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of her outraged peers ("Generation Whatever") and an ambitious S...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
April 2nd 2007
by Twelve
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Two words come to mind as I read this, fast and glib. I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It read like a tasty drink of mostly empty calories, but it did taste great. Has all the makings of a movie that will make the right person's career, just a question of who right now in Hollywood could play the roles of Cassandra (Leslie Bibb) and Senator Jepperson (Robert Downey, Jr.), because if you get the right sexual chemistry between them, you could really have something there (oh wait, the...more
Couldn't really stomach this, though I did finish it. Twenty-nine year old Cassandra Devine is a PR professional and blogger who proposes a solution to the increasing Social Security debt: give Baby Boomers incentives to kill themselves by the age of seventy. She calls it "voluntary transitioning."
I loved the premise, and I'm usually all for political satire, but I just didn't care for the writing. I think this is a good example of how everyone talks in the novel:
"Ask yourself, Do you really wa...more
I loved the premise, and I'm usually all for political satire, but I just didn't care for the writing. I think this is a good example of how everyone talks in the novel:
"Ask yourself, Do you really wa...more
5 likes · like · see review
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Jun 24, 2008
asteroidbuckle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone with a sense of humor
Shelves:
funny-satirical
Two words: Effing hilarious!
I picked this up in the Midway airport on my way back from Chicago and wow...what a wonderful find!
Picture it: 77 million Baby Boomers are on the verge of retirement, which is putting a strain on the already floundering Social Security system. The US economy is in the toilet and Congress just passed a bill raising Social Security taxes 30% for the under thirty crowd.
Enter Cassandra Devine. She's a PR spin doctor at a high-profile Washington, D.C firm that specializes...more
I picked this up in the Midway airport on my way back from Chicago and wow...what a wonderful find!
Picture it: 77 million Baby Boomers are on the verge of retirement, which is putting a strain on the already floundering Social Security system. The US economy is in the toilet and Congress just passed a bill raising Social Security taxes 30% for the under thirty crowd.
Enter Cassandra Devine. She's a PR spin doctor at a high-profile Washington, D.C firm that specializes...more
Holy crap. This book was so FREAKING GOOD.
The time and place: America, a few years down the road. Prime rates are at 18 percent. Inflation is at thirty percent. Foreign countries are refusing to loan America any more money. The United States is at war with six areas, including Quebec, and the National Guard is spread so thin that it is now safe for other countries to invite the U.S. to declare war.
And in the midst of all these financial crises, 77 million Americans--Baby Boomers all--are beginn...more
The time and place: America, a few years down the road. Prime rates are at 18 percent. Inflation is at thirty percent. Foreign countries are refusing to loan America any more money. The United States is at war with six areas, including Quebec, and the National Guard is spread so thin that it is now safe for other countries to invite the U.S. to declare war.
And in the midst of all these financial crises, 77 million Americans--Baby Boomers all--are beginn...more
2 likes · like · see review
Will the Baby Boomers bankrupt the country and leave their children and grandchildren in hopeless debt? Why not "incentivize" suicide? This Swiftian solution--and the author even lets his character refer to Swift--is proposed by Cassandra Devine, an "under-30" who, through a series of odd events, has found her niche as a political consultant and blogger. C. Buckley knows the worlds of politics and K Street extremely well, and he uses his knowledge brilliantly. Although categorized as satire, thi...more
I can't remember who recommended Christopher Buckley to me (I think it was Ashley) but this was the first one I'd read fully and... well, it's good (very funny, very charming, interesting issues brought up) but I almost didn't get to that point.
I hated all the characters in the very beginning.
All of them. ALL OF THEM.
Then I skipped past the very beginning to the point where ... what's her name (sorry, I really can't remember. I want to call her Sophie) has joined the army, she's taking this ric...more
I hated all the characters in the very beginning.
All of them. ALL OF THEM.
Then I skipped past the very beginning to the point where ... what's her name (sorry, I really can't remember. I want to call her Sophie) has joined the army, she's taking this ric...more
Self-important bloggers, selfish parents, addled politicians, slimy P.R. executives and creepy evangelicals pretty much round out the cast of characters in Boomsday. Our heroine, a privileged young lady whom, although principled, seems motivated exclusively by bitterness over not having her Yale university education paid for by her father. She does a Private Benjamin-inspired stint in the Army (which was a similarly accurate fantasy of military life...) which she completely screws up, somehow l...more
Boomsday is a highly entertaining story about what might happen when the Baby Boomers begin to retire and bankrupt Social Security. The main protagonist, Cassandra, is a 29-year-old PR flack with a cynical (and popular) blog and a Red Bull habit, joined in protagonistness by her mentor Terry and a politician named Randy. There's a cast of memorable supporting characters including her sleazy father, a wheeling-dealing southern minister, a rich Catholic priest, the foul-mouthed President of the US...more
This cynical farce of American politics includes a cast of disreputable characters. There are several ambitious politicians, a self-appointed spokeswoman for her generation on a crusade against Social Security (which she seems to have only a superficial understanding of), a fundamentalist Baptist minister (crusading against just about everything), and a slimy PR executive (who may be the most rational of the bunch). The people in this book are they type you would be best off avoiding, if possibl...more
Another over-the-top satire from the author of "Thank You for Smoking." Example, during a Presidential Debate, the challenger uses his 90-second response period to blurt, "Shut the Eff Up!"
Premise: An Ann Coulter-like character proposes "Voluntary Transitioning" (eg, suicide at age 70 in exchange for exemption from death taxes) to tweak the government into finding a real solution to fund Social Security.
But her modest proposal is taken seriously as both a grassroots movement among the under 30...more
Premise: An Ann Coulter-like character proposes "Voluntary Transitioning" (eg, suicide at age 70 in exchange for exemption from death taxes) to tweak the government into finding a real solution to fund Social Security.
But her modest proposal is taken seriously as both a grassroots movement among the under 30...more
Without a doubt, the funniest political novel of the year, Christopher Buckley's "Boomsday" is as spot-on a prediction of the oncoming doom of the Social Security system as any other current prognosticator's view; just as ridiculous perhaps, but much more riotous. The story revolves around Cassandra ("Cass") Devine, a political blogger and Capitol Hill operative whose real passion is, in Buckley's words, "instilling in members of her generation outrage against the members of the previous one and...more
Christopher Buckley continues to write political satire in this book about a "PR chick", Cassandra Devine, who becomes a leader of the indignant under 30 crowd as she tries to get social security solvency into the public arena of debate. At her side are her mentor and boss Terry and Sen. Jepperson (D-Mass)who uses the platform to challenge the incumbant president in a primary battle. Other characters are the charactiture Gideon Payne founder of the Society for the Protection of Every Ribonucleic...more
Reviewed for Library Journal.
Review in March 15, 2007 LJ:
This latest satire from Buckley (Thank You for Not Smoking) tackles the looming Social Security crisis, which will be triggered when all the baby boomers begin retiring, an occasion known as Boomsday. Cassandra Devine, a 29-year-old Washington PR flack, kicks off the novel's action by suggesting on her blog that members of her cohort, the "Whatever" generation, protest by taking action against gated communities, known harbors of soon-to-re...more
Review in March 15, 2007 LJ:
This latest satire from Buckley (Thank You for Not Smoking) tackles the looming Social Security crisis, which will be triggered when all the baby boomers begin retiring, an occasion known as Boomsday. Cassandra Devine, a 29-year-old Washington PR flack, kicks off the novel's action by suggesting on her blog that members of her cohort, the "Whatever" generation, protest by taking action against gated communities, known harbors of soon-to-re...more
While I'm not usually a fan of political novels, I found Buckley's Boomsday to be a smart, funny tale of the current Social Security conundrum. This master of political satire held even my interest by using characters that could very well exist in real life. The protagonist, Cass Devine, represents a real, albeit exaggerated example of the U30 (under 30) citizen who is tired of having to pay for the government's bad judgment.
The increased taxes placed on younger generations pushes Cass to make...more
The increased taxes placed on younger generations pushes Cass to make...more
In Boomsday, Christopher Buckley explores the scenario of the failing Social Security system as the Baby-Boomer generation retires. The protagonist of the novel, Cassandra Devine, is a 29 year old public relations executive by day and angry blogger by night. The anger comes from the government’s attempt to save Social Security by taxing the younger generation, Devine’s generation, into oblivion. Cassandra Devine hatches an amazing solution to the entire Boomer issue; a “meta-issue” designed to s...more
A very scathing romp which spoke directly to my loathing of the American Baby Boomer. Somehow Buckley got into my brain and stole all of the thoughts I have on the "1st generation" of boomers. He lays down a story which is so in the now of our media-driven, fad-hypnotized, "we want it because we deserve it" society - then adds a twisted concept of how we can save our economy by offering "voluntary early retirement" to any boomer who wants all their social security now in a single lump sum.
The cr...more
The cr...more
This is entertaining enough, but I'm never going to finish it, because it's sort of pointless. He's slick and clever, and if you want to read a funny version of how DC works, a satire that doesn't actually teach you anything new, just a way to pass a few hours, this will do it.
Actually, if I'm stuck in a waiting room, or in an airport, with nothing else to do, no other books and no wireless, and this was handy, I might finish it. Which is really what a book like this is for.
Actually, if I'm stuck in a waiting room, or in an airport, with nothing else to do, no other books and no wireless, and this was handy, I might finish it. Which is really what a book like this is for.
Christopher Buckley is such a fun author. The way he writes it's like you see the movie or the action being played out in your head. I even had actors picked out for all the parts. Basically, this book is about the economic crisis with social security. The main character gets dumped on, first by her father, then by a U.S. Senator, then by the Army. But instead of lying down, she reads Ayn Rand and blogs. Calling the baby boomers to take account for early retirement, skimming off todays youth. Bo...more
Boomsday ended up being a quick read for me- finished in a lazy weekend. (The first in many months). Christopher Christopher Buckley's Boomsday follows the story of Ms. Cassandra Devine, a blond, beautiful public relations maven who in an attempt to solve the Social Security disaster presents her own version of Swift's Modest Proposal.
After inciting the unfairly taxed 18-30 age group to protest against the retirement community golf courses in a blog post, Cassandra is pushed into the forefront...more
After inciting the unfairly taxed 18-30 age group to protest against the retirement community golf courses in a blog post, Cassandra is pushed into the forefront...more
Cassandra Devine, 30, is a high-flying public relations flak by day. By night, she's a blogger who's outraged that her generation is being taxed to the gills to pay for Social Security for the baby boomers. She comes up with a solution to the mess: In return for significant tax benefits, baby boomers will agree to kill themselves at age 70. If they agree to this "transitioning" at age 65, they'll get even more substantial breaks.
For this, Christopher Buckley owes a debt to Jonathan Swift's "A Mo...more
For this, Christopher Buckley owes a debt to Jonathan Swift's "A Mo...more
Oct 10, 2010
Eli Dawson
added it
“Sometimes fiction is not as strange as the truth. That’s the hard part of writing satire in America. You’re in competition with the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.” – Christopher Buckley
What would happen if Jonathan Swift had written his pamphlet, A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick, in the blogging age? Probably something similar to what happens in the novel Boomsda...more
What would happen if Jonathan Swift had written his pamphlet, A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick, in the blogging age? Probably something similar to what happens in the novel Boomsda...more
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Mr. Buckley's scathing insightful satire burns brightly with "Boomsday", a tale farcical enough to be hilarious, yet imbued with an element of truth that almost makes it seem credible. A young lady, screwed over by her father when he spends her Yale fund on a dot-com he was starting, gets royally peeved and makes a decade-long journey into exposing the very flawed Social Security Administration by first starting a blog, then inciting riots against baby boomers in golf courses, then acting as a c...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
Once again, political satirist Christopher Buckley (Thank You for Smoking) delivers a firecracker of a novel that explodes with imagination, irony, and wit. Buckley sometimes overexplains, to show off how smart he is, but he is discussing Social Security here. Besides boring subject matter, the novel contains a completely over-the-top premise and a lead character that strains credibility. So the overexplanation works, for the most part, because it evokes laughs. "If you're looking for a lighter,
...more
The main character is a Bosnia veteran, but the author clearly hasn’t bothered to do any research - she applied to Ranger school and is an Army corporal after only eighteen months, this despite the fact that the Army doesn’t allow women to become Rangers and rarely promotes anyone to Corporal anymore, especially soldiers in Public Affairs. The congressman she escorts won’t give back the keys to her Hummvee, as if such a thing exists. Military Humvees have no keys, and a common right of passage f...more
1 like · like · see review
The writing is clever, but the book's flaws overshadow its virtues. Writing in 2007, Buckley's premise is a mass movement among the under-35 crowd in protest against the Social Security Ponzi scheme. Buckley's satire is undermined by the fact that actual events over the past four years have, in many ways, exceeded his satirical predictions. For example, at one point, he states that the Federal budget deficit is $1.1 trillion, a figure that must have seemed comical in 2007. It's not so funny now...more
I'm not what you would call a "confident reviewer." When I dislike a book that is generally well received, I begin to feel as though there is something severely lacking in my own character that has prevented me from enjoying the story, like everyone else did. This was how I felt when I finished Boomsday . . .
This was my third foray into Christopher Buckley territory. I was introduced to him when I saw the film "Thank you for Smoking," based on his novel of the same name, which I liked very much....more
This was my third foray into Christopher Buckley territory. I was introduced to him when I saw the film "Thank you for Smoking," based on his novel of the same name, which I liked very much....more
As an audio book, I wasn't a fan of Janeane Garofalo's style. A lot of her character voices were just speaking louder.
As a book, I loved this one! First Buckley book I've read and I really like his style of writing. Boomsday is political satire based on the baby boomers retirement and the inevitable depletion of Social Security.
Cassandra Devine, labeled as a morally superior PR chick, leads the way in renouncing baby boomers squandering of Social Security. It starts innocently enough with protes...more
As a book, I loved this one! First Buckley book I've read and I really like his style of writing. Boomsday is political satire based on the baby boomers retirement and the inevitable depletion of Social Security.
Cassandra Devine, labeled as a morally superior PR chick, leads the way in renouncing baby boomers squandering of Social Security. It starts innocently enough with protes...more
This was a funny novel spoofing politics. The young Cassandra Devine was accepted to Yale to find that her father had used all her tuition funds and mortgaged the house for his start up company. He tells her to join the army. Her job in the army was to escort visiting dignatories, and the final one was young, rich congressman Randolph Jepperson (Randy). Randy asks to drive, they are attacked, and took off into a mined field. Cass is discharged from the army. Congressman Randy has lost a leg and...more
Other reviewers note Boomsday's glibness and lament its awkward dialog. Some describe Boomsday as "scathing," even "anti-humanist." There are plenty of effusive readers, too, ("Buckley is a genius.") But I tend to agree with the following description - "entertaining, but not mind-blowing."
While this reviewer agrees that Boomsday adopts a scathing, sometimes misanthropic tone, he found that the book mainly delivers a steady stream of warmed-over social commentary. It's hard to get very excited a...more
While this reviewer agrees that Boomsday adopts a scathing, sometimes misanthropic tone, he found that the book mainly delivers a steady stream of warmed-over social commentary. It's hard to get very excited a...more
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Christopher Buckley graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1976. He shipped out in the Merchant Marine and at age 24 became managing editor of Esquire magazine. At age 29, he became chief speechwriter to the Vice President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. Since 1989 he has been founder and editor-in-chief of Forbes Life magazine.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Good...more
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