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Boomer1
Bluegrass musician, former journalist and editor, and now PhD in English, Mark Brumfeld has arrived at his thirties with significant debt and no steady prospects. His girlfriend Cassie—a punk bassist in an all-female band, who fled her Midwestern childhood for a new identity—finds work at a “new media” company. When Cassie refuses his marriage proposal, Mark leaves New York and returns to the basement of his childhood home in the Baltimore suburbs.
Desperate and humiliated, Mark begins to post a series of online video monologues that critique Baby Boomers and their powerful hold on the job market. But as his videos go viral, and while Cassie starts to build her career, Mark loses control of what he began—with consequences that ensnare them in a matter of national security.
Told through the perspectives of Mark, Cassie, and Mark’s mother, Julia, a child of the '60s whose life is more conventional than she ever imagined, Boomer1 is timely, suspenseful, and in every line alert to the siren song of endless opportunity that beckons and beguiles all of us.
Desperate and humiliated, Mark begins to post a series of online video monologues that critique Baby Boomers and their powerful hold on the job market. But as his videos go viral, and while Cassie starts to build her career, Mark loses control of what he began—with consequences that ensnare them in a matter of national security.
Told through the perspectives of Mark, Cassie, and Mark’s mother, Julia, a child of the '60s whose life is more conventional than she ever imagined, Boomer1 is timely, suspenseful, and in every line alert to the siren song of endless opportunity that beckons and beguiles all of us.
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2018
38 people are currently reading
2277 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Torday
8 books126 followersDaniel Torday is a two-time National Jewish Book Book Award recipient and winner of the 2017 Sami Rohr Choice Award for THE LAST FLIGHT OF POXL WEST. Torday's work has appeared in Conjunctions, The New York Times, Paris Review Daily, Tin House, and on NPR, and has been honored in both the Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays series. He is the Director of Creative Writing at Bryn Mawr College.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
August 8, 2018
I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars.
A fascinating, timely, and thought-provoking meditation on the craziness of our internet-obsessed culture, the generational divide between Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials, and just how far our lives can drift from what we've planned, Daniel Torday's Boomer1 is both funny and eerily prescient.
Mark is a bluegrass musician, a journalist and editor, and a student completing his PhD in English. He hopes to find fame as an insightful political writer, although he wouldn't mind if his band hit it big either. When he meets Cassie, a fellow musician, who plays bass in an all-female post-punk band, he feels like he has met a kindred spirit, especially when he discovers Cassie knows how to play the fiddle as well. The two embark on a relationship, which brings both security, if not wild passion.
But as Cassie's media career starts to take off, Mark finds himself at a dead end, which doesn't help their struggling relationship much. After she rejects Mark's marriage proposal, he's left with no prospects, career- or otherwise. With no money and nowhere else to turn, Mark decides to live the Millennial stereotype—he moves home to Baltimore to live in his parents' basement.
As he starts figuring out his future, his anger grows, so he adopts a pseudonym and starts filming a series of online video rants against baby boomers. The so-called Boomer Missives tap into a vein in society, of people stuck in the same rut he is, feeling the same feelings, and wanting to find someone else to blame. But before he knows it, these videos become a rallying cry for those who feel downtrodden, put upon, and want their chance without having to wait to pay their dues. Suddenly, he goes from spokesperson to revolutionary—with potentially dangerous consequences.
Narrated alternatively by Mark, Cassie, and Mark's mother Julia, a child of the 1960s who thought her life would be much more rebellious than it turned out, Boomer1 delivers quite a punch. There are times when it almost doesn't seem like fiction, because you could totally see something like this happening in today's world.
This is a very well-written book, but I found the pacing really slow. Although I've seen other reviews say that things started to pick up, it didn't for me. I definitely enjoyed the story, but I just wanted things to move quicker, and I wanted to like the characters a bit more, but the book certainly gave me a lot to think about.
If you like a dose of reality mixed in with your fiction, Boomer1 may be just the ticket for you. It will definitely get you thinking!
NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
A fascinating, timely, and thought-provoking meditation on the craziness of our internet-obsessed culture, the generational divide between Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials, and just how far our lives can drift from what we've planned, Daniel Torday's Boomer1 is both funny and eerily prescient.
Mark is a bluegrass musician, a journalist and editor, and a student completing his PhD in English. He hopes to find fame as an insightful political writer, although he wouldn't mind if his band hit it big either. When he meets Cassie, a fellow musician, who plays bass in an all-female post-punk band, he feels like he has met a kindred spirit, especially when he discovers Cassie knows how to play the fiddle as well. The two embark on a relationship, which brings both security, if not wild passion.
But as Cassie's media career starts to take off, Mark finds himself at a dead end, which doesn't help their struggling relationship much. After she rejects Mark's marriage proposal, he's left with no prospects, career- or otherwise. With no money and nowhere else to turn, Mark decides to live the Millennial stereotype—he moves home to Baltimore to live in his parents' basement.
As he starts figuring out his future, his anger grows, so he adopts a pseudonym and starts filming a series of online video rants against baby boomers. The so-called Boomer Missives tap into a vein in society, of people stuck in the same rut he is, feeling the same feelings, and wanting to find someone else to blame. But before he knows it, these videos become a rallying cry for those who feel downtrodden, put upon, and want their chance without having to wait to pay their dues. Suddenly, he goes from spokesperson to revolutionary—with potentially dangerous consequences.
Narrated alternatively by Mark, Cassie, and Mark's mother Julia, a child of the 1960s who thought her life would be much more rebellious than it turned out, Boomer1 delivers quite a punch. There are times when it almost doesn't seem like fiction, because you could totally see something like this happening in today's world.
This is a very well-written book, but I found the pacing really slow. Although I've seen other reviews say that things started to pick up, it didn't for me. I definitely enjoyed the story, but I just wanted things to move quicker, and I wanted to like the characters a bit more, but the book certainly gave me a lot to think about.
If you like a dose of reality mixed in with your fiction, Boomer1 may be just the ticket for you. It will definitely get you thinking!
NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
May 11, 2018
I enjoyed this a lot - just finished it now - at 3am- with no idea where it was headed.
Mark - Cassie - Julia - each have a voice in this fascinating- relevant and frightening look at people ‘my age’ - 60’s retirement age -
and my daughter’s age - mid 30’s -
and the contribution our grandparents made who came from the War—
It’s a terrific book ....lots to engage in — great storytelling. Themes - locations and daily life for these folks are tied together brilliantly:
- Jobs-
- who has them?
- who doesn’t?
- social security?
- insecurity?
- Education/ music/ girlband/ bandmates/ roommates/ lovers/relationships/success/ failure/ personal self worth/disappointments/ fear/ depression & loneliness/ hearing loss/ a marriage proposal turned down/ educated adult moving back home in parents basement/ East Coast..New York City/ West Coast... San Francisco...
...More surprises... with great characters to spend time with!!!!
This is a wonderful - very well written enjoyable novel. I must read Daniel Torday’s first novel. I have a copy of the hardcopy - and will look forward to it now for sure.
Highly recommended!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Daniel Torday! (Love the feeling of intimacy in your writing)
Mark - Cassie - Julia - each have a voice in this fascinating- relevant and frightening look at people ‘my age’ - 60’s retirement age -
and my daughter’s age - mid 30’s -
and the contribution our grandparents made who came from the War—
It’s a terrific book ....lots to engage in — great storytelling. Themes - locations and daily life for these folks are tied together brilliantly:
- Jobs-
- who has them?
- who doesn’t?
- social security?
- insecurity?
- Education/ music/ girlband/ bandmates/ roommates/ lovers/relationships/success/ failure/ personal self worth/disappointments/ fear/ depression & loneliness/ hearing loss/ a marriage proposal turned down/ educated adult moving back home in parents basement/ East Coast..New York City/ West Coast... San Francisco...
...More surprises... with great characters to spend time with!!!!
This is a wonderful - very well written enjoyable novel. I must read Daniel Torday’s first novel. I have a copy of the hardcopy - and will look forward to it now for sure.
Highly recommended!
Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Daniel Torday! (Love the feeling of intimacy in your writing)
May 31, 2018
Sometimes a reader and a novel just don't mesh.
This slow going look at millennial issues with the baby boomer generation just did not work for me.
While I had no issue with the writing style itself, told from three perspectives, I never connected with the characters enough to care about them or their relationships, and the music subplot fell flat for me.
Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 12, 2018
Boomer1 is partly narrated by Mark, a deeply in debt thirty-something year old, who feels he deserves to have the career and money he wants and since he can't have that, he decides to incite a revolution to make Baby Boomers give up their jobs, to those younger than them. Actually, Mark is so unmotivated to achieve anything, that the incitement happens despite himself. He writes the words and then other people living off their parents, in their basements, take up the cause and make it bigger.
Another narrator is Cassie, Mark's ex girlfriend who is blindsided by his marriage proposal, complete with a $14,000 ring, that threw Mark deeper into debt. Cassie works hard, doesn't spend time feeling sorry for herself despite her romantic relationships not always going her way and being dumped from a band. Cassie is creative and makes the most of her creativity, flourishing as Mark flounders. Her refusal to marry Mark is cited as one of his reasons for his rebellion.
I went from thinking this was a three star book for me, to it turning into a four star book, by the end. Being a person who does not read music or make music, some of the very long thoughts and sentences by the three narrators, on their feelings about music, really bogged down the book for me. But later in the book, I began to really enjoy the narration of Julia, the mom of Mark. I couldn't relate to her younger self but I was drawn to her older self, as she struggled with deafness and the hurtful and destructive words and acts of her son (despite not being deaf or having children myself).
The other part of the book that I had my doubts about was that I wasn't sure if the book was going to take Mark's case up and run with it. I didn't see how it could be turned into the type of crusade that he was after, but to my delight, it was treated as it would be treated in real life. I won't say what happens to Mark (which is a non event...the very thing that Mark deserves). Mark doesn't even get a voice in the last part of the book, which is also the appropriate way to treat him, in my opinion.
I'm glad I read the book and will read more books by Daniel Torday. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Another narrator is Cassie, Mark's ex girlfriend who is blindsided by his marriage proposal, complete with a $14,000 ring, that threw Mark deeper into debt. Cassie works hard, doesn't spend time feeling sorry for herself despite her romantic relationships not always going her way and being dumped from a band. Cassie is creative and makes the most of her creativity, flourishing as Mark flounders. Her refusal to marry Mark is cited as one of his reasons for his rebellion.
I went from thinking this was a three star book for me, to it turning into a four star book, by the end. Being a person who does not read music or make music, some of the very long thoughts and sentences by the three narrators, on their feelings about music, really bogged down the book for me. But later in the book, I began to really enjoy the narration of Julia, the mom of Mark. I couldn't relate to her younger self but I was drawn to her older self, as she struggled with deafness and the hurtful and destructive words and acts of her son (despite not being deaf or having children myself).
The other part of the book that I had my doubts about was that I wasn't sure if the book was going to take Mark's case up and run with it. I didn't see how it could be turned into the type of crusade that he was after, but to my delight, it was treated as it would be treated in real life. I won't say what happens to Mark (which is a non event...the very thing that Mark deserves). Mark doesn't even get a voice in the last part of the book, which is also the appropriate way to treat him, in my opinion.
I'm glad I read the book and will read more books by Daniel Torday. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
September 6, 2018
3+ stars
What to say about Boomer1? The story focuses on the apparent generational divide between baby boomers and millennials. Mark has tried to make it as an academic and journalist in New York, but he’s ended up back in his parents’ basement in the Midwest. He reinvents himself as a raging millennial, posting video diatribes about how it’s time for baby boomers to cede their place to millennials, ending each diatribe with “boom boom”. Meanwhile, Mark’s ex-girlfriend Cassie is climbing the ranks of a new media company and his mother is becoming an inward looking recluse as her hearing deteriorates. I thought Boomer1 was well written and it kept me reading, but I ended up feeling somewhat dissatisfied. It felt like a polemic but I’m not sure what the lesson was. I know I wasn’t necessarily meant to warm up to these characters, but I found myself not caring for them much at all. And the end was odd. Something big happens but we never circle back to get Mark’s perspective. Or maybe that’s the point. Who knows! The + in my rating reflects the good writing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
What to say about Boomer1? The story focuses on the apparent generational divide between baby boomers and millennials. Mark has tried to make it as an academic and journalist in New York, but he’s ended up back in his parents’ basement in the Midwest. He reinvents himself as a raging millennial, posting video diatribes about how it’s time for baby boomers to cede their place to millennials, ending each diatribe with “boom boom”. Meanwhile, Mark’s ex-girlfriend Cassie is climbing the ranks of a new media company and his mother is becoming an inward looking recluse as her hearing deteriorates. I thought Boomer1 was well written and it kept me reading, but I ended up feeling somewhat dissatisfied. It felt like a polemic but I’m not sure what the lesson was. I know I wasn’t necessarily meant to warm up to these characters, but I found myself not caring for them much at all. And the end was odd. Something big happens but we never circle back to get Mark’s perspective. Or maybe that’s the point. Who knows! The + in my rating reflects the good writing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
September 2, 2018
St. Martins Press comped me this copy, and I thank them.
So, I can tell you this story is about two young adults, Cassie from Ohio who changed her name before moving to New York City, and Mark, who as a side job plays in a band with Cassie and loves her very much. Cassie won't marry him, because she really prefers women, although Mark is clueless. They both have poorly paying day jobs and are barely subsisting, and Mark blames his lack of success on the Baby Boomer generation as a whole, because none of them will retire like they're expected to so that Mark can have a crack at their high-paying jobs. The more Mark thinks about this, in fact, the more convinced he is that this is the source of all his problems, and he is quite angry. He ends up unemployed, living in his parents' basement, and becomes an on-line celebrity called Boomer1 with some crazy, batshit ideas about how to get Boomers to retire or die.
I enjoyed Cassie immensely, who by the way becomes quite a successful executive in the techy field (oh, the irony). But Julia (Mark's mom) seemed an afterthought who contributed little to the story. And Mark was just an idiot of epic proportions whose chapters I skimmed over because they were just... plain... frustrating.
I think this was satire but not very funny, in my personal opinion, and also was, IMO, utter nonsense. Let's just say I am probably not the target audience for this one and perhaps I didn't get it?
So, I can tell you this story is about two young adults, Cassie from Ohio who changed her name before moving to New York City, and Mark, who as a side job plays in a band with Cassie and loves her very much. Cassie won't marry him, because she really prefers women, although Mark is clueless. They both have poorly paying day jobs and are barely subsisting, and Mark blames his lack of success on the Baby Boomer generation as a whole, because none of them will retire like they're expected to so that Mark can have a crack at their high-paying jobs. The more Mark thinks about this, in fact, the more convinced he is that this is the source of all his problems, and he is quite angry. He ends up unemployed, living in his parents' basement, and becomes an on-line celebrity called Boomer1 with some crazy, batshit ideas about how to get Boomers to retire or die.
I enjoyed Cassie immensely, who by the way becomes quite a successful executive in the techy field (oh, the irony). But Julia (Mark's mom) seemed an afterthought who contributed little to the story. And Mark was just an idiot of epic proportions whose chapters I skimmed over because they were just... plain... frustrating.
I think this was satire but not very funny, in my personal opinion, and also was, IMO, utter nonsense. Let's just say I am probably not the target audience for this one and perhaps I didn't get it?
September 18, 2018
!! NOW AVAILABLE !!
”I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no”
-- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones, Songwriters: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger
Boy meets girl. Boy lives with girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy proposes to girl. Girl walks away. Boy loses job. Boy moves home with parents. Boy becomes Boomer1 online. Boy rants online about baby boomers having “all the jobs.” Boy incites radical movement.
“They were baby boomers.
They had and they had and they had, as if that was the very condition of their own existence—having, owning, getting, living out Bellow’s I want, I want, I want—while he and his generation had not. They, too, wanted plenty, but they did not have.”
Cassie Black, née Claire Stankowitcz, began her first year at Wellesley under her new name, and she began to change, as well, as the year passed. A former violin student, she joined a punk band, and as the years passed, the band made plans to live in Brooklyn. Through playing gigs in one spot, they made connections to get gigs in another until one night they end up playing CBGB, a club in the East Village where bigger names had played. It is at this club that Cassie and Mark meet, and find they have a common love of bluegrass. At the time, Cassie was in a relationship with her bandmate Natalia, which quickly crumbles away.
And so boy meets girl. Boy lives with girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl is happy. Temporarily…
Mark Brumfeld has plans to meet up with Cassie one night when his band was playing at Pete’s Candy Store, playing mostly traditional bluegrass music, with a diamond burning a hole in his pocket, and dreams for their future.
When his plans turn to so much shite, and continue to roll downhill very quickly, he not only loses the girl, his journalistic career is caught up in the mudslide that his life has become and plops him down in the basement of his parents’ house. Home again, home again…
Since he can’t see the connections that led to any of this, and he’s understandably frustrated, angry, and so he begins an online rant which turns into a radical movement with an aim targeting the baby boomers, calling himself Boomer1.
His mother, Julia, a woman who was also a musician in her life before marriage and childbirth, living in the Haight in the days we all associate with the Haight, the era of the 60s, when rock ‘n roll took on another level beyond “The Twist.” She could never have imagined that her son would return home, but then what is a mother to do?
”What Julia did know was that this image of Bubbe Bertha ironing tinfoil return to her at the oddest times, unpredictable and unpredicated, strangely if only momentarily debilitating.”
Reading much of this felt as though I was trapped in a room with someone ranting at me about the baby boomer generation having “all the jobs.” There is a lot of “telling” that feels more like yelling, and not enough “showing,” which is why I’m not rating this one higher – not only because the telling was more like yelling, but because it felt as if it was almost all “telling,” I never felt anything for most of these characters. There are, occasionally, some lovely passages, reflecting on life, but they were too few and too far between for me.
Pub Date: 18 SEP 2018
Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press.
”I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no”
-- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones, Songwriters: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger
Boy meets girl. Boy lives with girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy proposes to girl. Girl walks away. Boy loses job. Boy moves home with parents. Boy becomes Boomer1 online. Boy rants online about baby boomers having “all the jobs.” Boy incites radical movement.
“They were baby boomers.
They had and they had and they had, as if that was the very condition of their own existence—having, owning, getting, living out Bellow’s I want, I want, I want—while he and his generation had not. They, too, wanted plenty, but they did not have.”
Cassie Black, née Claire Stankowitcz, began her first year at Wellesley under her new name, and she began to change, as well, as the year passed. A former violin student, she joined a punk band, and as the years passed, the band made plans to live in Brooklyn. Through playing gigs in one spot, they made connections to get gigs in another until one night they end up playing CBGB, a club in the East Village where bigger names had played. It is at this club that Cassie and Mark meet, and find they have a common love of bluegrass. At the time, Cassie was in a relationship with her bandmate Natalia, which quickly crumbles away.
And so boy meets girl. Boy lives with girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl is happy. Temporarily…
Mark Brumfeld has plans to meet up with Cassie one night when his band was playing at Pete’s Candy Store, playing mostly traditional bluegrass music, with a diamond burning a hole in his pocket, and dreams for their future.
When his plans turn to so much shite, and continue to roll downhill very quickly, he not only loses the girl, his journalistic career is caught up in the mudslide that his life has become and plops him down in the basement of his parents’ house. Home again, home again…
Since he can’t see the connections that led to any of this, and he’s understandably frustrated, angry, and so he begins an online rant which turns into a radical movement with an aim targeting the baby boomers, calling himself Boomer1.
His mother, Julia, a woman who was also a musician in her life before marriage and childbirth, living in the Haight in the days we all associate with the Haight, the era of the 60s, when rock ‘n roll took on another level beyond “The Twist.” She could never have imagined that her son would return home, but then what is a mother to do?
”What Julia did know was that this image of Bubbe Bertha ironing tinfoil return to her at the oddest times, unpredictable and unpredicated, strangely if only momentarily debilitating.”
Reading much of this felt as though I was trapped in a room with someone ranting at me about the baby boomer generation having “all the jobs.” There is a lot of “telling” that feels more like yelling, and not enough “showing,” which is why I’m not rating this one higher – not only because the telling was more like yelling, but because it felt as if it was almost all “telling,” I never felt anything for most of these characters. There are, occasionally, some lovely passages, reflecting on life, but they were too few and too far between for me.
Pub Date: 18 SEP 2018
Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press.
November 16, 2019
Boomer1 is a cautionary tale in the internet era. I loved the concept of this book, but I was not as fond of the implementation. Torday’s ideas have stayed with me since I finished the book a while ago, but I could not get past the randomness of portions of the story. Daniel Torday is a fantastic writer with a lot to say and some interesting ideas and thoughts for those who listen. However, I think the book should have followed a straighter path and not tried to include enough for two books into only one novel.
For more reviews, check out my Instagram account, https://www.instagram.com/thoughtsfro....
For more reviews, check out my Instagram account, https://www.instagram.com/thoughtsfro....
June 16, 2018
Daniel Torday’s Boomer1 is a very good novel that focuses on what people do to maintain relationships and to stick to their ideals, even in the face of hypocrisy. Even with some flaws, Torday’s ideas are genuine and hold important questions for the current generation. I enjoyed Boomer1 and will definitely recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Daniel Torday for the advanced copy for review.
Full review can be found here: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/04/19/bo...
Please check out all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Daniel Torday for the advanced copy for review.
Full review can be found here: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/04/19/bo...
Please check out all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
June 19, 2018
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for my candid review.
Wow! Tough book to review.
I actually hated the book at first because it was an unadulterated attack on Baby Boomers and all that they have accomplished. And a call to arms for them to all retire, so that Millenials can take the good jobs.
At that point in the book---I wanted to rip through the pages and smack the sh%& out of the characters for being whiney babies and not understanding that nothing was handed to the Baby Boomers---we worked hard for it.
But then it started to point out some of the crazy social, technological, and societal things that the Millenials are doing. And so it became a reflection on the struggles from both generations. And the practical decisions that were made by some of the most idealistic and artistic members of each generation.
It pointed out the scope and the influence that instant information technology can have---both for good and for very,very bad. One line resonated with me...."Technology was addictive when it was working, but when technology wasn't working, it was more addictive than heroin."
So, it would be a great book for Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials all to read. It actually became very thought-provoking when the whole story unfolded.
I would give this book high marks. Read it--it will make you think about society's evolution.
Wow! Tough book to review.
I actually hated the book at first because it was an unadulterated attack on Baby Boomers and all that they have accomplished. And a call to arms for them to all retire, so that Millenials can take the good jobs.
At that point in the book---I wanted to rip through the pages and smack the sh%& out of the characters for being whiney babies and not understanding that nothing was handed to the Baby Boomers---we worked hard for it.
But then it started to point out some of the crazy social, technological, and societal things that the Millenials are doing. And so it became a reflection on the struggles from both generations. And the practical decisions that were made by some of the most idealistic and artistic members of each generation.
It pointed out the scope and the influence that instant information technology can have---both for good and for very,very bad. One line resonated with me...."Technology was addictive when it was working, but when technology wasn't working, it was more addictive than heroin."
So, it would be a great book for Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials all to read. It actually became very thought-provoking when the whole story unfolded.
I would give this book high marks. Read it--it will make you think about society's evolution.
September 24, 2018
As a proud Boomer who intends to work ‘til I drop, Boomer1 was—well, a mite unsettling. As it is intended to be. Putting myself in the head of a disgruntled millennial who blames the Baby Boomers for the poor job market took some getting used to. But once I bought into the concept, I thought the book was brilliant.
It’s narrated from three perspectives—Mark Brumfeld, whose life isn’t turning out the way he thought it would, his love interest Cassie, a bluegrass bassist who discovers a hidden talent for editing native content in social media, and Mark’s mother Julia, a one-time (dare we say?) hippie who is now a suburban wife and mother. Mark—aka Isaac Abramson aka Boomer1—moves into his mom’s basement and creates a series of videos advocating the forceful retirement of boomers, ending with: “Resist much, obey little. Propaganda by the deed. Boom boom.”
There is true hilarity here in the targeting of boomer icons (Oprah, anyone?) But Daniel Torday does not let his narrative dissolve into slapstick. Despite the absurd plot, these are believable characters who could easily be perceived as existing in the real world. The emotions and milieu of the today—seeking a scapegoat for one’s own failings, getting lost in the Internet culture, having one foot firmly planted in what is expected of us and the other wavering into unexplored ground of what we really want to do—all this is mined here. Millennial cynicism and ennui clashes with boomer self-righteousness.
And it’s all great fun. Except when it isn’t. There is a yearning in these put-upon characters and, if there is not generational domestic terrorism, there is at least generational envy and resentment. The book has a lot to say and it says it well. Don’t expect a fast read but do expect an enlightening one. Boom boom.
It’s narrated from three perspectives—Mark Brumfeld, whose life isn’t turning out the way he thought it would, his love interest Cassie, a bluegrass bassist who discovers a hidden talent for editing native content in social media, and Mark’s mother Julia, a one-time (dare we say?) hippie who is now a suburban wife and mother. Mark—aka Isaac Abramson aka Boomer1—moves into his mom’s basement and creates a series of videos advocating the forceful retirement of boomers, ending with: “Resist much, obey little. Propaganda by the deed. Boom boom.”
There is true hilarity here in the targeting of boomer icons (Oprah, anyone?) But Daniel Torday does not let his narrative dissolve into slapstick. Despite the absurd plot, these are believable characters who could easily be perceived as existing in the real world. The emotions and milieu of the today—seeking a scapegoat for one’s own failings, getting lost in the Internet culture, having one foot firmly planted in what is expected of us and the other wavering into unexplored ground of what we really want to do—all this is mined here. Millennial cynicism and ennui clashes with boomer self-righteousness.
And it’s all great fun. Except when it isn’t. There is a yearning in these put-upon characters and, if there is not generational domestic terrorism, there is at least generational envy and resentment. The book has a lot to say and it says it well. Don’t expect a fast read but do expect an enlightening one. Boom boom.
September 1, 2018
I had trouble getting into this book but once in, I really enjoyed it. As one of the Baby Boomer generation, I tired of the "blame-game" that Mark raged about. We grew up with a work ethic and deserved the jobs we got based on merit. We retire when we are able to (fortunately I am)! So I had to re-adjust my thinking a little to see through his eyes. I have children his age so I understand the frustration of being over-educated and unable to find suitable employment. I also understand the frustration of not knowing whether Social Security will be around. We worry about that too. I did like the three different perspectives--from Mark, Cassie, and Mark's mother Julia. There are important concepts addressed by Torday and we would be wise to take heed as the digital age moves at the speed of light. Things we once took for granted may not be there in the future. This is a relevant and poignant read!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
May 29, 2025
Four words come to mind in thinking about Daniel Torday's "Boomer1": I was knocked out!!
Boomer1 tells the story of Mark Brumfeld, an unemployed writer and would-be academic who is forced to move back to his parent's home. He begins a series of video rants against Baby Boomers that go viral and his life is upended in unexpected ways.
Written in 10 different parts, each featuring either Mark, his ex girlfriend Cassie or his mother, Julia, Torday's stunning writing is smart, funny and drives an energy and urgency of the characters depicted. Modern urban living, writing, music and the ever present internet, are explored in what is ultimately a cautionary tale.
This is one of the best works of fiction I've read in 2018 and I will be highly recommending Boomer1 to my customers.
Boomer1 tells the story of Mark Brumfeld, an unemployed writer and would-be academic who is forced to move back to his parent's home. He begins a series of video rants against Baby Boomers that go viral and his life is upended in unexpected ways.
Written in 10 different parts, each featuring either Mark, his ex girlfriend Cassie or his mother, Julia, Torday's stunning writing is smart, funny and drives an energy and urgency of the characters depicted. Modern urban living, writing, music and the ever present internet, are explored in what is ultimately a cautionary tale.
This is one of the best works of fiction I've read in 2018 and I will be highly recommending Boomer1 to my customers.
July 5, 2018
I sit here with 7 actual pages of notes on this book. I guess I could write a book on this book. I didn't care for the characters although they were excellently portrayed. There were many times when I frankly did not understand where anyone was coming from. The story was much better during the parts that were current action. I had to force myself to read some of the long past stories and repetitive words. The ending was, to me, depressing.
Three stars because the basic idea of this book is super! The writing is good. The characters play out.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this thought-provoking story.
Three stars because the basic idea of this book is super! The writing is good. The characters play out.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this thought-provoking story.
June 17, 2018
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'They were baby boomers. They had and they had and they had, as if that was the very condition of their own existance- having, owning, getting, living out Bellow’s I want, I want, I want- while he and his generation had not. They, too, wanted plenty, but they did not have.'
For Mark Brumfeld his talents as a Bluegrass musician, journalist, and now holding a PhD in English- life hasn't taken him to the places his youthful dreams promised. Unlike the baby boomer generation (his parents included) with their endless possibilities and with their endless possibilities and still feasting on the spoils of the war generation, all he has to show is mounting debt, and a broken heart after his girlfriend Cassie refuses his marriage proposal. Tail between his legs, he has to move back home and live in his parent’s basement. There is no postwar high for his generation, and he has a lot to say about it. If he wanted to buy a house, if he ever had a solid job, there isn’t a chance he could afford one. It’s those baby boomers hogging up all the jobs, out-staying their welcome here on planet earth, refusing to give up the reins of power. They are the reason the millennials can’t have anything! His Boomer Missives (videos online) have a following, and before he knows it he is a national threat.
Cassie is a Midwestern girl who wants nothing more than to change her entire being. A bassist in an all female punk band that she founded, it isn't long before she is replaced by someone who has played with bigger names. Just like that, she's out and heartbroken. It is by chance she and Mark keep running into each other, and he brings her back to the stage, what she loves doing. A year in, they are living together, making music, spending time in bed, nothing too serious but Mark is depressed. Nothing he wants is happening fast enough, everything is just wrong in the world! Old love returns in Cassie's life, maybe Mark isn’t the one? His funk is a heavy weight but maybe he can turn things around, ambushing her with a wedding proposal that costs him far more than he could imagine, making it impossible for him to remain in his apartment. His future suddenly feels like a limp thing, he moves back with his parents, his career prospects dead yet Cassie’s is thriving, taking directions where the only way is up, and making a lot of money. If Mark is love-sick, Cassie’s memories of their time together are completely different. So why is it that when he takes part in ‘activities’ she is suddenly being interviewed by the FBI? Surely Cassie loved him at some point, but she wasn’t fully committed to him, wasn’t really that serious! She knew he was lonely, broken when he left, but he had his thing, his passion in his boomer missives. Just what has he done?
Mark’s mother never dreamed her adult son would be living at home again, and never in her wildest imaginings did she think he would be sharing his ‘revolutionary views’ with the world in her own home, marking her for the rest of her life! Certainly in the two weeks prior to clearing out her things to make room for him she wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect! Once the sort of woman who wanted to become nothing like her own parents (similar to Cassie in many ways), to escape the snares of motherhood, convention, she had her own bohemian existence, her musical talents, a 'what if' past to visit, at least in her memories.” …she was the emperor of her memory palace and not even her son or her husband was invited to join her.” A life she had to give up, decisions to make that led her here, living in a home with a son who has gotten himself in far more serious trouble than he ever intended.
Each character has spent time changing everything about themselves from their names to shaking off their upbringing. Mark’s mother Julia says as much in the telling of her past. Each wants reinvention at some point in time.
Characters are on the cusp of becoming, it is easy for some and impossible for others. Who doesn’t want the golden apple of success? Are the baby boomers really as bad as Mark believes, or have they too given up on their own dreams? What is more emasculating than failure, having to return home and feel like a ‘man child’, reverting? What about the baby boomers who are meant to be enjoying their golden years but are giving shelter to their full-grown children who can’t seem to catch a break? Or do they all just really need a good kick in the arse?
Cassie is an interesting character, confused about where she is going, who she loves, what she wants and for whatever reason opportunities seem to present themselves to her. Maybe it’s in her attitude, her desires. Mark is disgruntled from the start, maybe he is just in his own way, not to say he doesn’t have legitimate complaints, lord knows times are hard and it can feel like the luck of the draw is against you. You can work hard, you can educate yourself to the point of brain exploding but success isn’t guaranteed. But the frustration of youth is clearly genuine, and it’s understandable why the baby boomers and the millennials clash so much and sometimes seem to come from different planets. Truth is, they are trying as hard as they can but it is highly competitive, and jobs don’t fall out of the sky. Are there lazy millenials, of course, but there are just as many working their fingers to the bone just to stay afloat.
There is so much angst in his boomer missives, creations taking on a life of their own. An interesting story though I wasn’t really in love with the characters, I was still interested in where all of this was leading.
Publication Date: September 18, 2018
St. Martin’s Press
'They were baby boomers. They had and they had and they had, as if that was the very condition of their own existance- having, owning, getting, living out Bellow’s I want, I want, I want- while he and his generation had not. They, too, wanted plenty, but they did not have.'
For Mark Brumfeld his talents as a Bluegrass musician, journalist, and now holding a PhD in English- life hasn't taken him to the places his youthful dreams promised. Unlike the baby boomer generation (his parents included) with their endless possibilities and with their endless possibilities and still feasting on the spoils of the war generation, all he has to show is mounting debt, and a broken heart after his girlfriend Cassie refuses his marriage proposal. Tail between his legs, he has to move back home and live in his parent’s basement. There is no postwar high for his generation, and he has a lot to say about it. If he wanted to buy a house, if he ever had a solid job, there isn’t a chance he could afford one. It’s those baby boomers hogging up all the jobs, out-staying their welcome here on planet earth, refusing to give up the reins of power. They are the reason the millennials can’t have anything! His Boomer Missives (videos online) have a following, and before he knows it he is a national threat.
Cassie is a Midwestern girl who wants nothing more than to change her entire being. A bassist in an all female punk band that she founded, it isn't long before she is replaced by someone who has played with bigger names. Just like that, she's out and heartbroken. It is by chance she and Mark keep running into each other, and he brings her back to the stage, what she loves doing. A year in, they are living together, making music, spending time in bed, nothing too serious but Mark is depressed. Nothing he wants is happening fast enough, everything is just wrong in the world! Old love returns in Cassie's life, maybe Mark isn’t the one? His funk is a heavy weight but maybe he can turn things around, ambushing her with a wedding proposal that costs him far more than he could imagine, making it impossible for him to remain in his apartment. His future suddenly feels like a limp thing, he moves back with his parents, his career prospects dead yet Cassie’s is thriving, taking directions where the only way is up, and making a lot of money. If Mark is love-sick, Cassie’s memories of their time together are completely different. So why is it that when he takes part in ‘activities’ she is suddenly being interviewed by the FBI? Surely Cassie loved him at some point, but she wasn’t fully committed to him, wasn’t really that serious! She knew he was lonely, broken when he left, but he had his thing, his passion in his boomer missives. Just what has he done?
Mark’s mother never dreamed her adult son would be living at home again, and never in her wildest imaginings did she think he would be sharing his ‘revolutionary views’ with the world in her own home, marking her for the rest of her life! Certainly in the two weeks prior to clearing out her things to make room for him she wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect! Once the sort of woman who wanted to become nothing like her own parents (similar to Cassie in many ways), to escape the snares of motherhood, convention, she had her own bohemian existence, her musical talents, a 'what if' past to visit, at least in her memories.” …she was the emperor of her memory palace and not even her son or her husband was invited to join her.” A life she had to give up, decisions to make that led her here, living in a home with a son who has gotten himself in far more serious trouble than he ever intended.
Each character has spent time changing everything about themselves from their names to shaking off their upbringing. Mark’s mother Julia says as much in the telling of her past. Each wants reinvention at some point in time.
Characters are on the cusp of becoming, it is easy for some and impossible for others. Who doesn’t want the golden apple of success? Are the baby boomers really as bad as Mark believes, or have they too given up on their own dreams? What is more emasculating than failure, having to return home and feel like a ‘man child’, reverting? What about the baby boomers who are meant to be enjoying their golden years but are giving shelter to their full-grown children who can’t seem to catch a break? Or do they all just really need a good kick in the arse?
Cassie is an interesting character, confused about where she is going, who she loves, what she wants and for whatever reason opportunities seem to present themselves to her. Maybe it’s in her attitude, her desires. Mark is disgruntled from the start, maybe he is just in his own way, not to say he doesn’t have legitimate complaints, lord knows times are hard and it can feel like the luck of the draw is against you. You can work hard, you can educate yourself to the point of brain exploding but success isn’t guaranteed. But the frustration of youth is clearly genuine, and it’s understandable why the baby boomers and the millennials clash so much and sometimes seem to come from different planets. Truth is, they are trying as hard as they can but it is highly competitive, and jobs don’t fall out of the sky. Are there lazy millenials, of course, but there are just as many working their fingers to the bone just to stay afloat.
There is so much angst in his boomer missives, creations taking on a life of their own. An interesting story though I wasn’t really in love with the characters, I was still interested in where all of this was leading.
Publication Date: September 18, 2018
St. Martin’s Press
April 6, 2018
Wow. I didn't know what to expect, but this novel was intense. You could feel the frustration of the Boomer Boomers in Mark's sections. Very interesting take on the millennial vs. baby boomer generations. Definitely an interesting read that makes you think. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 27, 2018
Full disclosure: I was born solidly in mid-Baby Boom. This book could be described as an anti-Boomer manifesto. That said, I can't express how much I loved reading it.
Yes, as some other Goodreads reviewers have pointed out, the three main characters are shallow. At times I wanted to slap each of them silly over the choices they made. But they are not portrayed in a shallow fashion. It is clear that each -- of whatever age, gender or sexual orientation -- is fairly confused at the various turns of life, and is trying to puzzle through it.
Mark, who later in the book calls himself Boomer1, frustrated me because his life to this point has been directed by a desire to please and impress. His mother Julia, in contrast, had pinballed through her life (much like girlfriend Cassie), caroming from one impulse to another before finally coming to rest, perhaps immobilized by disability.
Reading Boomer1 presented me with a delicious dilemma: Each sentence seemed so packed with wit and insight that I would slow down to savor the meaning -- until the propulsive plot would again kick in and I would speed up to discover "what happens next?" I still wonder, how did author Daniel Torday do that?
I'm mystified that none of the readers on this site so far have mentioned the sheer hilarity in Torday's story. If you plan to read the book, put on your satire glasses and you might get more out of it. Yet it's more than a beautifully-written satire. There is inter-generational insight and there are profound questions about society, leavened by subtle mockery.
I did take umbrage at one point, when Julia was depicted as largely computer-illiterate. Had to remind myself it wasn't an indictment of all boomers, and that I was personalizing.
I will be recommending this book far and wide. (Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.)
Yes, as some other Goodreads reviewers have pointed out, the three main characters are shallow. At times I wanted to slap each of them silly over the choices they made. But they are not portrayed in a shallow fashion. It is clear that each -- of whatever age, gender or sexual orientation -- is fairly confused at the various turns of life, and is trying to puzzle through it.
Mark, who later in the book calls himself Boomer1, frustrated me because his life to this point has been directed by a desire to please and impress. His mother Julia, in contrast, had pinballed through her life (much like girlfriend Cassie), caroming from one impulse to another before finally coming to rest, perhaps immobilized by disability.
Reading Boomer1 presented me with a delicious dilemma: Each sentence seemed so packed with wit and insight that I would slow down to savor the meaning -- until the propulsive plot would again kick in and I would speed up to discover "what happens next?" I still wonder, how did author Daniel Torday do that?
I'm mystified that none of the readers on this site so far have mentioned the sheer hilarity in Torday's story. If you plan to read the book, put on your satire glasses and you might get more out of it. Yet it's more than a beautifully-written satire. There is inter-generational insight and there are profound questions about society, leavened by subtle mockery.
I did take umbrage at one point, when Julia was depicted as largely computer-illiterate. Had to remind myself it wasn't an indictment of all boomers, and that I was personalizing.
I will be recommending this book far and wide. (Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.)
October 29, 2018
I couldn't continue with this book about yet another angry-white-man blaming some group for the fact he is not living the life to which he feels entitled. In this case, the group happens to be baby boomers, but substitute blacks, Jews, Muslims, immigrants, etc. and you can see the hatefulness of his rants. I don't know who the intended audience is for this book, or whether it was intended to be satirical (it wasn't funny), but I'm not spending any more time with it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
May 15, 2018
I received an advanced copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed this story. I am in the age range of the younger group of characters in this novel and have seen many battles played out between generations. I think this book had an interesting take on these differences.
September 28, 2018
3.5 stars
This was one odd little book and I think it will take quite some time for me to fully formulate my thoughts. Boomer1 has a very unique premise and that was what drew me to the novel. Mark Brumfeld enters his thirties with no real prospects, as his girlfriend Cassie has just refused his proposal of marriage and dumped him. He is out of work, in debt, and has to move back in with his parents. It occurs to him one day that the reason there are no jobs for millennials is because the baby boomers have them all and they won't retire. He begins to film his rants and urges the baby boomers to retire.
I found myself going back and forth between agreeing and disagreeing with Mark's beliefs. This was a quirky and satirical look at the misconceptions and disbelief between baby boomtheers and millennials. The novel approaches the aftermath of 9/11 and the recession. It pokes fun at tech start ups and highlights the many ways we have fallen behind while also screaming forward. The book is told from Mark, Cassie, and Mark's mother Julia's perspectives. Cassie is rather successful and Julia is a baby boomer, so we are able to get a well rounded view of things.
Torday inserts so many little references into this novel. They are so easy to miss, but so fun when you catch them. I love the line, "So much depends upon a a black Jansport duffel bag, sitting in a suburban basement, empty as of yet." He is referencing "The Red Wheelbarrow" poem and framing his sentence in a similar way. I thought it was so creative, and also a little humorous.
The reason I haven't rated this higher is because my mind was drifting much throughout the novel, and at a certain point I just really wanted it to be over. I still greatly enjoyed it though, and I found myself understanding Mark's struggles. I have a college degree and am finding it nearly impossible to find a job I care about even remotely in my field.
This was one odd little book and I think it will take quite some time for me to fully formulate my thoughts. Boomer1 has a very unique premise and that was what drew me to the novel. Mark Brumfeld enters his thirties with no real prospects, as his girlfriend Cassie has just refused his proposal of marriage and dumped him. He is out of work, in debt, and has to move back in with his parents. It occurs to him one day that the reason there are no jobs for millennials is because the baby boomers have them all and they won't retire. He begins to film his rants and urges the baby boomers to retire.
I found myself going back and forth between agreeing and disagreeing with Mark's beliefs. This was a quirky and satirical look at the misconceptions and disbelief between baby boomtheers and millennials. The novel approaches the aftermath of 9/11 and the recession. It pokes fun at tech start ups and highlights the many ways we have fallen behind while also screaming forward. The book is told from Mark, Cassie, and Mark's mother Julia's perspectives. Cassie is rather successful and Julia is a baby boomer, so we are able to get a well rounded view of things.
Torday inserts so many little references into this novel. They are so easy to miss, but so fun when you catch them. I love the line, "So much depends upon a a black Jansport duffel bag, sitting in a suburban basement, empty as of yet." He is referencing "The Red Wheelbarrow" poem and framing his sentence in a similar way. I thought it was so creative, and also a little humorous.
The reason I haven't rated this higher is because my mind was drifting much throughout the novel, and at a certain point I just really wanted it to be over. I still greatly enjoyed it though, and I found myself understanding Mark's struggles. I have a college degree and am finding it nearly impossible to find a job I care about even remotely in my field.
September 19, 2018
After his career and marriage proposal go down in flames and he's left with a boatload of debt, Mark Brumfeld is forced to move into his mom's basement. He takes out his frustrations at being overeducated and underemployed by creating a Youtube series in which he blames baby boomers for all the economic woes faced by millennials. He suggests, no demands, that boomers give up their jobs or millennials will take them from them - by force if necessary. Although Mark is really just venting, a domestic terrorist group forms around his words and runs with them.
Boomer1 is told from three perspectives, Mark aka Boomer1, Cassie his exgirlfriend who has achieved success in a job he helped her find, and Mark's mother, once a '60s radical, now a suburban mom. This is a well-written, sometimes funny, often insightful look at what life is like in today's economic reality for both millennials and boomers. As such, no doubt a reader's reaction to this book will reflect to a greater or lesser degree what side of the great generational divide they reside on. It will also, no doubt, make them think and isn't that what good literary fiction is all about.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Boomer1 is told from three perspectives, Mark aka Boomer1, Cassie his exgirlfriend who has achieved success in a job he helped her find, and Mark's mother, once a '60s radical, now a suburban mom. This is a well-written, sometimes funny, often insightful look at what life is like in today's economic reality for both millennials and boomers. As such, no doubt a reader's reaction to this book will reflect to a greater or lesser degree what side of the great generational divide they reside on. It will also, no doubt, make them think and isn't that what good literary fiction is all about.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
June 10, 2018
I enjoyed the premise of this book. Why are so many millennials moving home and not being able to find jobs? Why are these people so angry at baby boomers?
Told through the eyes of Mark,Cassie and Mark's mother we have voices of all generations.
One thing that bothered me was the huge words over and over again. Not necessary. I felt like a lot of this should have been edited better as Mark comes off as out of touch and entitled. Cassie is more go with the flow and Julia certainly doesn't want her adult son living down in her basement making videos that have her being followed by the Feds.
While I can understand the angst of not being able to find a job, what exactly did he expect to do with a liberal arts degree, if not teach. He says there are no jobs. While right here where I live they are begging for teachers.
Unfortunately not every book clicks with a reader and this one had so many 6 syllable words that it just felt off. They didn't mesh with the story well.
Give it a try. You may like it.
Negalley/St.Martin's Press September 18th
Told through the eyes of Mark,Cassie and Mark's mother we have voices of all generations.
One thing that bothered me was the huge words over and over again. Not necessary. I felt like a lot of this should have been edited better as Mark comes off as out of touch and entitled. Cassie is more go with the flow and Julia certainly doesn't want her adult son living down in her basement making videos that have her being followed by the Feds.
While I can understand the angst of not being able to find a job, what exactly did he expect to do with a liberal arts degree, if not teach. He says there are no jobs. While right here where I live they are begging for teachers.
Unfortunately not every book clicks with a reader and this one had so many 6 syllable words that it just felt off. They didn't mesh with the story well.
Give it a try. You may like it.
Negalley/St.Martin's Press September 18th
August 17, 2018
As one of the culpable Baby Boomers described in this story, I really enjoyed this book about the frustrations and trials for the millennial left in our wake. Always a subject worth debating that no one ever wins.
Mark tries so hard to succeed but fails miserably and embarrassingly at every turn. His friend (wish girlfriend) Cassie, on the other hand, is wildly successful in any venture she makes a small effort with. The perspective of Mark’s mother, Julia, adds another dimension to the personalities and perspectives.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can understand some, but not all of the frustration detailed in the lives of the youth.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)
Mark tries so hard to succeed but fails miserably and embarrassingly at every turn. His friend (wish girlfriend) Cassie, on the other hand, is wildly successful in any venture she makes a small effort with. The perspective of Mark’s mother, Julia, adds another dimension to the personalities and perspectives.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can understand some, but not all of the frustration detailed in the lives of the youth.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)
August 27, 2018
I didn't want to out this book down. Well written by closely examining 3 characters and how their lives were interwoven. I also found this book to be topical. As a millennial myself the sentiment hit close to home.
Read
February 18, 20202020 reads, #13. DID NOT FINISH. This Novel Of Right Now starts out great, setting up what looks like is going to be a black comedy about a Millennial Brooklyn intellectual who has a nervous breakdown after a series of hipster disasters (his alt-country girlfriend turns down his marriage proposal, the analytical essay he works on for six months gets no notice in the obscure lit journal where it's published, etc), decides in his delirium that everything is the fault of Baby Boomers, moves back into his parents' basement and starts a Boomer-rant YouTube channel that becomes a viral sensation, then eventually inspires a youth terrorist organization dedicated to destroying this elderly and rapidly dying age group, Weather Underground-style. But then I got about 25 percent in and the novel suddenly went completely off the rails for me, switching focus now to our protagonist's actual Boomer mother, at which point the manuscript collapses into a rambling 50-page MFA thesis, in which an unending series of page-long paragraphs go into minute, pointless detail about a bunch of subjects that are completely unrelated to the hundred previous pages I just had invested in, the kind of New England academic twaddle that I found myself just unable to choke my way through. (Then again, author Daniel Torday is the director of creative writing at Bryn Mawr College, and an editor at The Kenyon Review, so I suppose this slide into the MFA gutter is not entirely unexpected.) I skipped ahead at that point to the end of the novel, but what I read there was just more of the same, and so I felt justified in officially giving up on this disappointingly well-started novel and chalked it up to yet another example of why so few members of the general population even bother reading literary fiction anymore. Your results may vary, of course, but for me this was a textbook example of everything that disappoints me about contemporary commercial fiction.
December 23, 2021
Quite honestly, this is the kind of stuff that scares the bejeezus out of me. It’s not a typical horror story by any means, but those rarely scare me anyways. An awful lot going on with this, and awful lot still floating in my head after I’ve finished - a sure sign of a strong piece. A vague “review,” yes, but it’s worth your time to find out why.
September 18, 2018
It’s music that makes Cassie Black and Mark Brumfeld fall in love in New York. Together they play in a band and also share their lives, but somehow it doesn’t really fit. It is especially their professional situation that creates a lot of tension, Mark dreams of writing a novel or at least getting a lecturing position at university. When he proposes to Cassie, this is the necessary point of no return for her and they split up. Cassie is offered a job in a somehow strange start-up media company where she fact checks articles but is always unsure of what she really does. After some more failures, Mark returns to his parents’ home in Baltimore. One day, Cassie comes across a video online: her ex published a series of statements against the Baby Boomers who occupy all the good jobs and make life hard for his generation. What was initially meant as a rant due to his personal situation, ends in a violent revolution.
Daniel Torday narrates the novel “Boomer1” through the three perspectives of Cassie, Mark and Julia, Mark’s mother. This gives him the possibility to show the same scenes from different angels which sometimes also spins the way we as a reader perceive it. Even though there are many humorous and highly comical scenes, there are some underlying truths in the story which give it a lot more depth than it might seem to have on the surface.
First of all, I could highly sympathise with Cassie’s job at the media company RazorWire. She always wonders what she is doing – and actually many of her colleagues spend their working time playing computer games and watching YouTube videos. It may seem a common prejudice but reality has shown that many of those start-ups have disappeared more quickly than they were founded since they didn’t create anything at all.
I can also understand Mark’s deception and despair. Being highly qualified but having the impression of being of no use on the labour market because all positions are taken by some old people who could easily retire is just frustrating. Waiting for the life to begin is hard to endure.
Also their struggle with relationships is something that is well-known in the generation of millennials. Heterosexual as well as homosexual experiences, splitting up getting back together – they dream of their childhood when life was easy and families followed traditional patterns. They know that this is not something they will not get as easily as their parents got it. Somehow their whole life is fragile and nothing is sure anymore. What else could be the logical consequence other than a revolution? Starting it online is simply logical for them.
I really liked the novel, it is entertaining and well-written and has a noteworthy message, too.
Daniel Torday narrates the novel “Boomer1” through the three perspectives of Cassie, Mark and Julia, Mark’s mother. This gives him the possibility to show the same scenes from different angels which sometimes also spins the way we as a reader perceive it. Even though there are many humorous and highly comical scenes, there are some underlying truths in the story which give it a lot more depth than it might seem to have on the surface.
First of all, I could highly sympathise with Cassie’s job at the media company RazorWire. She always wonders what she is doing – and actually many of her colleagues spend their working time playing computer games and watching YouTube videos. It may seem a common prejudice but reality has shown that many of those start-ups have disappeared more quickly than they were founded since they didn’t create anything at all.
I can also understand Mark’s deception and despair. Being highly qualified but having the impression of being of no use on the labour market because all positions are taken by some old people who could easily retire is just frustrating. Waiting for the life to begin is hard to endure.
Also their struggle with relationships is something that is well-known in the generation of millennials. Heterosexual as well as homosexual experiences, splitting up getting back together – they dream of their childhood when life was easy and families followed traditional patterns. They know that this is not something they will not get as easily as their parents got it. Somehow their whole life is fragile and nothing is sure anymore. What else could be the logical consequence other than a revolution? Starting it online is simply logical for them.
I really liked the novel, it is entertaining and well-written and has a noteworthy message, too.
July 11, 2018
My review for this novel was published in the July 1, 2018, edition of Library Journal:
In his provocative second novel (after The Last Flight of Poxl West), Torday takes the idea of generational warfare a step further. When 31-year-old Mark Brumfeld—overeducated, underemployed, and freshly rejected by his bandmate and would-be fiancée Cassie—moves back to his parents' house in Baltimore to lick his wounds, he channels his frustration into a series of furious "Boomer Missives" under the moniker Boomer1, replete with meme-ready calls to action: "Boom boom." "Retire or we'll retire you." "Resist much, obey little." Soon Mark's rants spawn copycats who turn his catchphrases into tangible action, manipulating American media and threatening retaliation. As the story moves toward a violent climax, Mark's ex-girlfriend Cassie, who has begun a lucrative career in new media, and his mother, Julia, a product of the 1960s with her own history of rebellion, both struggle to reconcile their sympathies with his beliefs with the true damage his videos have wrought. VERDICT Torday's novel is smart and culturally attuned, but its satirical edge suffers from a split narrative that leaves its protagonist too often a spectator to the movement he created. For fans of Nathan Hill's The Nix and Tony Tulathimutte's Private Citizens.
Copyright ©2018 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
In his provocative second novel (after The Last Flight of Poxl West), Torday takes the idea of generational warfare a step further. When 31-year-old Mark Brumfeld—overeducated, underemployed, and freshly rejected by his bandmate and would-be fiancée Cassie—moves back to his parents' house in Baltimore to lick his wounds, he channels his frustration into a series of furious "Boomer Missives" under the moniker Boomer1, replete with meme-ready calls to action: "Boom boom." "Retire or we'll retire you." "Resist much, obey little." Soon Mark's rants spawn copycats who turn his catchphrases into tangible action, manipulating American media and threatening retaliation. As the story moves toward a violent climax, Mark's ex-girlfriend Cassie, who has begun a lucrative career in new media, and his mother, Julia, a product of the 1960s with her own history of rebellion, both struggle to reconcile their sympathies with his beliefs with the true damage his videos have wrought. VERDICT Torday's novel is smart and culturally attuned, but its satirical edge suffers from a split narrative that leaves its protagonist too often a spectator to the movement he created. For fans of Nathan Hill's The Nix and Tony Tulathimutte's Private Citizens.
Copyright ©2018 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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February 17, 2023This book packs a lot in one read. I usually don't give 5 stars to a book in which the characters are hard to root for (that was intended, I think), but the story is so original and so many sentences are so exquisitely written that Boomer1 deserves more recognition.
I particularly like the wry generational observations. "It wasn't easy after twenty-two years of school, growing inured to the rules of grammar and typography, and years of magazine editing in between, growing more meticulous than he had known he could be, but there was a wild, addictive freedom in learning never to hit Shift--ever, to unlearn typing commas and periods at the end of sentences and independent clauses, so as not to sound so stiff -- like after years of wearing suits and ties to work, showing up one day in a T-shirt and sweatpants." That sentence alone is practically poetic.
I particularly like the wry generational observations. "It wasn't easy after twenty-two years of school, growing inured to the rules of grammar and typography, and years of magazine editing in between, growing more meticulous than he had known he could be, but there was a wild, addictive freedom in learning never to hit Shift--ever, to unlearn typing commas and periods at the end of sentences and independent clauses, so as not to sound so stiff -- like after years of wearing suits and ties to work, showing up one day in a T-shirt and sweatpants." That sentence alone is practically poetic.
August 17, 2018
While I appreciate that this novel is timely and relevant, it simply didn't resonate with me. I am in between the millennial and baby boomer generations, and I can see both sides of the issue. Boomers are working past the retirement age, hanging on to jobs the younger generations have been working toward.
The novel started out strong and I was intrigued, however by the half way point, I just didn't care too much. The writing throughout is sharp and witty, but I just couldn't rally any emotional energy for Mark and Cassie. The only character I enjoyed is Julia, whose sacrifices for her family (and some resentment because of them) felt more realistic than the rest of the story.
The novel started out strong and I was intrigued, however by the half way point, I just didn't care too much. The writing throughout is sharp and witty, but I just couldn't rally any emotional energy for Mark and Cassie. The only character I enjoyed is Julia, whose sacrifices for her family (and some resentment because of them) felt more realistic than the rest of the story.
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