Our American King : A Novel by David Lozell Martin
]Mary and John, living in suburban Washington, D.C., are starving to death. America no longer exists in any real sense since its stunningly quick collapse. Just before the collapse the ultra rich bought up all the commodities (oil, food) and sequestered themselves away in easy-to-defend military bases where they play golf and have socials, guarded by the American military and paid mercenaries, leaving the vast majority (including the merely rich) with nothing at all, not even food. What little government exists exists solely to protect the ultra rich.
The John has a “vision” of sorts and imagines an American king that can put things back to right. The seek and find him in Washington where he’s hanging dead (former) power brokers upside-down and backwards on the fence outside the White House. His name is Tazza, and he eventually becomes king. This kicks off a cross-country trek and decades long war. And the shocking behaviour of the Canadians is wholly unexpected.
The book is told by Mary as a sort of oral history given much later (although how much later isn’t clear, but she’s quite old).
This is a tremendously good book and is quite hard to put down. And at only 300 pages, you don’t really have to.
