Christopher Buckley's "Boomsday:" Watch Your Back, Boomers!

When Christopher Buckley riffs on matters of politics and policy, expect the absurdity dial to be turned to "11." The tobacco lobby? In "Thank You For Smoking," their lobbyist is a hero. Presidential infidelity? "No Way to Treat a First Lady" features a First Lady on trial for assassination. Now we face the Social Security / Medicare crisis, and in "Boomsday" Buckley's heroine puts forth voluntary Boomer suicide as a policy prescription.

Twenty-something blogger Cassandra Devine has had it with Boomers. Her father invested her college savings in his startup, and she had to turn down Yale to join the Army. Some years later, she's tapped into the growing resentment of working adults that they have to support golfing retirees. She pitches her latest idea to her partner at a Washington PR firm, and he's ... resistant:

(Terry): "You're advocating that the government incentivize suicide, and I'm being obtuse?"

(Cassandra): "Voluntary Transitioning."

"You offer people tax breaks. To kill themselves. At age seventy."

"More if they Transition at sixty-five. Yes, a package of incentives. Free medical. Drugs -- all the drugs you want. Boomers love that kind of pork. The big one is no estate tax. Why leave it to Uncle Sam when you can leave it to the kids? That'll get the kids on board ..."

The intergenerational battle is joined. Cassandra tells an interviewer that "Our parents, the Baby Boomers, dodged the draft, snorted cocaine, made self-indulgence a virtue. I call them the Ungreatest Generation. Here's their chance, finally, to give something back." Senator Randolph Jepperson of Massachusetts, who sees advantage in Cassandra's idea, tells the Senate that while his may not be 'the Greatest Generation,' they made their own contribution:

"Thanks to advances made by my generation, people around the world can now find decent coffee on practically every street corner. Can send e-mails. Participate in chat rooms. Type on laptop computers. No, Mr. President, we have not been idle. But these accomplishments pale in comparison with the ones of those who came went before us. And so, Mr. President, it is -- truly, surely, indeed, absolutely -- time for us to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our children and give back. Give back our own lives ... This, Mr. President, is truly the least we can do for our country."

All this just gets the plot up to speed. Throw in religious extremists, hookers, dirty tricks, and more, and you've got a fun brew.

Even Buckley's throwaway lines draw smirks. At the DC headquarters of ABBA (the Association of Baby Boomer Advocates), "the metallic walls were inscribed, 'Ask not, what can your country do for you. Ask, what has your country done for you lately?'"

Other reviewers have complained that Cassandra's character is thinly drawn, and they are right. Some of her actions in the latter part of the book seem to come out of thin air. But rich characterization is not what one reads Buckley for. Reminiscent of Carl Hiassen, it's the off-center but oddly plausible plots that keep the reader entertained.

Others have noted that Buckley is overbearing with his explanations of Cassandra's name and the parallel to Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." That criticism is also valid. The audience for political farce is presumably college educated and doesn't need alerts at every clever turn.

But these are quibbles. If you're looking for a fun take on the politics of the near future -- one that leaves you with an "I could almost see this happening" feel -- "Boomsday" is your book.

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