Stephen Marche

Listen up, kid writers. Misery loves company. And since you say you want to be a writer, you must love misery. You are going to fail. A lot! And even if you sometimes don’t fail, you will feel like you have. But if you are really a writer, you are going to keep doing this failing, again and again, no matter what I or Stephen Marche say. So, good luck! You’ll need it. Oh, and herein you’ll also find lots of anecdotes about other writers, including very famous ones, who failed about as show more much you are about to.

Stephen March takes us on a misery tour of the writing life. It doesn’t sound all that appealing, but if you’ve decided to read this book, you probably think it sounds peachy. Heaven help us, you must be a writer. Remember, if it doesn’t work out for you, you can always write a book about how most every writer fails.

Gently recommended for writers; no one else needs it. show less

Let's be honest, one mostly reads books like this out of a certain prurient, nihilistic, glee, with the best outcome being one gets a vision that gives you the shock of recognition. Did I get that shock of recognition out of this polemic? No, I did not.

Sure, Marche has useful and valid points scattered through this book, which might be news for some people, but the scenario he provides for a new civil insurrection leading to a process of secession being initiated is not even convincing as a show more thought experiment. Let's get real; any new American civil war is going to be a lot like the last civil war, in which some state governments decide that they can waltz out of the union just because they say so, and then start building their new version of the Patrimonial White Male Republic. Only this time it's because they see Washington's power being run down enough that they can do this; not because of the threat of overweening federal power. Marche is very fixated on the rural/urban divide in American society, which is real, but he has very little to say about America's corporate oligarchs who have benefitted from political stasis, and any analysis that leaves that out is very flawed.

Marche also invokes climate collapse contributing to a break up; mostly as a "deep" systemic issue. Actually, I think it would galvanize centralizing action, particularly since the regions of the Old Confederacy, always the most likely suspects in a new civil war, look like they're really going to get hit hard by the coming climate changes, and those state governments are going to do what state governments in trouble always do; turn to Washington for help.

Getting back to prurient, nihilistic, amusement, I'd also like to puncture Marche's Olympian tone of sanctimonious concern. If some turn of events leads to an American breakup, he seems to think that Canada would be immune. Hypothetical spin-off polities in the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain West would be delighted to help themselves to the contiguous regions of Canada; just because the American Republic dies, it doesn't mean that it'll take the American imperialistic drive with it!

This is the sort of book that makes me want to take my own shot at writing a political thriller, because I feel as if I could do better. show less

It's funny how a book can come along at exactly the right time...twice.

I picked this up only because a customer in the bookstore where I work had brought it up with a few other books, saw the price ($16 for 80 slim pages), and told me they were passing on that one. I hadn't even known of the book's existence prior to that moment, but it stood out as something I might like to read. I set it aside and purchased it that day.

Then it sat on my shelf, in the order with all my other TBR books. And show more it's time came this morning, which is good, because I've been struggling lately with my writing.

And this eminently quotable little book? It gave me the kick in the butt I've needed, by also giving me a different perspective that I also needed.

This is a good book. show less

"The Last Election" by Andrew Yang and Stephen Marche is a political thriller set in the not too distant 2024 presidential election. This well written novel delves into the possibility of what our future would be like if our country found itself with a strong third-party presidential candidate. At times, the plot can appear bizarre, but quite probable. I love when a novel really makes its readers think, and this one definitely did that! I feel that Andrew Yang's past experience as a show more presidential candidate added a lot of insight. If you are looking for either an entertaining read, or a read that makes you think about the possibility of our political future, I would highly recommend "The Last Election". show less