From Publishers Weekly
Gorbachev is retired and in Monaco, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the U.S. president, World War III was an abortive 20-minute Russian missile attack with no casualties, and American forces now occupy the Soviet Union. To teach the Russians that capitalism works, sexually frustrated CIA bureaucrat Martin Teasdale, along with his cold wife, Marilyn, is sent to Uglich, a godforsaken town on the Volga, where he runs Operation Facelift. Moments of inspired lunacy and pointed political wit spike Beam's ( Fellow Travelers ) wacky satirical novel. Some of the humor seems forced, however, and most of the Russians are caricatures, e.g., the corrupt local Party boss; a beret-wearing communist guerrilla who calls for the overthrow of U.S. rule; a debonair KGB technocrat whom Marilyn lusts after. As the U.S. forces introduce free elections, anti-wrinkle cream and hamburger-dispensing machines, this punchy parable raises weighty questions about the limits to the Americanization of the U.S.S.R.
-or of any other country.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-or of any other country.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Beam (Fellow Travelers, 1987) gets some rather obvious satirical mileage--but not many laughs--out of his second novel, this one about selling the American Way in a dusty corner of conquered Russia. In 1999, a post-Gorbachev Soviet Union fires the first shot of WW III, over in 20 minutes in a sort of real-life computer game with no casualties. The victorious US, headed by President Arnold Schwarzenegger, picks out the lackluster area of Uglich on the Volga for a model experiment in democracy. Put in charge is Martin Teasdale, undercover CIA agent who knows Russia, has a feeling for it, and takes up his task with good will. But he is stymied by the Russianness of the Russians, the Americanness of the Americans, and a host of scheming mischief-makers. His chief ally is the laid-back Melor (acronym of Marx, Engels, Lenin, October Revolution), his KGB counterpart. Among Teasdale's opponents are Dyermoyed, ousted party boss who runs against him in an election; Moronin, a young man hipped on revolutionary texts who takes to the hills with a ragtag army; and T. Makkro Fixx, American entrepreneur intent on using the populace for unethical experiments. Teasdale's main personal enemy appears to be his wife--a lazy, neofeminist virago who won't give him the time of day, let alone her body. The unlikely result of this soured union are two lively young daughters who take to Russia with zest. Besides having fun with the oil-and-water culture clash, Beam plays with the mergers he envisions down the road, creating such entities as the Lord and Ann Taylor store, Sonysonic telephone, BMVW car, and USA-Times newspaper. A mildly entertaining muddle that often relies too much on exaggeration, Mad magazine-fashion, to score its points about Russians and Americans. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
