Under My Roof

by Nick Mamatas

Herbert Weinberg’s father is striking a blow for freedom. Implanting a nuclear device within a garden gnome in the front yard of their Long Island home, he’s declared independence from the U.S. The household is understandably is an uproar. Mother’s gone, the local weatherman has moved in, and 12-year-old Herbert is simultaneously a hostage and the Minister of Information. A daring raid plucks the lad from his ancestral home, but even while troops surround the belligerent house-state of Weinbergia, the call to freedom has been sounded. The house is rapidly filling up with American refuseniks. Can the refrigerator hold out? And will Herbert’s telepathic powers defeat imperialism and reunite him with his father? Based on Aristophanes’s Archanians, Under My Roof is funny, ambitous novel.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Humor, Speculative Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2007

About the author

Nick Mamatas is the author of the Lovecraftian Beat road novel Move Under Ground, which was nominated for both the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild awards, the Civil War ghost story Northern Gothic, also a Stoker nominee, the suburban nighmare novel Under My Roof, and over thirty short stories and hundreds of articles (some of which were collected in 3000 Miles Per Hour in Every Direction at Once). His work has appeared in Razor, Village Voice, Spex, Clamor, In These Times, Polyphony, several Disinformation and Ben Bella Books anthologies, and the books Corpse Blossoms, Poe's Lighthouse, Before & After: Stories from New York, and Short and Sweet.

Nick's forthcoming works include the collection You Might Sleep... (November 2008) and Haunted Legends, an anthology with Ellen Datlow (Tor Books 2009).

A native New Yorker, Nick now lives in the California Bay Area.

Reviews

[Starving zombie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it twice. The first time I liked it a lot. The second time, it was still really good. I maybe even enjoyed it more the second time around. I've read a few books by Nick Mamatas and I think it was to my benefit to have reread this one after becoming more families with his writing and his sense of humor.

[Printable Tire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like the dimensions of this volume, the texture and thickness of its pages, and its approachable and readable font. Cover and Text designers Jim Goodman and Luke Gerwe (respectively) have made an altogether well-fashioned and stylish book.

[Drkshadow03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Young adult novel about telepathic boy living with his father who decides to build a makeshift nuclear device inside a garden gnome and declare independence from the United States as protest against the state of the nation post-9/11, economic depression that cost him his job, and dissatisfaction with life itself. This leads to a standoff with the United States military and a series of copycats succeeding and declaring themselves independent microstates.

Although the book critiques the state of the United States post 9/11 with its endless wars in the Middle East, economic slump, and curtailing of civil rights it never loses sight of good story-telling told with comical wit and satirical tone.

The book goes deeper into how the psychological motivation of the characters intertwine with the political.

“Daniel wasn’t even sure why we had built that bomb after all, except to make him feel that he was in control of things. That under his roof, he had some power (23).”

The main character’s sense of powerless and lack of control of his life against the broader geopolitical situation and economics is a major motivation to establish his own country. When he is first trying to find the parts to build his weapon in the garbage dump he encounters many homeless people made that way by the failing economy and seeking control in their lives. Other characters such as Kelly choose to emigrate to the new micro nation of Weinbergia because they feel dissatisfied with their life working in a boring job and seem to be hoping there is something more to life. Everyone is looking for some deeper purpose.

Ultimately our main character, Herb, decides it is time to grow up by abandoning both his family and the idea of nations itself. He links the idea of belonging to a family with the idea of belonging to a nation, which are both illusions. We invent ways to divide ourselves and it’s recognizing this truth where we will find our true freedom and true independence—when we can finally grow up!

Mamatas employs a clever narrative technique by having his psychic narrator telling us the story as if he were delivering it with his psychic power into our minds directly sometimes using the second-person to achieve this. This book finds a good balance between style, content, message, and creativity.

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly don’t really know what to think about this book. I thought the first half was great but the second half was pretty boring. Not once did I think to stop reading it but I also wasn’t enjoying it either. I’m willing to check out more books from the author but won’t be in a hurry.

[Peregrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad

[Paul Fergus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Middle class dude goes nuts, builds a cheap nuclear bomb out of spare parts, declares his house an independent country, and madcap hilarity ensues. All through the narration of the dude's 12 year old son who has telepathy.

I figured this would be a supernatural thriller, but it's actually supernatural farce. It's a mad mad mad world!

At times the narrative is insightful and interesting, other times it dissolves into fast-track jive. The author's action scenes zip through conflicts without any sense of limits or how events unfold. At times I couldn't tell what was going on. It's as if astute observations via the senses aren't able to bridge the gap between reality and imagination.

Hard to take any of this seriously. Just when you get a clear idea of how dangerous and out of control the situation is, how stupid people really are, the satire, the mockery comes shining through and we're relieved of tension. The story needs a direction, a stance; it's all over the place.

The 12 year old kid breaks the fourth wall to communicate to the reader. I like that, it's a good technique. He makes an effective omniscient narrator. In a more developed story he'd be incredibly exciting, but here he's just floating along with the plot.

In a way, the story's main strength is also it's biggest problem. Everyone in this book's world is insane, nuts, crazy. Even the kid. They're all in varying degrees of having lost their sanity, which is realistic considering exposure to a mad mad mad world will do that to humans. It's a vitally relevant topic for today--all of us have lost our way, maybe for good.

However, the book provides no concrete answer other than a vague disintegration into autonomous micro countries, spurred on perhaps by suicide or guided by a new telepathic elite who will rule the morlocks below. Atomization of the dumb meets the New Mutants? Sounds kind of like 'later is now' by DEVO: "Tomorrow's just a replay."

If we're to "grow up" as the book suggests, we need a stronger center than this.

[Richard]

Under My Roof, based on Archanians by Aristophanes, is the story of telepathic tween Herbert Weinberg, whose father Daniel decides to strike a blow for freedom by building a nuclear device, planting it in the lawn jockey in his front yard, and declaring independence from the United States.

The Long Island household is predictably turned upside down. Mother is out, a local weatherman is in, and he becomes both a hostage and Minister of Information. Though troops surround the belligerent ranch house-state, the appeal of independence becomes too much for many. A daring raid to kidnap Herb and bring him back to his mother snatches the boy prince from his ancestral home. Meanwhile, the house is filling up with former American refuseniks. Can the refrigerator hold out?

However, the seed has already been planted. All over America, people are declaring their independence, and simply by traveling from lawn to lawn across "the country", Herbert is able to reunite with his father and defeat American imperialism with a final burst of his telepathic powers.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband said this was a fast and good read. To each their own I suppose. The story is set several years after 9/11. The US has become embroiled in wars with 40-odd countries. In protest, some guy decides to build his own nuclear bomb in a garden gnome and declare his home, property, and family independent from the USA. The man's kid (who is telling the story) is telepathic. The army ends up at their house and they end up on the news. And that's about it. The end. Really, this summary tells you almost all that happens in the entire story. Interesting premise, but nothing happens. Luckily, it is only 151 pages long.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little gem of a dark comedy. Unfortunate cover, it looks like a debut short story collection by a female author (it's been brought to my attention that I should clarify that statement. For the tone and themes of the book, the cover just doesn't work, I very much enjoy a lot of debut short story collections by female authors). People building nuclear weapons and threatening the U.S. tends not to be a comic subject, especially in YA, but Under My Roof takes nuclear proliferation to a brilliant and funny level. Plus it's under 150 pages. That always impresses me.

[Ross Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Under My Roof is narrated by a smart-assed telepathic twelve-year-old whose father builds a nuclear weapon in a lawn gnome and declares his home a sovereign nation. If that doesn’t draw you in, nothing will. Part biting political satire, part humorous YA novel, Under My Roof invokes a rare sense of optimistic anarchism while daring to imagine a better future. Pick up a copy for the smart-assed twelve-year-old in your life.

[Chris "Stu" · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the near future, a man scours dumps, finding discarded fire alarms and such, and builds a small nuclear weapon from the radioactive materials he finds there. He then declares himself an independent country, and blunders through the consequences.

This is not his story.

This is his son's story. His son who happens to be psychic.

Along the way, they take hostages. By accident. More or less.

It gets weirder from there.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, this is a post-9/11 book I can fully endorse. You've got a telepathic kid who's dad decides to build a nuclear bomb and secede their house from the US (new name: Weinbergia), setting off a flurry of micronations across the country. Its a dumb enough premise that this could but a stupid, silly book, it isn't. They live in a world not far removed from Chris Bachelder's Bear V Shark.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is short novel that seems to lampoon nearly everything, perhaps including the young-adult fiction genre in which format it is presented. It's a very funny read with engaging characters, and is quite different in tone and style from most of his other work. It unfortunately has about the most boring cover I've seen on a book, so, as the saying goes, don't judge it by that.

[Melissa Milazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that made Nick Mamatas one of those authors I'll keep an eye on. I read Under My Roof in a single afternoon. As fast paced as it is, this book isn't bubble gum. It raises an interesting question about what happens when enough people decide that they don't feel like playing the same game anymore.

[Judi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Normally i wouldnt continue a book if i wasnt enjoying it cut being as it was 151 pages I decided to stick with it. The best thing about this book is Herbert, whose voice is the book in its entirity. The stuff this 12 year old thinks is very funny, but it gets a little much after a while. I just didnt get the point!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty hilarious. A book about neighborhood nuclear superiority and standing up to a belligerent US government as narrated by a telepathic 12 year old. The book forgets where it's going half way through, but it's still an enjoyable read.

[Jennifer Haydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Once we put the gnome back on the lawn and achieved neighborhood nuclear superiority, there were only two things left to do. Tell the world, and declare independence."

Gnome nuclear bombs? Declaring your house, lawn and it's surroundings a separate country? Priceless. This book is a riot.

[Robert]

Enjoyable and humorous story about a man and his son tired of the way America's being run and want to claim a piece of land of their own. Though no fault to the author, I kept being reminded of the FAMILY GUY episode that uses the same kind of plot.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peel back the roof and peek inside the mind of Nick Mamatas. Hebert Weinstein's father makes a homemade bomb outta of his front yard garden gnome. Hilarious fast paced laughter. See how much commotion a simple creation can cause. Just don't tip over that little garden gnome.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting idea with so much promise. The idea of breaking away from the nation/government, as a storyline, peaked my interest. Unfortunately this book does not deliver. It was BORING! Thank goodness it was only 155 pages!

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unemployed Long Islander builds a dirty bomb from discarded smoke detectors and mail order parts, sticks it in a garden gnome in his front yard, and declares his home an independent nation at peace with the world. 'Nuf said?

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious. also features one of the best conceived and executed narratives from a child's point of view.

i will probably read this book a few more times.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out really promising. Funny, fierce, crazy. But it kind of seemed to unravel half way through. I found myself unable or unmotivated to follow the action.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful short novel. The writing you can pull off having a 12-year old telepathic omnicient narrator!

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining, but otherwise forgetable.

[Aishwarya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me ridiculously happy. It's smart and funny and just very lovable.

[Kbryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

very Gordon Korman-like in tone, though not quite as funny. I wasn't satisfied with the book's wrap-up. Still, an amusing read, though I'm afraid to analyze the politics of the book too closely...

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

[Miki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, snarky voice to the narrator, but a little too over the top in many places.

[Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was a little abrupt. Otherwise a good read.