#121. THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS By James Morrow

Published : 1986
Pages : 301
Overall Mark : 7/10

When tombstone engraver George Paxman is offered a bargain, he doesn’t hesitate. His beloved daughter gets an otherwise unaffordable survival suit to protect her from radioactive fall-out and all George has to do is sign a document admitting that, as a passive citizen who did nothing to stop it, he has a degree of guilt for any nuclear war that breaks out. George signs on the dotted line.

And then the unthinkable happens...

JAMES MORROW (1947-)
Born in Philadelphia, James Morrow spent much of his teenage life in Hillside Cemetery, where he entertained his passion for 8mm moviemaking by creating numerous short horror and fantasy films with his friends. Having received degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, he then turned his creative urges to writing. Commonly in his works, Morrow satirises organised religion and elements of humanism and atheism. He is perhaps best known for the Godhead Trilogy, the first of which, Towing Jehovah, won the World Fantasy Award in 1995. He currently lives in Pennsylvania with his family.

VERDICT
Clever ideas aren’t always good, and satire can often go over a readers head. Here we have a great example of clever satire that shows how in the future governments will plan ahead for scapegoats when nuclear accidents occur, but it does at times become something of a chore to get through. The characters here get a little confusing in places, but I’d say the final segment is the strongest, with the protagonist going on trial for the destruction of the human race simply because he wanted to buy his daughter a protective suit.