First, in a small Midwestern city, the deer population starts attacking people. So Beryl, a feisty senior with a troubled past, decides to take matters into her own hands, training a squad of fellow retirees to hunt the animals down and reclaim their own vitality.
At the same time, a group of protesters decides to abandon the "system" and live in the woods, leaving their children and all responsibility behind. Berenice never thought her mother would join the "dropouts," but she's been gone for several days, and the only clue to what might have happened to her is hidden somewhere in her old notebook.
Vik, a taxidermist at the natural history museum and an immigrant from the Caribbean, is beginning to see the connections between the dropouts, the deer, and the discord. He's not the type to speak up, but when he finds a woman living in his closet, he's forced to get involved. Each of these heartfelt and engrossing characters struggles to see their place in a society full of contradictions, but they ultimately rescue one another in surprising ways.
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“A tongue-in-cheek look at how we romanticize the wilderness, and, as the title suggests, a reflection on the delusions of modern life.”
— Outside
“Bitingly satirical…González is a fresh voice, asking important questions in an engaging and incisive way.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“A commentary on aging, sex, and the emptiness of modern living in the U.S. that could’ve only been written by an outside observer.”
— NPR“González’s distorted utopian vision is a memorable trip.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Rebecca Gibel is an award-winning stage, television, and voice actress. The narrator of over fifty audiobooks, Rebecca is facile in a wide variety of genres. Rebecca has worked across the country at theaters such as Trinity Rep, Cleveland Play House, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Intiman Theatre, and the Arden Theatre Company. She holds a BA from the College of William & Mary and an MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep.