GeriAntics: Rezzies Revolt

by Carlos Acosta, Crystal Acosta

Meet some of the residents of Freedom Retirement Active Independent Bill—the reluctant ringleader; Helen—the impatient instigator with an Elvis obsession; Ed—the perverse prankster who can’t be trusted with tapioca pudding. Life is good. They fill their days with celebrations, games, movies, and field trips. Then -- calamity strikes when Odia Fangmeister takes over as facility administrator. Germaphobic and paranoid, she torments the tenants, who stand in the way of her lifelong ambition. Legally unable to evict them, there’s nothing she won’t do to make the old folks flee in frustration. Cunning codgers battle the egocentric tyrant in this fun-filled geriatric farce!

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2019

About the author

Born in Havana in 1973, Carlos trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba with many of its most influential teachers, including Ramona de Sáa. From 1989 to 1991 Carlos performed throughout the world, guesting with several companies including the Compagnia Teatro Nuovo di Torino in Italy, where he danced alongside Luciana Savignano.

In 1990 he won the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne, the Grand Prix at the 4th biennial Concours International de Danse de Paris, Vignale Danza Prize in Italy and Frédéric Chopin Prize, awarded by the Polish Artistic Corporation.

Upon the invitation of Ivan Nagy, Carlos was invited to dance as a principal with the English National Ballet in London during their 1991/92 season. He made his debut in the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor and also appeared in Cinderella (partnering Eva Evdokimova and Ludmila Semenyaka), Le Spectre de la Rose, Les Sylphides, and also as the Prince in Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker.

In 1991 he won the Prize for Merit in the Young Talent Competition, Positano, in Italy, the Italian Osimodanza Prize and the Grand Prix at Cuba's prestigious Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) competition.

Carlos danced with the National Ballet of Cuba for six months during 1992/93 under Alicia Alonso. In October 1993 and September 1994 he toured with the company to Madrid, Spain, where he danced various roles including Albrecht in Giselle, Basilio in Don Quixote and Siegfried in Swan Lake.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book that made your heart go out to the residents of the facility in the book. Not to mention a wonderfully despisable villain.

[Andrea Huelsenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlos and Crystal Acosta are a husband-and-wife writing team, the authors of a 3-book series called GeriAntics about a senior independent living community. Rezzies Revolt is Book I. The “rezzies” are the residents of Freedom Retirement Active Independent Living—also known as FRAIL. It’s a pleasant place to live, until Odia Fangmeister becomes their new administrator. Fangmeister’s objective seems to be making FRAIL the most unpleasant place she can. All the changes she makes would drive the rezzies out—if there were another retirement community in the county, or a reasonably priced alternative. The rezzies have no choice. They’ve got to mobilize against Fangmeister.

If the administrator’s name didn’t tip you off, this is a very funny book. The characters are likeable (except for a few like Fangmeister) including the personal care assistants and the residents, and the way they interact with each other and the plans they make to counteract Fangmeister are hysterical. You’ll enjoy this book, especially if you are of a certain age or have a loved one who is.