Overview

SO YOU WANNA RUN A COUNTRY? is a satirical parable of the perils of authoritarianism, nationalism, and device-dependent group-think. After almost a century of being shut off from the rest of the world in self-imposed isolation, the neo-medieval statelet of Inner Azhuur suddenly volunteers to host the next season of the global streaming sensation SO YOU WANNA RUN A COUNTRY? The producers must now assemble the next crew of unqualified misfits whose ineptitude as they attempt to run the country will entertain billions across the globe. From Newer York, where homelessness has been eliminated by rebranding it as a Thoroughfarian lifestyle choice, come Mooney and Wendy who meet while sleeping in discarded pipes on a vacant lot - one seemingly directed by Captain Dude, a statue attached to a skateboard, and one on the run after deliberately crashing a large chunk of the speculative economy. Cast as Regent of Inner Azhuur and Consort to the Regent, they are joined by Skid, a Dubliner kicked out of his fledgling band and eager to escape a stultifying job as a tourist ambiance fake street menace in Glasgow. Arriving in Inner Azhuur, these three encounter a world of antiquated and indecipherable customs, all meant to glorify the vanished ruler, General D'Izmaie, and return Inner Azhuur to some perceived former glory. As the reality show unfolds, our misfits are enmeshed in a mad power grab of overweening global ambition and find themselves in a struggle against the all-too-real, ruthless and sinister power brokers of Inner Azhuur. Holohan's bantering literary voice is sure to please fans of cyberpunk greats like Philip K. Dick and William Gibson.

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9781636141602

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Reviews

Here's a book of rare and savory humor. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story, the silky political subtext--echoes of Gibson and Orwell--the integrity of the imagined world, and something all-prevalent and crafted so subtly as scarcely to draw attention to itself, the author's trust in the reader's intelligence. The projection of the digital world of spectacle leaves a chilling aftertaste that is both timely and salutary, yet there is a note of hope and yearning that soars beyond the allegorical and satirical strands of the story.--Theo Dorgan, author of Orpheus Nothing this madcap should be this chilling. A heat-seeking missile for the facades which dress despotism up and give it cover, So You Wanna Run a Country? is fueled by that scorching satire we saw in Kevin Holohan's debut, The Brothers' Lot--but this time the whole planet's on fire. Visionary, virtuoso, and violently funny, this novel looks directly at the eclipse that is twenty-first-century life and somehow comes away with the strangest floaters of hope.--Belinda McKeon, author of Tender

Author Information

KEVIN HOLOHAN's debut novel was the critically acclaimed The Brothers' Lot, which the Times Literary Supplement called ""a witty, brilliant, devastating expression of outrage."" Holohan's stories and essays have appeared in the Sunday Tribune, Whispers and Shouts, the Irish Echo, and Writing.ie. He has performed the works of Beckett, Joyce, and others at the Irish Arts Center, An Beal Bocht Cafe, and Dixon Place. A native of Dublin, Holohan now lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.

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