In the near future, the US is a Hispanic majority (interesting but not entirely relevant to the plot) and is facing an economic crisis. Other countries, led by China and Russia, establish their own “bancor” currency and pass laws requiring exports to be paid for by bancors, not US dollars. [In reality, I think this would cause China/Russia to be hurt just as badly as the US though, since they lose a big customer?] The value of the US dollar plummets. This puts more pressure on the US to pay its debt interest, and so the President Alvarado administration decides to just renounce the debt altogether. This pushes the economy into a near-hyperinflation scenario, as the mint prints more and more money which at the same time becomes less and less useful. The focus for everyone quickly becomes shelter, food, water, and sanitation. “If it didn’t line your belly or protect you from the elements, it was junk.”

It’s a chilling read, since the Mandibles are all too typical; I could easily see this happening in real life. (I could especially see our current administration pulling this, on purpose or not…) Though they are a fairly well-off family, with a generations-old inheritance even though it’s tied up by nonagenarian Great Grandpa Mandible’s (“Great Grand Man”) refusal to kick off. (Caring for GGM’s severely dementia-riddled wife without professional assistance is its own special hell for the family.) But, those who have the most, lose the most in this future. In the words of one character, their “hope for the future was met with betrayal.” The dispersed family one-by-one encounters their own tragedies (job loss; home foreclosure; kicked out of nursing home) and all end up together in a two-bedroom house in NYC, before being house-jacked and forced onto the street. The hero of the family is teenager “Willing Darkly” whose pragmatism and disregard for unprofitable things like ethics and morality saves the day.

After surviving the terrible 2030’s, the story fast forwards to 2047. Now the economy has stabilized … but in a hellish dystopia. There’s no freedom, no opportunity, and no way to earn wealth – everyone has an implanted chip in their neck which keeps tracks of a person’s money, immediately deducting 80%+ taxes to support those on social security. (One character points out that social welfare tends to grow and grow until it breaks down when half the population is working to support the other half.) Only menial healthcare-related jobs are available, such as caring for elderly Chinese in US nursing homes, since it is so much cheaper than other places. Nevada, which secedes from the USA, is the one bastion of old school freedom – residents are cut-off from the rest of the world economy, but they get to live in an exhilarating wild-west of capitalism with no safety net. [I think both Nevada and the new US in this story are pretty poor ways to live…I guess finding that middle ground is important.]

Here are some quotes I liked.

On white-ness:

Florence’s living with a Real Live Mexican had given her airs. She was now an honorary member of a minority so enormous that it would soon lose claim to the label. … maybe when white folks were a minority, too, they’d get their own university White Studies departments, which could unashamedly tout Herman Melville. Her children would get cut extra slack in college admissions regardless of their test scores. They could all suddenly assert that being called “white” was insulting, so that now you had to say “Western-European American,” the whole mouthful. While to each other they’d cry, “What’s up, cracker?” with a pally, insider collusion, any nonwhites who employed such a bigoted term would get raked over the coals on CNN. Becoming a minority would open the door to getting roundly, festively offended at every opportunity.

On portfolio management:

…their impeccably proportioned portfolio – tactically diversified, judiciously spread between growth and income – had fallen on the floor like a nutritiously balanced plate of whole grains, green vegetables, and high-omega-3 fish fillets landing face down.

On “fake news”:

It was fashionable to observe that in an age absent rigorous investigative reporting people believed whatever suited them. Their father made this clichéd point incessantly. Yet as far as Avery could tell, people had always conceived an opinion first and assembled supporting evidence at their leisure, as they might purchase an outfit and later acquire accessories to match.

On stories taking place in the future:

Plots set in the future are about what people fear in the present. They’re not about the future at all. The future is just the ultimate monster in the closet, the great unknown. The truth is, throughout history things keep getting better. On average, the world’s population has a higher and higher standard of living. Our species gets steadily less violent. But writers and filmmakers keep predicting that everything’s going to fall apart.

Published June 2, 2026June 2, 2026