Kalifornia: A Novel [Hardcover]

Marc Laidlaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1993

On the eve of California's bicentennial, Poppy Figueroa, a woman who, through the miracle of the wires, can share her every sensation with television viewers, plans to broadcast the birth of her baby. By the author of Dad's Nuke.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a breakneck pace and a wonk's sense of humor, Laidlaw ( Neon Lotus ) neatly satirizes our postmodern society in this wild, almost hallucinatory novel. In the future U.S.A. that is the book's setting, flat-screen entertainment has evolved into full virtual-reality experience; stars are "wired" to transmit from their senses directly to their worshipful audiences, who are themselves wired to receive more channels than a cable box. The Figueroas were the nation's favorite wire family before tragedy shattered their show; now only Poppy, the elder Figueroa daughter, remains on the air with her own production. During the taping of an episode to mark the bicentennial of California's statehood, her newborn child Calafia is kidnapped, and when all else fails it falls to Poppy's hitherto aimless brother Sandy to venture into the quarantined "Holy City' to rescue the baby--who, as the first person to be born wired, may have powers that neither Poppy nor Sandy expects. Laidlaw plays fast and loose with his premises, but it works: we're never quite sure how much of a wire star's life is shown, where the line between reality and fantasy is drawn, if it exists at all. Laidlaw's future is far from believable, but as a satirical extrapolation from our media-saturated times, the narrative drives its points home. A quick, enjoyable romp full of surprising twists and enlivened by an incisive wit.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

It is 2050, and television audiences are now wired to receive every thought and sensation from their favorite Hollywood icons. As California celebrates its bicentennial, Poppy Figueroa, popular TV personality/sender, is giving birth to the first electronic baby, a birth shared by millions of viewers/receivers. When the infant is kidnapped minutes after the birth, Poppy and her brother Sandy, also a sender, begin a wild hunt through the nightmarish wonderland of the future to find the child before its electronic nature can be manipulated by religious and political factions to control the world. A plot summary cannot do justice to this dark, imaginative satire on our obsessions with television and pop culture. Funny, frightening, and immensely enjoyable, the story has more twists than the electronic wires themselves. This excellent novel by the author of Dad's Nuke ( LJ 2/15/86) and Neon Lotus (Bantam, 1988) belongs in all popular and sf collections.
- Eric W. Johnson, Teikyo Post Univ. Lib., Waterbury, Ct.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312088302
• ISBN-13: 978-0312088309
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and savvy, September 12, 2005

By 

Desirina Boskovich "cpunk junkie" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kalifornia: A Novel (Hardcover)

The premise of this book is that everyone (or almost everyone) is now wired to receive continuous media broadcasts, and a few lucky people are wired so they can also send broadcasts. the main characters are all family members, has-beens who were once the stars of a reality-tv-meets-the-brady-bunch type show of unmatched popularity. now, after the show ended in tragedy, they are all depressed, burned out, and suffering from various varieties of naivete. not quite a family member but almost is the lovable butler, a transgenic seal-man.

the plot of the book is entertaining, but kind of seems to fall apart towards the end, maybe because it seems to be striving for a happy ending after setting us up for bloodshed, despair, and nonchalant mayhem. i mean, the whole world is watching TV 24/7, aren't they asking for it?

the book is surprisingly well written. laidlaw takes a fairly predictable subject matter and premise, and turns it into a really entertaining satire on contemporary popular culture. the language is fresh and unexpected and the characters are compelling and believable, even the seal-man. "kalifornia" is a pretty rare find: science fiction that is immensely readable but still has literary quality and a discerning edge.