I have good news.
In a future world in which the United States is a crumbling mess of single-party, military-obsessed paranoia, Taco Bell still exists.
Gary Shteyngart’s “Super Sad True Love Story” envisions a not-too-distant time in which China and Norway have become dominant nations while America tries fix after fix to restore its former standing in the world. It is in that world that Lenny Abramov goes to work at a company catering to the rich who want to live forever.
How do I know Taco Bell is alive and well? One day Lenny goes to assess his net worth and examines his holdings:
“My AmericanMorning portfolio, even though it had been pegged to the yuan, had lost 10 percent of its value because, unbeknownst to me, the idiot asset managers had stuck the failing ColgatePalmoliveYum!BrandsViacomCredit albatross into the mix…”
Yum! Brands is, of course, Taco Bell’s parent company, and while I’m sure the people of this America will still enjoy some KFC or Pizza Hut, there’s no way they survive without Taco Bell.
The story at times reads likes excerpts from the movie “Idiocracy” with a population of people who think books are ridiculous and speak in what today we see as the downside of an increasingly texting-based communication system. In fact, everyone wears a device called an apparat, which they use constantly to view streams of information, shop and see instant data on everything and everyone around them.
Of course, we see elements of that culture all around us today. I will also not absolve myself of that at all. Yesterday at the grocery store I answered several emails, sent a text and checked the weather all on a device that also stored my virtual shopping list. I was there for 10 minutes.
Lenny has a love interest — the “love story” part of the super sadness. Her name is Eunice, and she’s a younger, hipper member of this new society that the older, dorkier Lenny has trouble fitting into. She also has a habit that reminded me of Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. While walking in New York, Eunice comments on the distance between Lenny’s apartment and the available services nearby.
“‘Looks like I’ll get some exercise walking to the train,’ she said. ‘Ha ha.’ This was what her generation liked to add to the end of sentences, like a nervous tic. ‘Ha ha.'”
Ovi’s Twitter feed is a thing of absolute beauty, and frequently includes English messages that end in a hail of laughter:
For as much as this book deals with sadness and people struggling in a world that seems more and more devoid of humanity, it does feature strong messages about what it means to keep going and not give in.
Lenny at one point attends a religious gathering with Eunice’s family at Madison Square Garden, where he sees an arena full of people he thinks are feeling undue pressure to be perfect. He imagines addressing the audience:
“‘You have nothing to be ashamed of,’ I would say. ‘You are decent people. You are trying. Life is very difficult.'”
Indeed.