Famed pundit J. P. Yates - the futurist - is a cynical purveyor of trends and predictions to the corporations and the state, and a man who experiences an epiphany after emptying his hotel room mini bar: he's a fake. After years of peddling insights to any group with enough cash - he once spoke on successive days to a leading pesticide manufacturer and the Organic Farmers of America, receiving standing ovations from both - he stuns the Futureworld conference in South Africa by committing career suicide, deriding the futility of himself and his peers, and declaring himself "founding father of the Coalition of the Clueless." Unfortunately, this sincere attempt to self-destruct leads to his career taking off: he's more in demand than ever as a fearless truth-sayer, and is soon recruited by a shady organisation to travel the world asking why everyone hates the US; he ends up in Bas'ar, a war-torn fictional country in the Middle East not a million miles away from Iraq, where press-releases can't cover up the savage anarchy...With amusing swipes at the likes of (real-life) futurist Faith Popcorn, "New York Times" columnist, Tom Friedman and billionaires Ted Turner and Bill Gates, this clever tale is never short of laughs, but it is also a deeply serious satire on the post-9/11 arrogance of the American government, and an investigation of the consequences of that arrogance across the world. A short story excerpted from the novel was a National Magazine Award finalist.
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Review
`A debut novel so slick and seductive, you'll find yourself
reaching for your wallet without even knowing what's for sale' -- LA Weekly
`Othmer has mingled the conceits of the corporate-spy thriller
with those of domestic fiction' -- The Washington Post
`The Futurist is a novel to enjoy right here, right now' -- The Village Voice
reaching for your wallet without even knowing what's for sale' -- LA Weekly
`Othmer has mingled the conceits of the corporate-spy thriller
with those of domestic fiction' -- The Washington Post
`The Futurist is a novel to enjoy right here, right now' -- The Village Voice
From the Publisher
Written by a refugee from corporate culture, A short story
excerpted from the novel was a National Magazine Award finalist
excerpted from the novel was a National Magazine Award finalist
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Rolf Dobelli
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
This unusual novel is a lively, ironic, strange voyage through some of postmodern culture's most brutal elements, evoked with exaggerated extremes. If that sounds contradictory, it is, and that's the source of much of its power. Author James P. Othmer is both witty and gruesome as he moves from death on a South African soccer field to death in a space capsule, to relationships that appear and disappear. He critiques consumer culture and propaganda, continually nudging readers to notice their world's ethical underpinnings. He surfs through mock-ups of the media events and cultural cross-pollinations that define modern times. The novel is set in the present, but it is laced with traces of William Gibson (Pattern Recognition) and the slightest hint of Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner). Beyond recommending this evocative story as a fun, if sometimes dismaying, read, getAbstract suggests it to futurists, promoters and anyone concerned about corporate ethics.
By Furthur
Format:Paperback
I think this is a good debut, very modern, and catchy story at the beginning. The leitmotiv of marketing catch phrases self descriptions of the main character are an excellent idea; in fact what got me to buy the book and gets the three star rating. Unfortunately that does not hold the whole book together, and too many boring expectable moments and muddying plot then take the pleasure away.
Oh it is also a tad annoyingly targeted at rich glamour city type lots in search of original pricey treats ...
Oh it is also a tad annoyingly targeted at rich glamour city type lots in search of original pricey treats ...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
48 reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
You'll laugh, you'll feel queasy, you'll get tired of the over-the-top scenarios.
3 Aug 2006
By J. V. Lewis
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is a damned entertaining book. Very funny, very well-written characters, a believably-rendered world stageset of airports, boardrooms, hotel rooms, etc. But between out-loud laughs are stretches of air-sick realism that unsettle and disturb, and give the book a kind of chilling subtext that doesn't feel at all like summer fun. The book feels like sincere cultural criticism delivered by a manic, almost soul-less white-collar drudge, the twinges of whose remaining conscience are drowned-out by hysteric laughter.
I downgrade to 4 stars because I don't see why the author resorted to such drastic, almost slapstick juxtapositions: the main character consults Bible churches and the porn industry, for example. His cynicism is evident without such hamfisted hyperbole.
I noticed frequent similarities to David Foster Wallace's fiction, certainly a promising association, but Othmer kept needlessly augmenting an already forceful story, to the point I felt manipulated and disrespected as a reader. I am happy to forgive him these overindulgences, since the book is so fun, but I do feel that he missed the oportunity of writing something truly excellent. Describing a person and a culture that eschew constraint needn't require storytelling that eschews restraint.
I downgrade to 4 stars because I don't see why the author resorted to such drastic, almost slapstick juxtapositions: the main character consults Bible churches and the porn industry, for example. His cynicism is evident without such hamfisted hyperbole.
I noticed frequent similarities to David Foster Wallace's fiction, certainly a promising association, but Othmer kept needlessly augmenting an already forceful story, to the point I felt manipulated and disrespected as a reader. I am happy to forgive him these overindulgences, since the book is so fun, but I do feel that he missed the oportunity of writing something truly excellent. Describing a person and a culture that eschew constraint needn't require storytelling that eschews restraint.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Its sheer exuberance, its epigrammatic style, and its wit and irreverence are a hoot!
16 July 2006
By David M. Gordon
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
While reading The Futurist, I used words such as clever, hilarious, and insightful to describe the experience of reading such a fun and intelligent novel. The truth is these words do this book little justice. Its set pieces alone are worth the price of admission. It is laugh out loud funny. And its many characters contain great depth, and even their own tales. (Perhaps in Othmer's second novel...)
"Oh, shit. I've given back tens of millions. Some of these guys, these billionaires, make me sick. They think that now they're rich, they can satisfy their egos, alleviate their guilt, by thinking their accidental windfall somehow means they are geniuses, cosmically ordained and therefore eminently qualified to solve the world's problems -- AIDS, loose nukes, illiteracy. They're delusional enough to think that they matter more than others in a larger sense. They think, Now that I've made billions on a search engine that can locate highly specialized subgenres of kiddy porn at thrice the speed of light, I'm going to teach the world to read. When in truth they're rewriting history to say that their original business models, the ones that made them obscenely rich, were driven not by greed and hubris but by some larger calling to transform the world."
William Faulkner once instructed that good fiction is "about the human heart in conflict with itself." Author James P Othmer seemingly knows especially well this writerly commandment. Othmer conflates the personal and professional conflicts that rage in the heart of his protagonist, Yates (the eponymous Futurist) with his, and our, attempt at understanding "why they hate us (Americans)."
It has been a long, long while since I devoured a novel as voraciously as I did The Futurist. Its sheer exuberance, its epigrammatic style, and its wit and irreverence are a hoot! More to the point, however: I believe you would enjoy this novel every bit as much as I did. And still do. Yes, it is that memorable.
Check it out!
David M Gordon
"Oh, shit. I've given back tens of millions. Some of these guys, these billionaires, make me sick. They think that now they're rich, they can satisfy their egos, alleviate their guilt, by thinking their accidental windfall somehow means they are geniuses, cosmically ordained and therefore eminently qualified to solve the world's problems -- AIDS, loose nukes, illiteracy. They're delusional enough to think that they matter more than others in a larger sense. They think, Now that I've made billions on a search engine that can locate highly specialized subgenres of kiddy porn at thrice the speed of light, I'm going to teach the world to read. When in truth they're rewriting history to say that their original business models, the ones that made them obscenely rich, were driven not by greed and hubris but by some larger calling to transform the world."
William Faulkner once instructed that good fiction is "about the human heart in conflict with itself." Author James P Othmer seemingly knows especially well this writerly commandment. Othmer conflates the personal and professional conflicts that rage in the heart of his protagonist, Yates (the eponymous Futurist) with his, and our, attempt at understanding "why they hate us (Americans)."
It has been a long, long while since I devoured a novel as voraciously as I did The Futurist. Its sheer exuberance, its epigrammatic style, and its wit and irreverence are a hoot! More to the point, however: I believe you would enjoy this novel every bit as much as I did. And still do. Yes, it is that memorable.
Check it out!
David M Gordon
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sobering, hillarious.
11 July 2006
By J. P. Spallina
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
While much of what I read about The Futurist seems to be aimed at jaded corporate players and expats, this book struck me as just as relevant to the dormroom Stewart/Colbert fans who, without knowing the specific machinations behind the world that Yates existes in, that has been shoved down their throats since infancy, clearly feel that something is amiss. The heart of this book, encapsulated by Yates' admission of being a "founding member of the Coalition of the Clueless" should resonate with anyone who not only seeks the truth in a world programmed to cloud it, but has enough humilty and respect for it to throw their hands up every once in a while and say "I don't know". Therein lies Yates' likeablilty. His selfish pragmatism, obnoxiousness, and warped moral compass fittingly push that likeability to the edge, in a way only the best written anti-heroes can, but ultimately couldn't squelch it. That conflictedness of Yates' character, along with Othmer's spot-on satire and just plain witty prose made this book for me, and I'd highly recommend it to just about anyone else who comes across this review. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "the future aint what it used to be," and there is no better or more entertaining example of that today than Yates and The Futurist.
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