Hystopia
 | |
| Author | David Means |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Publication place | United States |
Published in English | April 19, 2016 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). |
Hystopia is a 2016 novel by David Means. Literary critic Christian Lorentzen described the novel as "a counterfactual narrative by a Vietnam veteran, named Eugene Allen about his experience in a therapeutic, psychedelics-based trauma recovery program initiated, in the novel's alternate history, by John F. Kennedy."[1] In July 2016, it was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize.
Summary
[edit | edit source]Hystopia begins with a framing device to the narrative, presented as a manuscript, also titled 'Hystopia, left by Edward Allen, a Vietnam War veteran who has committed suicide. In this world, a hallucinogenic drug called Tripazoid can trigger a process called "unfolding", which can either help or (more reliably) worsen the PTSD of the Vietnam veterans who take it.
Awards
[edit | edit source]- 2016 Man Booker Prize, longlistee.[2]
References
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