SATIRE, POLITICS, REVIEWS
Review: Breit New World
Dystopian satire in the era of Poe’s Law
You probably haven’t heard of Breit New World, an obscure 2017 political satire claiming to be written by “John Whitebred” and “Redd Whyne,” two obviously fictitious pen names created by individuals who — I assume — wished to steer clear of the “right-wing doxxing campaigns” their fictional bios mention.
Well, now you’ve heard of it. This self-described “bastard love child” of 1984 and Dante’s Inferno contains satire that’s incredibly sharp — and vulgar to the point of being pornographic. It’s also very, very funny.
Breit New World offers a nightmare vision of America’s future, filled with barely-satirical ideas like a reality TV show being used to elect the president, a Tweeter-in-Chief using Twitter polls to decide which countries to invade, and — in a stunning reversal of Citizens United — individual celebrities acting as corporations and being traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Yet the most frightening aspect of all is how a group like the Proud Boys might latch onto such ideas at face value — as a future they wish to bring about. Protagonist Danny Algernon’s homophobia and misogyny seem to gel perfectly with the views of alt-right bigots, who would happily and unironically advocate for the iron-fisted policies of the novella’s satirical “Ayatollah,” Steve Bannon.
Still, putting aside all the anguish over authorial intent, laughter remains a great medicine. If you’re not squeamish, and if you enjoy political satire, try out Breit New World. You will laugh your ass off. I even discovered a free version on Smashwords. You’ll have to create an account to download it, but it’s 100% free.
Go forth and laugh, my child. Or cry, depending upon the state of the world.
