What do you think?
Rate this book
Junk
A RIOTOUS EXPLORATION OF PROHIBITION POLICIES, JUNK IS TOLD THROUGH THE NARRATIVE LENS OF FUTURE AMERICA IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT OUTLAWS JUNK FOOD IN AN ATTEMPT TO CURB WIDESPREAD OBESITY.
224 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 5, 2010
Of the many hilarious scenes in Junk, my favorite is when our hero goes into a parody of a head shop, where one (not me! Someone else . . .) goes to get bongs and coke mirrors and whatnot, and everyone involved in the transaction pretends that it's all perfectly innocent and that you would never, ever, in a million years intend to use any of the paraphernalia for any but 100% legal purposes. Even if you are not a pothead, you should at some point go to one of these places and purchase a three foot long double chambered Grafix water pipe illustrated with scenes from Alice in Wonderland while the sales person explains, with apparent sincerity, where you put the "tobacco."
The twist here is that instead of psychoactive drugs, the illegal substances in question are sweets and snacks, fattening, artery-hardening and oh so delicious. Our hero buys some fondue tongs. The salesman claims they are designed solely for broccoli. It's hilarious. You should read it. But seriously: if you want to get the full impact of the satire: go buy a bong first.
The book raises questions about individual liberties versus a collective paternal (possibly even well-meaning) authority, with obvious (and, as noted, funny) analogies to the War on Drugs. This was raging pretty hard when Largen wrote this some years back, before it was edged out of the public spotlight by some actual real wars.
I have deep feelings on politics, Libertarianism, liberty, freedom, and glazed doughnuts, and I don't want to get into all of them in this review, as that would take us far afield. There is however, a running commentary on some of the issues raised by this book. Check it out:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
I may comment there as well, after I finish getting high and eating potato chips. Mmmmmmmmm.
The twist here is that instead of psychoactive drugs, the illegal substances in question are sweets and snacks, fattening, artery-hardening and oh so delicious. Our hero buys some fondue tongs. The salesman claims they are designed solely for broccoli. It's hilarious. You should read it. But seriously: if you want to get the full impact of the satire: go buy a bong first.
The book raises questions about individual liberties versus a collective paternal (possibly even well-meaning) authority, with obvious (and, as noted, funny) analogies to the War on Drugs. This was raging pretty hard when Largen wrote this some years back, before it was edged out of the public spotlight by some actual real wars.
I have deep feelings on politics, Libertarianism, liberty, freedom, and glazed doughnuts, and I don't want to get into all of them in this review, as that would take us far afield. There is however, a running commentary on some of the issues raised by this book. Check it out:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
I may comment there as well, after I finish getting high and eating potato chips. Mmmmmmmmm.
January 21, 2010
Christopher Largen's Junk is a hysterical satire on what would happen if the United States government waged a war on junk food. In a world where obesity and obesity-related health problems are out of control, the powers that be have enacted laws and regulations to keep people from eating and selling so called junk food (including sweets, salt, red meat, white flour, and coffee). As a result of these laws, a black market of junk food has been created and gangs vie for control on the streets of major US cities.
Junk follows a cast of characters that include a junk food dealer who used to own a donut shop before the laws went into effect, a preacher who cautions against the dangers of junk food and then during a self-induced fast reforms himself, and a police officer who has a crisis of faith during various junk food raids.
Largen's writing style is descriptive and snappy, and his characters are three-dimensional and relatable. Although the topic verges silly (the gangs have names such as the Ice Cream Crew or the Hot Dog Hornboys)Largen does a wonderful job of keeping the story realistic, and interesting. Considering that one in four children will have diabetes in their lifetime, Junk reads like a possible cautionary tale.
Junk follows a cast of characters that include a junk food dealer who used to own a donut shop before the laws went into effect, a preacher who cautions against the dangers of junk food and then during a self-induced fast reforms himself, and a police officer who has a crisis of faith during various junk food raids.
Largen's writing style is descriptive and snappy, and his characters are three-dimensional and relatable. Although the topic verges silly (the gangs have names such as the Ice Cream Crew or the Hot Dog Hornboys)Largen does a wonderful job of keeping the story realistic, and interesting. Considering that one in four children will have diabetes in their lifetime, Junk reads like a possible cautionary tale.
August 12, 2009
Junk is a great look at current American society. People are waging war on food; laws are being passed to ban junk food in schools all around the country. I happen to be a victim of said banning. In Junk, unhealthy foods are banned everywhere. Junk foods are equivalent to drugs: if you get caught with it you get arrested. Junk food becomes a hot item on the streets. There are groups in support of legalizing junk, as well as groups who are for the junk laws.
This book is very good. It gives insight to where this "war on obesity" can lead if we aren't careful. Is it really necessary to ban these foods from the public? There are plenty of people who aren't overweight, and yet they are being punished by these laws. At some point personal responsibility has to be taken into consideration. Junk is a great satire of current American society, and a great warning against taking it too far.
This book is very good. It gives insight to where this "war on obesity" can lead if we aren't careful. Is it really necessary to ban these foods from the public? There are plenty of people who aren't overweight, and yet they are being punished by these laws. At some point personal responsibility has to be taken into consideration. Junk is a great satire of current American society, and a great warning against taking it too far.
August 29, 2009
A cautionary tale that juxtaposes real events from the "War on Drugs" with a posited "War on Junk-food". The only thing scarier than the premise is that since the books publication in 2005, many of the outrageous situations have become frighteningly possible in a nation on the brink of socialized health care.
March 19, 2010
So with spring break upon me and people around me freaking out over food and the gym, I decided to pick up Junk. Words can't describe how amazing I think this book is. Imagine America in the not too distant future, where the government has decided to combat obesity by outlawing bad foods. Twinkies, Little Debbie’s, red meat, salt are all considered illegal and you can go to jail for it all. The government decides that junk is worse than everything else and that children have to be taught by example, so they take harsher steps to control the “junk abusers.”
Interestingly, the narration doesn’t follow one person and my impression was that it was meant to be showing how the problem affected everyone. I enjoyed the fact that at the end all the loose narrations were pulled together. One of my favorite characters was Justin Bailey. When he was first introduced and the more I learned I couldn’t help but connect him to Guy Montag of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. I also like how the government and people who were all for criminalizing junk food sounded reasonable and yet what they said was so crazy sounding. Example: that people who eat their boogers have healthier immune systems. It sounds plausible and after doing some research, I discovered does seem to have merit, but it also sounds really out there. The setting I found to be funny because Denton, Texas is in the area of Texas with the highest percent of obese adults. This made the story more plausible and ironic at the same time.
As a side note, while I was reading this I found out that Pepsi plans on pulling its products from schools by 2012; made me think that we might not be so far from American society in Junk after all. Everyone should definitely read Junk. The book pulls you in and entertains, while showing that a radical approach to solving the junk problem, or any problem for that matter, only creates a bigger mess.
Interestingly, the narration doesn’t follow one person and my impression was that it was meant to be showing how the problem affected everyone. I enjoyed the fact that at the end all the loose narrations were pulled together. One of my favorite characters was Justin Bailey. When he was first introduced and the more I learned I couldn’t help but connect him to Guy Montag of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. I also like how the government and people who were all for criminalizing junk food sounded reasonable and yet what they said was so crazy sounding. Example: that people who eat their boogers have healthier immune systems. It sounds plausible and after doing some research, I discovered does seem to have merit, but it also sounds really out there. The setting I found to be funny because Denton, Texas is in the area of Texas with the highest percent of obese adults. This made the story more plausible and ironic at the same time.
As a side note, while I was reading this I found out that Pepsi plans on pulling its products from schools by 2012; made me think that we might not be so far from American society in Junk after all. Everyone should definitely read Junk. The book pulls you in and entertains, while showing that a radical approach to solving the junk problem, or any problem for that matter, only creates a bigger mess.
September 28, 2010
In Christopher Largen’s novel Junk, readers are thrown into a world where a war has been waged on junk food.
Through this hilarious work of art, Largen creates a future where everything from Twinkies to coffee has been banned by the government in an attempt to fight obesity.
It sounds ridiculous, right? The answer is yes, but Largen tackles the issue in a way that is both endearing and realistic at the same time.
Through a mix of interesting characters, from a baker named Billy Sweet and his dog Sugar who is ostracized for his profession to Justin Bailey, the officer who forces the laws against ingesting sweets, readers are kept on their toes as to what exactly is going to happen next or who else is going to appear.
The best part about this novel is its apparent sense of self. At no point during the novel does Largen stray from who is he as a writer or from what point he is trying to make. Junk is a very in-your-face look at the watchdog role that the government holds over its citizens.
While readers may enjoy being propelled into this fantasy world where such an absurd act has taken place, they are also forced to recognize at the same time that this is something that we face in our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. We see it every single day when we turn on the news: underage kids are buying alcohol because they know they aren’t supposed to, border patrols are attempting to combat the cocaine trade between the U.S.-Mexico border, etc. Whether we realize it or not, we are going through the same things Largen’s characters are, just in a more discrete way.
So the question is, is Largen’s fictional world as far-off as it seems or is it closer than we think?
Through this hilarious work of art, Largen creates a future where everything from Twinkies to coffee has been banned by the government in an attempt to fight obesity.
It sounds ridiculous, right? The answer is yes, but Largen tackles the issue in a way that is both endearing and realistic at the same time.
Through a mix of interesting characters, from a baker named Billy Sweet and his dog Sugar who is ostracized for his profession to Justin Bailey, the officer who forces the laws against ingesting sweets, readers are kept on their toes as to what exactly is going to happen next or who else is going to appear.
The best part about this novel is its apparent sense of self. At no point during the novel does Largen stray from who is he as a writer or from what point he is trying to make. Junk is a very in-your-face look at the watchdog role that the government holds over its citizens.
While readers may enjoy being propelled into this fantasy world where such an absurd act has taken place, they are also forced to recognize at the same time that this is something that we face in our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. We see it every single day when we turn on the news: underage kids are buying alcohol because they know they aren’t supposed to, border patrols are attempting to combat the cocaine trade between the U.S.-Mexico border, etc. Whether we realize it or not, we are going through the same things Largen’s characters are, just in a more discrete way.
So the question is, is Largen’s fictional world as far-off as it seems or is it closer than we think?
March 31, 2011
“[I] don’t know all the answers, but I absolutely know I don’t know.” This is the key to Christopher Largen’s principled stand against the drug war in his phenomenal novel, Junk. When the private is subsumed by the public, and government begins to dictate personal choices (like diet), the only possible result is violent conflict. And that is what Largen delivers. Junk is an explosive, hilarious, but also solemn satire of the current state of the American War on Drugs, and of the Nanny State in general.
Junk tells the tale of an America oppressed by anti-junk food laws, which treat junk “abusers” as harshly as vandals, rapists, and murderers. In such an environment, it’s inevitable that innocents will be caught in the crossfire. But Largen avoids black-and-white dichotomies: his main characters are not simply innocent bystanders. Billy Sweet ran a bakery before the war, which he was forced to shut down because of the new laws. But now he’s a dealer and major manufacturer of junk in the United States. Moe Goodman is a pastor and counselor to ex-junkies. But he is beginning to question his faith in the face of his inability to guard his flock. And Officer Justin Bailey is desperately trying to keep his scarring work life separate from his life with a loving, pregnant wife. But he can’t help wonder if he’s really making the world a better place for his unborn child.
The novel is filled with vibrant, conflicted characters--Pauline, a girl trapped in a junk rehab center; Madonna, a new mother and enemy of the state; and Pastor Rick Smith, a liberal minister who advocates, controversially, for not banning the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Characterization is clearly one of Largen’s strengths, as each character, major of minor, stands out. But what really catches the reader is Largen’s expertise with mixed media: he alternates between traditional narrative, “news reports,” interview “transcripts,” letters, and more. Junk therefore reads more like a magazine or a documentary film than it does as a novel. In this, it is incredibly successful.
Largen likewise is expert at erecting a world and a plot which intrigue the reader. He is able to do this in large part by juxtaposing the bizarre and the believable, e.g. by creating a USA where junk food “users” are treated the way our government treats marijuana users. One character sums up the deceptive logic of the Drug War and anti-drug campaigns: “So, if I admit I’m a food addict, I’m a food addict. And if I deny it, I’m a food addict in denial. I just can’t win for losing.” Certainly there are real addicts in denial--but Largen illustrates the danger of painting any and all political “enemies” as pathological, as we are still wont to do, even in the 21st century. The fact that Largen frames this philosophical refutation in the form of an absurd “junk war” (“I’m a food addict”) exposes the identical absurdity of the Drug War.
And so we can see one minor character’s statement that he doesn’t “know all the answers” as a capsulization of the entire novel, and a pronouncement of wisdom and humility, rather than weakness. As Moe Goodman puts it: “I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what’s good for me. So why would I complicate things further by letting someone else decide what’s good for me?”
The real-world Drug War--and Largen’s “junk war”--are perfect illustrations of the opposite philosophy.
Junk tells the tale of an America oppressed by anti-junk food laws, which treat junk “abusers” as harshly as vandals, rapists, and murderers. In such an environment, it’s inevitable that innocents will be caught in the crossfire. But Largen avoids black-and-white dichotomies: his main characters are not simply innocent bystanders. Billy Sweet ran a bakery before the war, which he was forced to shut down because of the new laws. But now he’s a dealer and major manufacturer of junk in the United States. Moe Goodman is a pastor and counselor to ex-junkies. But he is beginning to question his faith in the face of his inability to guard his flock. And Officer Justin Bailey is desperately trying to keep his scarring work life separate from his life with a loving, pregnant wife. But he can’t help wonder if he’s really making the world a better place for his unborn child.
The novel is filled with vibrant, conflicted characters--Pauline, a girl trapped in a junk rehab center; Madonna, a new mother and enemy of the state; and Pastor Rick Smith, a liberal minister who advocates, controversially, for not banning the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Characterization is clearly one of Largen’s strengths, as each character, major of minor, stands out. But what really catches the reader is Largen’s expertise with mixed media: he alternates between traditional narrative, “news reports,” interview “transcripts,” letters, and more. Junk therefore reads more like a magazine or a documentary film than it does as a novel. In this, it is incredibly successful.
Largen likewise is expert at erecting a world and a plot which intrigue the reader. He is able to do this in large part by juxtaposing the bizarre and the believable, e.g. by creating a USA where junk food “users” are treated the way our government treats marijuana users. One character sums up the deceptive logic of the Drug War and anti-drug campaigns: “So, if I admit I’m a food addict, I’m a food addict. And if I deny it, I’m a food addict in denial. I just can’t win for losing.” Certainly there are real addicts in denial--but Largen illustrates the danger of painting any and all political “enemies” as pathological, as we are still wont to do, even in the 21st century. The fact that Largen frames this philosophical refutation in the form of an absurd “junk war” (“I’m a food addict”) exposes the identical absurdity of the Drug War.
And so we can see one minor character’s statement that he doesn’t “know all the answers” as a capsulization of the entire novel, and a pronouncement of wisdom and humility, rather than weakness. As Moe Goodman puts it: “I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what’s good for me. So why would I complicate things further by letting someone else decide what’s good for me?”
The real-world Drug War--and Largen’s “junk war”--are perfect illustrations of the opposite philosophy.
March 17, 2010
Put down that steamy, decadent, spongy, oozing-with-syrup and chocolate sauce dessert. Not only is it unhealthy, it is illegal. In Christopher Largen’s book Junk a surreal, absurd world arises in the wake of an increasing obesity rate, which leads to an array of other health related issues, and the government’s involvement in alleviating the problems. A young girl is sent away for eating a piece of a stale cookie, fast-food chains mandated to serve healthier foods, such as tofu and wheat grass, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Using a satirical form, reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, Largen explores a world where the consumption of a sugary delight is not only illegal, but can get you killed.
In the very beginning the reader is warned about the imminent danger of having the book in their possession because of its suggestive content. With a 1984-esque view on the government, we are shown the various harms in having the government so completely involved in the nation’s nutrition. In the book there are several complex characters battling with the absurdity of the laws enforced on the masses. A cop named, Justin Bailey who is undoubtedly affected by the new-found laws of society is in a constant battle with the necessary punishment he must administer to “junk felons” and the complete absurdity of it all.
All in all, this book is a beautiful illustration of the indisputably awkward reality of having the government so completely involved in our everyday lives. It’s also reminiscent of the ongoing battle of cigarette laws and other intrusive political mandates. This book is definitely for people interested, yet terrified of the incomprehensible growth of government in everyday life and people just fascinated by the mere concept of such severe government control.
Christopher Largen paints an avid picture, and the story with its many appendages, including interviews, newspaper articles, and even illustration encourages the reader to truly be engrossed in this critique on societal paranoia and government control.
In the very beginning the reader is warned about the imminent danger of having the book in their possession because of its suggestive content. With a 1984-esque view on the government, we are shown the various harms in having the government so completely involved in the nation’s nutrition. In the book there are several complex characters battling with the absurdity of the laws enforced on the masses. A cop named, Justin Bailey who is undoubtedly affected by the new-found laws of society is in a constant battle with the necessary punishment he must administer to “junk felons” and the complete absurdity of it all.
All in all, this book is a beautiful illustration of the indisputably awkward reality of having the government so completely involved in our everyday lives. It’s also reminiscent of the ongoing battle of cigarette laws and other intrusive political mandates. This book is definitely for people interested, yet terrified of the incomprehensible growth of government in everyday life and people just fascinated by the mere concept of such severe government control.
Christopher Largen paints an avid picture, and the story with its many appendages, including interviews, newspaper articles, and even illustration encourages the reader to truly be engrossed in this critique on societal paranoia and government control.
January 16, 2013
What seems like an over-the-top satire on America's drug war turns out to be actual dispatches from the front, and the ridiculous lengths we go to in the name of "public safety". Other than substituting junk food for drugs, everything else in this sad dystopian story of a police state run amici rings true.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews