Staff Pick
Imagine a future very much like the present day, only everything is slightly, predictably worse: housing prices have skyrocketed, unemployment is at an all-time high, and increasing advances in technology have made privacy a thing of the past. This is the world Kennard has created for Karl and Genevieve, a young married couple surviving off their scant paychecks and credit cards. After a little "creative accounting" lands Karl in legal trouble, he's offered an alternative to jail: the Transition. It's a shadowy program that promises to help young, rudderless couples by pairing them with older, more successful mentors who will teach them how to manage their lives like the savviest capitalists — what could possibly go wrong? The Transition manages to be both funny and terrifying at the same time, a cautionary tale about a depressingly plausible future. Recommended By Lauren P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"The sort of book that cuts you off from your family and has you walking blindly through seven lanes of traffic with your face pressed obliviously to the page." --James Marriott, The Times (London)
Do you or your partner spend more than you earn? Have your credit card debts evolved into collection letters? Has either of you received a court summons? Has either of you considered turning to a life of a crime? You are not alone. We know. We can help.
Welcome to the Transition.
While taking part in the Transition, you and your partner will spend six months living under the supervision of your mentors, two successful adults of a slightly older generation. Freed from your financial responsibilities, you will be coached through the key areas of the scheme--Employment, Nutrition, Responsibility, Relationship, Finances, and Self-respect--until you are ready to be reintegrated into adult society.
At the end of your six months, who knows what discoveries you'll have made about yourself? The "friends" you no longer need. The talents you'll have found time to nurture. The business you might have kick-started. Who knows where you'll be?