Boomsday

by Christopher Buckley

Outraged over the mounting Social Security debt, Cassandra Devine, a charismatic 29-year-old blogger and member of Generation Whatever, incites massive cultural warfare when she politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of citizens, chief among them "an ambitious senator seeking the presidency." With the help of Washington's greatest spin doctor, the blogger and the politician try to ride the issue of euthanasia for Boomers (called "transitioning") all the way to the White House, over the objections of the Religious Right, and of course, the Baby Boomers, who are deeply offended by demonstrations on the golf courses of their retirement resorts.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Satire, Politics, Book Club, Audiobook, Contemporary

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2007

About the author

Christopher Buckley graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1976. He shipped out in the Merchant Marine and at age 24 became managing editor of Esquire magazine. At age 29, he became chief speechwriter to the Vice President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. Since 1989 he has been founder and editor-in-chief of Forbes Life magazine.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

He is the author of twelve books, most of them national bestsellers. They include: The White House Mess, Wet Work, Thank You For Smoking, God Is My Broker, Little Green Men, No Way To Treat a First Lady, Florence of Arabia, Boomsday and Supreme Courtship.

Mr. Buckley has contributed over 60 comic essays to The New Yorker magazine. His journalism, satire and criticism has been widely published—in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New Republic, Washington Monthly, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Esquire, and other publications. He is the recipient of the 2002 Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence. In 2004 he was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

Reviews

[Pseudonymous d'Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

__________________________
“I’ve got principles. And if you don’t like those, I’ve got others.” — Groucho Marx

Ah, the principles of politicians, right. I would hate to look into the mind of your average congressmember. Who knows what demons, pestilential prostitutes, sociopaths, dogs bred to fawn on anyone, vipers in herbage, and two-bit grifters with a three-bit vocabulary live in there. Now, you may think that I have a bad attitude about politicians. Yes, you get me. I suspect most of them work on the Reverse-Robin Hood Principle: “take from the rich and gouge the poor.” Boomsday is a hilarious look at politicians and their incestuous cousins—special-interest lobbies that specialize in renting politicians to do their bidding and PR firms that politicians count on to spin the sweetest of lies.


Ostensibly, this fictional dark comedy turns on Cassandra, a spunky but bitter young woman who is intent on taking down the Social Security system because she believes that people in her age group shouldn’t have to pay Social Security taxes to support people that she likes to call Wrinklies and resource hogs—people like ... well … me. But this story is just a McGuffin--as Alfred Hitchcock liked to call elements of a story that characters care deeply about, that motivates the conflicts, but that’s intrinsic importance is minimal. The book is about the workings of the political system, not about issues with the Social Security system. The story would still work even if this Social Security McGuffin were swapped for something else, for example, abortion rights, voting rights, drug wars, or immigration.


Cass’s quest gets out of hand when she convinces a congressman to introduce a bill calling for incentives for people who contractually agree to voluntarily commit suicide when they reach the age of 70. She says if enough people volunteer, the Social Security system can be made solvent. She never expects this bill to pass. She just put it out there as a stalking-horse—a radical proposal that will get publicity for her real aim—getting rid of Social Security. The problem is, it gains too much attention, including that of a serial killer who wants to help reduce the population of Wrinklies.



🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars. Full Disclosure: I used to work with an editor whose father, Garry Wills, is a renowned intellectual. Garry Wills was once a writer who worked for William F. Buckley, the “father of modern-day conservatism” and founder of the National Review. William F. is Christopher Buckley's father, and thus, I am sure, these 3 tiny degrees of separation make Chris and me the best of buds—even though he doesn’t know I exist. He is a conservative and I am not, but his satires about politics do not play favorites. He is knowledgeable about how Washington works and is not afraid to point out idiocy, sociopathic behavior and Machiavellian manipulation on both sides of the aisle. While Boomsday is a comic novel, everything reads true. After reading this book, you may never at a politician again without laughing in his face. I love this guy. I love this book.

Addendum:

Boomsday was written nearly 20 years ago, but here are some quotes from the book that might remind an American of similar things that have been said and done in the country in 2025

[After he lost the last election] …He hired expensive lobbyists and operatives from K Street; trade association sharks and hired guns; legislative dogs of war. By the time the restaffing was complete, his House colleagues were referring to his office as “the Death Star.”

[The senator] deserved not only to lose [the election] for these odious crimes against humanity, but also to be dragged from the Capitol building and strung up from the tallest tree, his body left as carrion for crows.

…the Attorney General had prosecuted her to the full extent of the law: Tearing up golf courses is a very serious crime, to say nothing of trying to overthrow the government.

Navy ships were blockading the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to drive up the price of Alaskan crude oil. (A bold move, to be sure, initiated by the Alaskan congressional delegation, now wielding disproportionate influence in the Capitol.)

“Damnit, Bucky, every time you quote that at me, you’re about to drag some asshole in here and make me kiss his ass. I’m president of the U.S.! My ass is the one that oughta be kissed! What the hell’s the point of being president, anyway?

Cass? Voluntary Transitioning! Best euphemism I’ve heard since ‘ethnic cleansing.’ I love it. With all my heart, I love it. I knew this was a winner from the get-go.”

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A word of warning: I'm sick, hopped up on cold meds, and barely able to keep my eyes open - but my stupid brain won't let me relax until I have a review on the books and I can't move on to another book until I have officially finished this one. Even though I can totally read several books at once, but if I am finished with a book, I can't start a new one until I'm FINISHED... which means reviewed in this crazytown brain of mine. So, you know. It might be more rambly and incoherent (and germy) than usual. I recommend thorough handwashing and some Purell after reading.

Anyway. I don't remember which came first - my buying this book, or my watching Thank You For Smoking. I think I was drawn to the bright cover in any case, but after seeing TYFS (which I love) I definitely wanted more of Buckley's work.

So I read this one, and... Ehh. I liked it. It was funny and smart and all of the things that I expected. But I think this is a case where I like the adaptation better than the text... well, I'm assuming, since as far as I know this one was not adapted. But comparing BD to the movie version of TYFS I can see how the style of Buckley's writing would adapt, and I think it works better in film. There are just so many asides and interruptions in the text, and in a visual medium you can actually have and follow those interruptions in a cut scene or pause-with-voiceover or whatever you want to use, and it works. In text... it kinda works out to be really rambly and long sentences that I wish were more streamlined.

But still... there were some great moments in the book and Buckley's timing is pretty good as far as the humor goes.

The main point of the book is the conflict between Social Security (the program) and the people who will actually end up paying for it because of how mismanaged the program has been. It was pretty interesting, and has definitely made me regret being born... but what can you do?

I actually found some of the other things in the book to be more terrifying than my going broke because Grandpa wants to play 3 rounds of golf a week. Things that surely exist but I was happier not knowing about. Like how government actually works (FML), Spider Repellent (which can delete any info found with certain search terms. "If it ain't on Google, it doesn't exist."), and RIP-Ware (which predicts, accurately, how long someone will live based on their DNA and lifestyle habits... and can obviously be exploited by any company in business to make a profit off of your life or death.).


The characters were interesting and I liked them, even the morally repellent ones. Well, hell, especially them.

Overall, I liked this, but I wish the writing was a little less staccato. OK. Yeah, that's about it. I'm going to take a nap now.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The British newspapers the last few days have been full of dire figures about our national balance sheet. Officially, Britain owes £903B, which already doesn't sound good. But, if you take into account the fact that a large proportion of Britain's pension obligations aren't funded, the number goes up to a terrifying £5T - about another £200K per household. One article said that, in order to balance the books, we would need to raise taxes by 30%.

Clearly that isn't going to happen. The problem is that everyone's suddenly woken up to a rather unpleasant truth. It's been an article of faith for a long time that economic growth is good: you rely on the fact that people in the future will be richer than they are now, and borrow against it. Alas, it turns out that this is just another version of the standard pyramid scheme, and has the same weakness; things go fine for a while, but in the end you run out of suckers to recruit. If you actually happen to know something about macroeconomics, please don't point out all six errors in what I just said. I know I'm ignorant. All the same, I don't think it's completely at variance with reality.

So what are we going to do? I'm afraid I have no idea. But Christopher Buckley presents an imaginative solution! It would be so convenient if all those expensive and useless pensioners just went and killed themselves. Perhaps, with the right tax incentives, they could be persuaded to do so?

It's really funny. Not quite as funny as Doctor Strangelove, though it isn't Buckley's fault that unfunded pension obligations aren't as amusing as global thermonuclear war. He makes the most of his material.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two words come to mind as I read this, fast and glib. I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It read like a tasty drink of mostly empty calories, but it did taste great. Has all the makings of a movie that will make the right person's career, just a question of who right now in Hollywood could play the roles of Cassandra (Leslie Bibb) and Senator Jepperson (Robert Downey, Jr.), because if you get the right sexual chemistry between them, you could really have something there (oh wait, they did that already).

Anyway, I inhaled this book because it was so fun to read and I was sorry to see it end. Realizing that this is not a great book, just a very entertaining one, it does however deal with a very real social issue. That it does so on a Jonathan Swift-esque "Let's all eat our children" kind of way does tend to diminish the problem, and of course Buckley tends to take the arguments against baby boomers to illogical extremes. Although some of the attitudes and arguments he poses against what he calls the "ungreatest generation" are finding a louder voice lately and probably rightfully so. I was at a work conference lately and someone stood and said that if he could "broom the room" of his baby boomers and hire nothing but "millenials" at one third the price, he'd get better performance from his crew. I think that Christopher Buckley would tend to agree, at least in the context of this novel.

So, as I read it, I kept thinking that this book was sort of an Anti-humanist Vonnegut rant (twisted, I know), a Jonathan Swift illogical extreme argument, a fast paced movie script complete with soundtrack by REM & U2, with a dash of Firesign Theater's "Radio Now" for flavor.

But if the book does touch on something interesting it is the fact that bloggers and a new way to campaign are reaching out to an under-30 crowd and making a real impact in the way that we choose our leaders, something that we are seeing play out in the national debate right before our eyes. When we see candidates ignore the internet at their own peril, when we see the grassroots and the viral marketing that is going on in the campaigns for President, the kind of unprecedented reach that the world wide web allows for the various messages coming out of the political camps that was really unheard of before becomes revealed. That a candidate like Ron Paul can continue "money bombing" his way into the public consciousness by embracing this new technology, that fans of Barack Obama can put up you-tube videos promoting their candidate or opposing John McCain really shows some of the new directions that politics is heading towards. And the candidates who did not embrace the new ways are instead left behind handing out endorsements.

Anyway, the book is a great summer read and it will make you think about the future of our country, in between all the smart-allecky lines and clever comebacks. Enjoy!!!

[The Book Maven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap. This book was so FREAKING GOOD.

The time and place: America, a few years down the road. Prime rates are at 18 percent. Inflation is at thirty percent. Foreign countries are refusing to loan America any more money. The United States is at war with six areas, including Quebec, and the National Guard is spread so thin that it is now safe for other countries to invite the U.S. to declare war.

And in the midst of all these financial crises, 77 million Americans--Baby Boomers all--are beginning to retire. And Social Security will go bankrupt within three months if this happens.

The solution? Hike the Social Security tax to 30%, applicable to everyone under 30.

Cassandra Devine is a disgusted and disgruntled blogger who is very unamused at the prospect of paying out the nose to support the "ungreatest generation." (Her words.) Her solution? Offer all sorts of tax breaks to people who kill themselves before the age of 70.

In no time, Cassandra is propelled into the limelight. Is she a savior or a she-devil? Depends on who you ask. But one thing is for certain--once a one-legged senator with presidential aspirations gets a hold of her and her issue, there's no telling how far they will be able to ride this train.

Appeal elements: fast-paced and witty plot, detailed and amusing characters, and sharp, take-no-prisoners dialogue. While the plots and even the tone are completely different, I would recommend John Grisham's A Time to Kill for someone wanting a read-alike; the witty, dry dialogue is very similar, and the story offers compelling backstories about the characters, just as Boomsday does. As well, try Nature Girl or Skinny Dip by Cark Hiassen.

[Ensiform · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the not-so-distant future, America teeters on the brink of economic disaster as the baby boomers start retiring. Enter beautiful young ex-Army-turned PR flak, coulda-gone-to-Harvard-but-Daddy-spent-the-tuition-money crusading blogger Cassandra, who on her blog suggests that Baby Boomers voluntarily kill themselves for tax breaks, saving Social Security costs. When young people take to the streets, the ineffectual president (who happens to be in cahoots with her father, who is now a software tycoon and party patron) makes her an enemy, as does a TV preacher. But the cause is taken up by a young congressman who shares an eyebrow-raising past with Cassandra, and soon people are starting to talk about actually passing the “Transition” bill into law.

I wasn’t too impressed with the previous Buckley I read, Supreme Courtship, and this book is of about the same weight. Buckley’s satire, as I said about that book, is the toothless satire of the contented conservative shooting blanks at straw men. The fact that his heroine must be “hot” and blonde “with liquid, playful eyes and lips” shows how concerned he is with serious ideas. In over 300 pages, none of the characters seem very interesting, and the dialogue at times is positively ridiculous; his ideas about software are equally out of touch. His scenarios are mildly amusing but not actually comic, and he has no real point to make about Washington, just a modern modest proposal. Light, frothy, somewhat arch, but it lacks punch.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed Christopher Buckley’s political satires and this book was no exception. Although it is the first of his I’ve listened to on audio, it’s read by Janeane Garofalo (who has apparently been around and busy working all these years, go figure).. Normally it’s always a good sign when a professional actor does the narration, this one was very much in line with expectations, though it did take me a while to get into. My sexist, sexist ears prefer male narrators and Garofalo is such a fast reader, it took a chapter or so to get into the pacing. The plot took no time to get used to, it’s classic Buckley…take a very real premise, timely (especially for when the book was released) and spin it into something resembling complete lunacy. The premise here is a generation of baby boomers coming into their golden years (stupid saying, actually, what’s so glitteringly golden about getting old, but anyway) and threatening to bankrupt the social security system with their retirements. Enter Cassandra Devine, named for a famous prophet with good reason, a member of Generation Whatever (also definitely not golden despite younger years) who proposes something like sponsored suicide politely sold as transition and various financial assistances to motivate the baby boomers to off themselves instead of enjoying their retirement and thus save the following generations mucho moneys. Wouldn’t you know it, the idea, preposterous and insane as it might be, gains striking popularity and soon becomes a major dispute of powers that be, including those with aspirations of presidency. So yeah, one outlandish premise, one clever author, tons of laughs. Very entertaining book that works precisely because it takes someone who understands the lunacy of politics to properly spoof them. And Buckley certainly knows what he’s doing. The end was slightly anticlimactic for how much action the rest of the book contained, but all in all lots of fun. Recommended.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two words: Effing hilarious!

I picked this up in the Midway airport on my way back from Chicago and wow...what a wonderful find!

Picture it: 77 million Baby Boomers are on the verge of retirement, which is putting a strain on the already floundering Social Security system. The US economy is in the toilet and Congress just passed a bill raising Social Security taxes 30% for the under thirty crowd.

Enter Cassandra Devine. She's a PR spin doctor at a high-profile Washington, D.C firm that specializes in scraping the muck of crooks until they shine. In her spare time, she operates a blog called CASSANDRA that focuses primarily on spewing vitriol at Baby Boomers and inciting riots at Florida golf courses.

There are many wonderful characters in this scathingly funny book: the blue-blooded senator who rides Cassandra's "Voluntary Transitioning" platform all the way to a run at the presidency; the conniving and back-stabbing presidential chief of staff who goes to any lengths to make his boss look good; the billionare software mogul who has a tennis pro wife and delusions of grandeur (and who also happens to be Cassandra's father); the pompous and portly Southern Bible-beater who waxes poetic about the sanctity of human life (and who may or may not have killed his own mother); and last, but not least, the incomparable and selectively blind PR wizard (Cassandra's boss) who doesn't care how morally bankrupt his clients are as long as the pay is good.

All of these characters come together in a fantastically-crafted story about the generation gap, politics, religion, and the art of spin. This is the first Christopher Buckley book I've read, but if his others are as good as this one, I'll definitely read them.

My only complaint? The ending was a little too abrupt.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny story that is ironically relevant today. The President in this 2007 tale is a foul-mouthed jerk whose re-election campaign slogan is "He's doing his best. Really".

All the characters are hilarious and could fit into the current political scene. Another candidate's response to being accused of being the most hated man on Capitol Hill? The Latin phrase "oderint dum metuant" which means "Let them hate me, as long as they fear me".

I'm sure that the author wrote this as satire and had no idea or hope that his book would be interpreted as an instruction manual. If I didn't know Mr. T. can't read, I might think he read this book and it gave him some big ideas....

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's start by saying this…Christopher Buckley is a fucking genius! His books make me laugh in my brain. It's different than laughing out loud at obvious funnies. It's not Will Ferrell funny. It's more George Carlin funny. It's just the way he distorts and exaggerates the real world to show us just how ridiculous the real world is.

In "Boomsday" Buckley creates a hot, blonde, former military, PR crusader with a predilection for Ayn Rand in Cassandra Devine. During the day she helps her boss create celebrity golf Pro-AM's in North Korea to improve their image and at night she sits at her computer hopped up on Red Bull and blogs about her crusade…to stop the baby boomer generation from forcing our (my) generation to pay for their retirements. You see since there are sooooo many of these "boomers" retiring it takes more of us working longer to pay into social security to accommodate them all. So with the help of her boss Terry Taylor (who is Nick Naylor's protégé from "Thank You for Smoking") and Senator Randolph Jepperson, whom she met in a mine field, she sets attempts to set a new agenda for social security. She proposes that the American government give tax breaks and incentives to the families of anyone over 65 that kills themselves and spares social security to actually have to pay for them. There are also those who oppose her…I mean besides the obvious Boomers, like the current foul-mouthed President who's running the country into the ground like his surname was Bush and the pro-life champion Reverend Gideon Payne who wants to create a monument on the DC Mall for the 43 million fetuses that have been aborted.

There is of course more to it than that but to find out what it is you have to read it. Just the main point alone was worth me having to read this. Be altruistic and kill yourself…that's a great message! I was seriously unhappy when I turned the last page because I didn't want it to end. If you have even the slightest sense of humor and the slightest interest in politics this is a book you shouldn't miss. I can't wait for his next book "Supreme Courtship" where the President of the US nominates a TV judge to the Supreme Court to get back at the Senate for shooting down his other nominees. All hail Buckley…that sick bastard.

[Oleksii Lychak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Не хочу дочитувати.

По-перше, зараз я намагаюсь читати менше російською.

По-друге, просто воротить від всього що пов’язано з політикою і з тим які насправді ігри ведуться за кулісами.

Можливо я повернусь до цієї книги коли знайду її в українському перекладі або коли вистачить сили та інтересу читати в оригіналі.

Скажу одне - герої в переважній більшості бридкі.

[John Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Midway through this book, a character references "A Modest Proposal", Jonathan Swift's well-known satire about how to solve the issues of poverty in Ireland by selling Irish children as food. The character referencing it does so to explain that an outlandish idea, intended as satire, can turn thoughts to the problem when they ask themselves why they were so outraged.

It's a tricky comparison to make, though, because though this book alleges to have similar ends, there are a number of things it lacks: a straight-faced approach to its proposals, a grounding in reality, and an attention span. All this makes the book wobble off its centre almost immediately.

I've read Christopher Buckley before: his book "Thank You for Smoking" about a tobacco lobbyist. I mostly read it because I liked the film version of it, but the book fell short for me, because it had a habit of losing interest in its own satire, and going off on fanciful diversions. But even so, at least that book kept its head better than Boomsday.

It's grounded in an idea worth discussion: that being the immense baby boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, all reaching retirement age. When they start collecting their pensions, it will quickly implode the social security system, and the next generation is expected to pay higher taxes to cover it. This is a forthcoming crisis that needs a better solution.

Cassandra Devine, a 29-year-old PR whiz-kid and famous blogger, believes she has a solution. At first promoting revolution against retirees by vandalizing golf courses, she then suggests that baby boomers should voluntarily kill themselves at age 70, in exchange for such perks as free Botox, and no estate tax. The idea is absurd, of course, but its potential threat will have people discussing more workable solutions to the pensions crisis.

Or at least it would, if she didn't propose this idea within Christopher Buckley's America. This federal body is fighting 18 different wars, has a Wal-Mart on the National Mall, and seems mostly populated by broad caricatures. Clearly they're not in much position to think laterally about anything.

And, indeed, that's what happens. Much has led to this point, and most of it interferes with this book's apparent point. A younger Cassandra was encouraged to join the Army to pay for Yale, when his dad blew the college fund on a start-up, which leads to her going to Bosnia, where she gets in a minefield accident with Senator Randolph "Randy" Jepperson. She's fine, but he loses a leg, and quickly becomes a war hero. Eventually, he becomes her champion on the Hill for her voluntary suicide proposal.

But, inevitably, other forces conspire against it. Cassandra's dad's startup made him filthy rich, when his company developed a program that can erase Google results (which is impossible, illegal, and idiotic). He's a major sponsor to the sitting president, Riley Peacham, a bellicose and foul-mouthed hothead. Another major ally of his is Gideon Payne, a Southern reverend and fanatical pro-lifer, who wants a huge memorial built for "43 million unborn" built on the Mall (maybe next to the Wal-Mart), and staunchly defends vegetative hospital patients from having their life support removed (anyone remember Terry Schiavo? She was big in the mid-2000s.)

Naturally, none of these players want to take Cassandra's outrageous proposal and think of a better solution, they just want to disgrace it and be rid of it. Maybe that's more typical of American politics, but if Christopher Buckley didn't want to write about it, he shouldn't have made his premise revolve around it.

Indeed, the voluntary suicide initiative (or, more accurately, its impedance) is whisked into the background, while all these characters bounce off each other. Some of them become dangerously close to being rounded, but they never really rise any higher than just being simple agents of the satire, full of dry, witty dialogue, unencumbered by feelings or empathetic traits.

The pace of the book is pretty screwy, as well. Much happens early in the book, as it expounds upon Cassandra's misadventures in Bosnia, and how she rose to one of the most formidable political bloggers in America (another stretch; what blog that's not about celebrity gossip or video games is influential?) The middle of the book approaches being about the suicide proposal, and the statecraft to get it before the Senate, but then the plot loses interest, and starts getting the characters into fixes and binds, as it all starts to unravel. This might have been satisfying, had the last four or five chapters not then rushed them all into reasonably happy endings. What, is this satire too nervous about hurting anyone's feelings?

As for Cassandra's idea, it mostly just resolves itself by the book claiming "Well, they're working on it." Maybe this kept the book more briskly paced, but that's only a plus because it made it end faster.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll preface this review by saying there’s about a month gap between when I started reading this book and when I picked it back up to finish the last half. Though, that may be part of the review itself. I picked up Boomsday at a book sale for 10 cents almost entirely because of the eye-catching cover. When I read the synopsis and saw the rating wasn’t too bad, I purchased and began to read. I almost gave up on the book in the first 10-15 pages because Buckley imitates the popular “male authors writing female characters” meme nearly exactly. Main character Cassandra is incredibly smart and powerful, but of course, is not without: “liquid, playful eyes and lips that seemed always poised to bestow a kiss, giving her a look of intelligence in contention with sensuality. She had a figure that, when displayed in a bikini or thong at the resort in the Bahamas, would draw sighs from any passing male,” (p.10). This was eye roll-inducing to say the least, but I decided to give it a chance. All in all, this book is a big ‘ol satire about political campaigns and the dramas, scandals, and inter-workings behind them. That subject I generally wouldn’t mind, and the key issue of inter-generational relations is exceptionally interesting, especially right now in our current political climate. Where this book lost me was in its over-the-top writing style, where every character’s dialogue seemed so heavily crafted and witty, that the whole story went from already ridiculous to downright absurd. Other reviewers have included examples of the writing, so I won’t here, but every moment of the novel felt fake and put-on: from the plot, to the characterization, to every single person ALWAYS having a witty comeback to everything said ever. I personally prefer my writing to have a bit more authenticity, so this didn’t grab me. I would recommend this book to straight white men with an interest in politics and “networking” and not many more.

[Monotony Boy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow... I read this whole thing thinking that, maybe I just didn't get something. I was wrong. I should have quit at 33%.

Supposedly a political satire; this books says nothing valuable about politics, society or culture, and is not in the least bit funny. I don't think I even slipped out a chuckle the whole time, much less laughed. Boomsday is filled with plenty of Ivy League-rs who have never heard of political science, game theory, and have no idea how to say anything wittier then the F word.

The characters lack any semblance of substance. The argument in defense of this is likely, 'this is supposed to be satire!' Sure, I get that. But the characters are not ironic symbols of modern American culture. even when they by all rights should be, they fall short of the mark.

Cassandra Devine, despite drinking 8 red bulls a day is described as attractive... one of the first stupid things you come across. Thant and her love of Ayn Rand. aside from that she uses a computer and doesn't have a personality, yet is the most popular person in the blogosphere...

When they do show some sort of change,characters seem to do so out of the blue, with no foreshadowing. Just changing their behavior with little or no reason whatsoever. The Protagonist, Devine, seems to jump straight into a relationship with Senator Randolph Jepperson, despite a complete lack of professional or personal chemistry. Well, at least he has money, I suppose... that's commentary-esque, right?

At some point while reading, I stopped to look at the Writers' credentials, thinking the author was a disaffected teen who won a writing contest.

Yuck, Just yuck.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cynical farce of American politics includes a cast of disreputable characters. There are several ambitious politicians, a self-appointed spokeswoman for her generation on a crusade against Social Security (which she seems to have only a superficial understanding of), a fundamentalist Baptist minister (crusading against just about everything), and a slimy PR executive (who may be the most rational of the bunch). The people in this book are they type you would be best off avoiding, if possible, insofar as all, despite their differences, share one characteristic -- that of negotiable integrity.
The lack of an admirable protagonist, however, does not prevent the book from being likable. It’s fun in a rather juvenile way, a low comedy in which the characters continually make and break agreements, deceive, lie, manipulate, betray and backstab one another. The characters are not thoroughly detestable, and we can sympathize at times, but mostly we laugh at their misfortune because, after all, they’re really not all that likable. What is amazing is that any of them ever buy the BS the others are trying to sell to them. They should know better.
I won’t say this is a great book, but insofar as my overall opinion of politics and politicians tends toward the cynical side, I got a laugh or two out of it. In my more rational moments, I doubt Washington insiders are as lacking in integrity and good judgment as the characters in this book, but sometimes I have to wonder.

[Scot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The irony that I started this book on a day when the President raised the retirement age for social security benefits is not lost on me. Life imitates art. In this case, Christopher Buckley imitates the madness of government and lobbyists from his own experiences embedded within the Oval Office as a speechwriter for the elder President Bush.

I don't want to ruin this gem of a book by giving too much away but I will share that I am pretty certain that the first Trump campaign in 2016 took notes on how to handle debates from this book. It is uncanny and honestly funny as heck.

The gist of it is that Baby Boomers are retiring and are going to drain social security leaving nothing for successive generations. The protagonist decides she needs to do something about it and let's just say things get madcap.

If you like humor, need something to laugh about to keep yourself from crying about politics and the state of the world, or just like a silly romp, than I recommend this short book to you.

Bonus, if you check out the audio book, it is narrated by Janeane Garofalo, who handles all of the silliness masterfully.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will the Baby Boomers bankrupt the country and leave their children and grandchildren in hopeless debt? Why not "incentivize" suicide? This Swiftian solution--and the author even lets his character refer to Swift--is proposed by Cassandra Devine, an "under-30" who, through a series of odd events, has found her niche as a political consultant and blogger. C. Buckley knows the worlds of politics and K Street extremely well, and he uses his knowledge brilliantly. Although categorized as satire, this book is perhaps a bit too close to the truth of American politics--can one satirize the absurd?--but the situations and dialogue keep it light. If only conversations in real life sounded this good! The ending is rushed but realistic in its "politics as usual" feel. Great antidote to the endless updates on presidential politics.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Once again, political satirist Christopher Buckley (Thank You for Smoking) delivers a firecracker of a novel that explodes with imagination, irony, and wit. Buckley sometimes overexplains, to show off how smart he is, but he is discussing Social Security here. Besides boring subject matter, the novel contains a completely over-the-top premise and a lead character that strains credibility. So the overexplanation works, for the most part, because it evokes laughs. "If you're looking for a lighter, frothier version of Tom Wolfe," says the Los Angeles Times, "Boomsday is your ticket." Also of note: as the first release of the new publishing imprint Twelve, Boomsday comes packaged in an eye-catching, pop-art package.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book the subject changes from the smoking lobby to the Baby Boomers eating up all of our resources as they retire without having given anything back. The "worst generation" contributed nothing during their lives, and now that they're "wrinklies" they want their gimme-gimme-gimme consumerism to be subsidized on the backs of the X'ers and millenials. Whether you agree with this or not, Christopher Buckley lambastes lobbies, boomers, religion and politicians. Even if these targets aren't on your hit list, you have to enjoy Buckley's work as a satirist. I haven't heard somebody so succinctly eviscerate a target since the Monty Python line "Marx claimed he was offsides."

[Kelly Is Brighid · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOL Political satire! Premise of a decade ago seemed over-the-top; however, considering our looming presidential election, ridiculously familiar. I suggest you get a copy and read it this weekend. After all, laughter is the best medicine and I anticipate we're all going to need a big dose on Wednesday. Intra-generational fun for the family - in case your Thanksgiving dinner "discussions" need punching-up.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Mediocre story overall, but clever and well written. Recommended.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the most laugh out loud funny satire I've ever read.

[Mark Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Buckley’s 2007 novel Boomsday tackles the subject of Social Security. Not perhaps the most obvious subject for political satire, but Boomsday is fun and effective, nevertheless. The main character is Cassandra Devine, a young woman who works for a public relations firm and also runs a blog that is concerned with Social Security spending. The full acronym of her blog is Concerned Americans for Social Security Amendment Now, Debt Reduction and Accountability.

When Cassandra incites young people to rise up against the senior citizens that are crippling their future with debt, riots break out. Golf courses in gated communities are ripped up, and Cassandra is investigated by the FBI and arrested. Cassandra eventually comes up with a bold new proposal to solve the Social Security solvency crisis: tax benefits for old people who commit suicide in order to lessen the population of elders receiving Social Security. This proposal is eventually called “transitioning,” and Buckley’s black humor shines as he describes the public relations spin on the proposal.

Boomsday is packed with other characters ripe for satire: Gideon Payne, the holier-than-thou leader of the Society for the Protection of Every Ribonucleic Molecule, or SPERM for short, Randolph K. Jepperson IV, a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts who decided to enter politics after a painting of JFK spoke to him while he was on an LSD trip, and Cassandra’s father Frank Cohane, who spent all of Cassandra’s college fund, but eventually struck it rich with a technology start-up.

The panoply of characters that Buckley populates his novel with reminded me of Tom Wolfe’s writings, and like Wolfe, Buckley puts his characters through their paces during the course of the novel. There are numerous funny lines and scenes throughout Boomsday. Here’s an assortment of my favorites.

Cassandra’s mother despairs when Cassandra starts reading The Fountainhead: “I had a boyfriend in high school who read Atlas Shrugged. He ended up handing out leaflets on street corners about how we all have to watch out for number one. It’s an unpleasant philosophy.” (p.50) This is even funnier if you know that William F. Buckley panned Atlas Shrugged in the pages of National Review, and Ayn Rand threw a fit.

“In cyberspace, everyone can hear you scream.” (p.172)

“Why had he remarried? What possessed him? If he’d only waited a little longer, his dick would no longer have been in charge.” (p.187)

“His brain was like a mastodon struggling to free itself of a tar pit.” (p.227)

“She found herself wishing that she had lived before the age of the Internet and cable TV, when news arrived twice a day instead of every fricking second.” (p.279)

“When she and Terry did their preliminary reconnaissance, he had taken one look at the depiction of FDR, with opaque bronze eyeglasses, upturned hat, and sitting on his almost invisible wheelchair, and said, ‘He looks like that Irish writer, James Joyce, sitting on a toilet.’” (p.312) Devoted fans of Christopher Buckley will recall this line from his very funny book about walking around Washington, D.C., Washington Schlepped Here. Having seen the sculpture in question at the FDR Memorial in person, I’m inclined to agree with Buckley.

If the above quotes tickled your funny bone, you should pick up a copy of Boomsday.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

By day, Cass Devine is a public relations specialist who labors to ensure her clients' sh-tuff doesn't stink. By night, she's a tax revolutionary, stirring the pot -- blogging furiously and urging young people to take to the streets and protest against the social security crisis. In only a couple of years, Social Security will be bankrupt -- despite DC's usual solution of raising taxes on under-thirties even more. Cassandra's national movement lands her in jail, and turns on senator into a presidential candidate who turns to her as his on-the-lam adviser. They have an idea: do that thing in Soylent Green where older citizens voluntarily have themselves euthanized, but instead of being turned into snacks for the younger generation, the aged are rewarded with generous benefits and tax breaks in the years before their "Voluntary Transition". Like They Eat Puppies, Don't They?, Boomsday is sadly comic, though its characters are not quite as reprehensible on average.The social security problem is one the American public heard a lot about during the Bush years, but oddly has slipped under the radar, at least as a television talking point.

This one is mildly funny, mildly vulgar, and mildly forgettable. I liked it more than They Eat Puppies, but less than Thank You For Smoking.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time rating this one. Overall, I'd say it was well written, but I can't quite decide if I liked it or not. I rolled my eyes so much during the first 1/4 of the book, then I got really invested in the story. Every character was insufferable, but is a somewhat realistic portrayal (or caricature) of some of the groups that they were supposed to represent. At times though, I couldn't tell if the author himself is an unaware, culturally insensitive a**hole, or he's just that good at satirically writing unaware, culturally insensitive a**holes. I'm leaning toward the latter. Either way, it definitely leads to me being undecided about how I feel about the book.

On another note, reading it in early 2021, so much of the story related to events in 2020. It just shows how much themes in history repeat themselves.

[Frank Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable but dated.

The books is only 17 years old but it might as well have been written in 1894. The language is not arcane and the subject matter is still kind of relevant but....it's a political satire at the presidential level. And presidential politics in this country are now beyond satire.

Don't believe me? A major story point of the third act is that a presidential candidate uses the F word on a debate stage.

He gets fined by the FEC.
The FCC refuses to let him debate on live television.
The incumbent president refuses to be share a stage with him again.

The very idea of a would-be president using the F word in public is that shocking to the system.

So this satire is more likely to make you yearn for the innocence of 2006 than to test your sense of propriety.

[Konrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It was my first foray into political satire and I really enjoyed it, especially considering in the 17 years since this book released politics in the US had devolved into a dysfunctional, dystopian hellscape and this premise and its characters aren’t that far fetched anymore.

I enjoyed the characters and their respective neuroses while they all work to achieve their own aims. The author did a good job of making flawed characters jockeying for power across a backdrop of baby boomers vs. the younger generation who’ve been handed the bill during an intense election cycle.

I’d definitely read another political satire and I’m considering checking out more of Buckley’s work. It’s always fun to explore new genres and it work out.

[Anita Lynch-Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the premise of a blogger trying to incite rage against a bankrupt social security systen by suggesting the government reward "wrinklies" who opt to transition (commit suicide) for certain tax benefits. Our trading partners no longer want to buy US debt and the economy is in a bad way .

Mr. Buckley once again shows that he was listening to his dad when he explained how politics in the US works, or doesn't .

I thought the ending was a little weak , but predictable .

It is also a cautionary tale for parents who blow their children's college funds.

[Scott Bruton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to get me to dislike cynicism toward politics and religious organizations or a protagonist that has a manic episode after reading Ann Rand and champions mass suicide. Two things that took away from these pleasures are:

1. Jefferson’s presidential campaign was too obviously a reproduction of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

2. Given the book was published in 2007 the dialogue sounds like it was pulled from an irreverent spin off of the TV show Friends where Monica was brutally killed in front of Chandler and to cope he began a career in politics.

[Timofey Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

«День бумеранга» Кристофера Бакли отлично зашёл. Ранее читал его отличную книгу «Здесь курят», вот и в «Бумеранге» всё хорошо и весело, получил удовольствие. Эвтаназия как средство политических манипуляций, окно Овертона, выгодная «дружба» католиков и протестантов, президент, сенаторы, помощники в предвыборной гонке, тот ещё супчик.