A Southern Solution

ISBN: 1470024713

Author: Beck, Alan

Condition: New

Product Description A Southern Solution is a dark satire about America and the world; a social satire with political overtones that gives us a fast-paced tour of modern American life. A psychiatrist retires to Mexico believing he's running away from a disappearing American dream. His calculations are wrong and the saga begins. From Kirkus Reviews A retired psychiatrist heads to Puerto Vallarta to escape the crumbling American dream and runs into a nightmare of FBI agents, avaricious businessmen and global invasions in this satire drunk with political jabs and comic escapades. Happily enjoying his extended vacation within a stones throw of Puerto Vallartas Malecón, Dr. Steve Kopfklopper is returning from the airport when a stranger atop a Harley rides into his life. I feel like Im entering some fairy tale, Steve says, and indeed he is: a wicked, sardonic one in which the U.S. government and a Chinese businessman named Wen Chu vie for his skills and his loyalties. The stranger turns out to be LaTroy South, an oversexed FBI agent assigned to recruit the retired doc and wannabe author as a double agent. When Steve finds South in his condo-along with a mysteriously stocked fridge-its just the beginning of an adventure that unfolds in an at-times bewildering and ever-increasingly absurdist fashion. Sexy women for hire, a suspicious sheep farm, a bumbling interpreter who may not be as hapless as he seems, and a lot of talk about circumcision are only a sampling of the factors that combine to turn Kopfkloppers resort-town idyll into a manic and entertaining entanglement. Author Beck has captured the sensory delights and real-life details of sunny Puerto Vallarta, and his swift pacing and snappy dialogue mix well with a backdrop of crowded beaches and boardwalks, cobblestone streets, Mexican beer and seoritas in skimpy clothing. All this, however, only makes for an amusing vehicle through which to present the authors disillusioned, libertarian viewpoint of the state of American life and politics, and he doesnt miss any opportunity to throw in jabs about Medicare, entitlements, HIPAA, Rick Perry and the current President Omar. The commentary is obvious but not necessary, not when you have a plot to save the U.S. economy by, among other schemes, selling off states to a wealthy Chinese mogul, who plans to turn Illinois into a vast prison and California into a mental institution. The ending is clever, though it falls a bit short of expectations. Readers of all political persuasions will find something that resonates in this lightning-quick story, along with plenty of eyebrow-raising chuckles. About the Author Alan Beck is a physician who has practiced for over thirty years in the Midwest where he has lived most of his life. He loves spending time with his family and dog. When free, he loves to play tennis,golf, and bike. He is an avid reader.