Book Review: A Better World by Sarah Langan

In a highly plausible near-future North America, the Farmer-Bowen family is struggling to survive in what remains of New York City. There was no singular precipitating event for the decline of a once thriving society, no apocalypse to identify as a turning point. While everyone has their theories as to why things have come to this unfortunate pass, what’s certain is that the ties that once held the economy and society together have long been fraying, culminating in this time of desperation:

It was the Era of the Great Unwinding. The institutions, laws, and even the bridges and roads that people had come to depend upon were falling apart. Everything got automated, but broken-automated. You called your health insurance to ask why they’d dropped coverage despite cashing your check, and your complaint got fed into a system that took three months to process. By then you no longer needed the surgery because your appendix had burst. The on-call doc had saved your life, but they’d done so without getting prior approval from said insurance company, which was using that as a reason to deny your claim. You appealed this denial, which took six months. In the meantime, the hospital’s collection agency repossessed your car.

Linda and Russell Farmer-Bowen are perhaps luckier than most people trying to eke out an existence amidst growing debt and an increasingly unhealthy physical environment. Linda is a trained physician who volunteers at a free clinic when not parenting her and Russell’s fifteen year-old twins, Josie and Hip. Russell is a numbers genius who works for the EPA until massive budget cuts wipe out his entire department. 

As the months pass and Russell, along with about a quarter of the population, is unable to find a new job, the Farmer-Bowens’ meager savings dwindle. With no money, they won’t be able to keep living in the city, and will likely join the ranks of those who vanish into the untamed wilds. So when the BetterWorld corporation comes calling, wanting to hire Russell as a science advisor based in their company town of Plymouth Valley, the Farmer-Bowens are almost universally relieved. This will solve not only their financial problems but also their health issues, as Plymouth Valley boasts air filtered of pollutants, in addition to low crime rates and guaranteed work.

At first Plymouth Valley seems like a dream come true. Sure, the local culture—inexplicably named Hollow—is secretive and weird. But the Farmer-Bowens live in a beautiful house rent-free and don’t have to pay for food, clothing or transport, as the company takes care of all their needs. If only their neighbors and co-workers were less awful. At first the newcomers figure that the snubs they’re receiving are part of an initial hazing, before realizing that this ongoing shunning could have serious consequences. A poor yearly review by the Plymouth Valley higher ups could get them kicked out of paradise if they can’t show that they’re assimilating well with their peers.

Things start turning around when Linda falls in with an elite group known as ActHollow. The charitable group is comprised of some of the most powerful and influential of Plymouth Valley’s permanent residents. One of their latest ventures is a free clinic just outside city walls. They want to hire Linda to work in the clinic and, more importantly, seem to genuinely want to be her friends.

This friendship almost instantly ends the veiled insults and bewildering sabotage that have been coming from the rest of their neighbors. But being suddenly popular doesn’t bring Linda the relief she expected. Instead, her new position allows her to learn more and more about Plymouth Valley and its inhabitants, and especially a disruptive former member of ActHollow named Gal Parker. Her newfound knowledge does little to reassure her about her position in this strange town:

In the calm, floating drift before sleep, it came to her that all of this was a game. The price of living here meant playing. She was expected to drop the subject of Gal Parker and move on with her life. She was expected to make the clinic look good and to raise her kids and to canoodle her husband. She was expected to continue being a member of ActHollow by doing exactly as told. She was expected to be the woman in the mirror–pretty, appropriate, and yielding.

 

For the sake of her family, for the sake of peace in her life, she wanted to be the kind of person who went along. But there was a monster underneath all this. An ugly thing that breathed and watched. A hungry thing.

While Linda has always made sacrifices for her family, Plymouth Valley’s demands seem a step too far, even before she begins uncovering its hideous secrets. Will she be able to make a stand before it’s too late, or will the temptation of financial and physical security seduce her family into betraying their principles or, even worse, each other?

This was a rollercoaster ride of a book, part The Stepford Wives, part The Lottery, and 100% a critique of wealthy, insular societies that seek to assuage their consciences with stopgap measures that require no real sacrifice on their end. The satire hits hard as Sarah Langan gleefully eviscerates not only the trends that could conceivably bring our present day to this horrific future, but also the kind of people who think that exclusive Plymouth Valley and its self-serving practices are a good idea. I’m still torn as to how I feel about the true identities of the monsters lurking beneath the town though. I did wholly enjoy the ending otherwise, as hope finally makes its way back into the world through the selfless and inspirational actions of a determined few.