Louse.

by David Grand

What if Howard Hughes ruled his corporate empire from a chrome-and-glass citadel, served by problem gamblers who've been enslaved so they can pay off their debts? Louse is only partly the answer to that question. It's also a deft piece of corporate satire, an Orwellian fable about absolute power, even a kind of religious allegory. Author David Grand's remarkable first novel follows Herman Q. Louse, valet to the invalid, germ-phobic billionaire Herbert Horatio Blackwell, as he navigates the conspiracy-ridden world Blackwell has constructed in the middle of the Nevada desert. Louse's story is interspersed with snippets of memos, bulletins, press releases, and public confessions--Grand's modern version of groupthink--all of which provide a darkly comic counterpoint to the novel's growing intrigue. There are more twists and turns in this book than in your average Hollywood thriller, yet somehow the plot--as well-oiled as it is--becomes hardly the point. Louse is a chilling look at the fate of the individual in a collectivized world, as appropriate to today's corporate drones as to the denizens of Orwell's 1984 .

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published November 2, 1998

About the author

David Grand is the author of Louse, a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, and The Disappearing Body, which Bookforum described as “satirical noir at its mesmerizing best.” Grand received his MFA from New York University, where he held the Fellowship in Fiction and studied with E.L. Doctorow. His writing has appeared in anthologies as well as The New York Times Magazine, Travel and Leisure, BlackBook, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin sons.

Reviews

[Corey Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book for 2$ from habitat for humanity i think i got ripped off. David grand I want my time back this book ending was a mind trip. I am pissed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sci fi type book. It is weird but entertaining. I can almost imagine it. The extremely controlled environment and the desires of Poppy to make sure all is as germ free as possible. Those interred into this enclosed world must adhere to strictly enforced rules and procedures or face the consequences. If you like a good sci fi-- Read Louse.

[Ryandake · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't finish it. tried very hard. but i don't like any of the characters, the protag's point of view is too limited to allow me to see the world, and a majority of the time i can't figure out what's going on.

read about half of it, gave up.

[Greg D'Avis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and pretty. Very affecting -- it drew me in deeply without me really realizing it.

[Miro Nguyen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Similar to the plot of an action movie: The beginning of island and the like.

[Gospodyina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it ages ago, and recall liking it. For unknown reasons I have a signed copy which, based on the rest of the box I found it in, I surely bought in Canada.