The Terrible Threes [Paperback]

Ishmael Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

This adventure into the world of offbeat humor and on-target social criticism is a vision of America in the not-too-distant future, a portrait of a fairy-tale gone awry.

In The Terrible Threes, Ishmael Reed proves that he is one of the most innovative voices in contemporary literature. This adventure into the world of offbeat humor and on-target social criticism is a vision of America in the not-too-distant future, a portrait of a fairy-tale gone awry. This novel begins where The Terrible Twos left off, in the late 1990s, three years after President and former fashion model Dean Clift was laughed out of office, with the nation in chaos and the White House implicated in a covert operation to rid America of surplus people and the Third World of its nuclear weapons. A blend of science fiction, folklore, history, fantasy, social satire, and all out surrealist comedy, The Terrible Threes bears Reed's distinctive voice and message. At once a threat, a promise, a prediction, and the awful truth about the land of the free and the home of the brave, the tale is wholly unforgettable. Once you've seen the world through Reed's eyes, you might never see it the same way again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reed's jazzlike, surreal phantasmagoria is set in the late 1990s, in an America where millions of surps (homeless people) forage for food, while U.S. President Jesse Hatch is a figurehead manipulated by televangelist Rev. Clement Jones, his spiritual adviser. The former president, ex-fashion model Dean Clift (star of The Terrible Twos , this novel's predecessor) has been removed from office but will soon stage a comeback. Among the convoluted subplots, two drive the action: White House communications chief Robert Krantz's "lone cowboy" scheme to drop neutron bombs on New York and Miami, then place the blame on Nigeria; and billionaire toymaker Elder Marse's plan to exploit the charisma of dwarfish Rastafarian Black Peter. Reed's uproarious, wisecracking, deadly serious farce swings between the inspired and the heavy-handed, but when he is on target, which is much of the time, he is one of the sharpest socio-political satirists around, hurling pointed barbs at racism, the CIA, women, the Vatican, the New York literary crowd and Americans' demand for instant gratification.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Reed's eighth novel seems aimed at a select audience filled with unfocused anger. Dystopian in theme, it is set in the late 1990s, and what passes for narration apparently involves Santa Claus's taking over America and punishing assorted villains. The plot, however, exists only to allow Reed to attack his favorite pet peeves and, as an added attraction, sophomorically to hit out at famous folk, regardless of creed or color. Nasty little references abound, with American women the favored target: "always kvetching and talking about being unhappy, without knowing what they are talking about." Though a few satirical jabs hit home, this mean-spirited, hapless little novel strains to be humorous, but alas only adds up to a flat, mildly disturbing embarrassment.
- Charles Shapiro, York Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive; 1st Dalkey Archive ed edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564782247
• ISBN-13: 978-1564782243
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,631,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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