Society, Suspicious

Society, Suspicious: A Novel by Freeman Smith is a political satire that is seasoned with humor readers find nowhere. The story is told by a narcissistic poet, a music aficionado, and a man who faked his death and stole a citizenship card that allowed him to leave fame behind and live free. He has been a janitor, a junior high school counselor, a golf pro, a homeless man, and a private investigator. This narrator takes readers on a hilarious romp through America, exploring American narcissism incarnated by Trump and building a plot that outlines the characteristics of false patriotism:

“Own the narrative

Push the agenda

Point the finger

Frame the story

Cast the blame

Market the lie

Gloss it up

Brand it

Dig it?”

It is stylistic, a wonderful meld of poetry and fluid prose, writing that is lyrical and a first-person narrative voice that pulls readers into the different threads and streams of the narrative irresistibly. The evocative writing is enriched by biting humor and references to historical characters and events like Trump and the January 6. Readers follow a nuanced protagonist, a sick mind whose quest for revenge against America will lead him to start an insurrection.

While Society, Suspicious: A Novel is a hugely entertaining story, it examines what is sick in American history, offering wonderful social commentaries. It is an interesting parody of contemporary US cynicism and a brilliant exploration of narcissism that only a man like Trump can espouse. The novel offers a vivid portrait of Trump and his sense of victimhood, a trait that has galvanized his political activities and has been at the heart of his political philosophy. The poetry and the footnotes are, in themselves, a work of beauty and revelatory of the broken soul of America.