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In this smart satire about bigotry and intolerance, Walter uses magical realism and comedy to reinforce his satirical look at societal problems. Set in the 1970s during the oil shortage years of blocks-long lines for gas, the work centers on the protagonist, Dwight Bridges, aka Richie Ritchie, who is “a car dealer, Buicks, new and used, from—Hoggzswallow Hollow, West Virginia.”
Bridges finds himself looking into a lit mirror at someone much like himself with some interesting exceptions. He is confused and bewildered when a stranger claiming to be his agent addresses him as Richie Ritchie and thrusts him onto a stage. Trying to explain his predicament to the audience, he is surprised when they begin clapping and laughing. It seems this “vaguely anti-Semitic” car salesman is now a famous Jewish comedian. What ensues is a laugh-out-loud story involving something called a “positron-emission muon ionic holographic tele-transporter” which transports Bridges to “an alternative world and a substitute future.”
It isn’t easy to find humor in or write a humorous work about anti-Semitism and hatred, but Walter beautifully uses biting satire and some really funny scenes to comment on some of the world’s problems. Not only is bigotry a major theme, he also explores themes surrounding the human condition and personal identity. “Isn’t each and every one of us many different people all at the same time?” One of the best and funniest scenes in the book includes a serious conversation between famous comedians about the craft. Walter is skillful with the dialogue and does justice to some of the greats. Always looking to get back home, Bridges never fully embraces his deadpan alter ego, yet he does learn some truths about himself. This is an intriguing novel that will have readers in stitches.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review