The Arrest

THE ARREST

Jonathan Lethem

Books for Bigots

THE ARREST might just be inoffensive enough for a Bigot to navigate.  It has a minimum of sex  and no non-white people.    And it is apocalyptic - - everything quit working:  No machines, electrical or  otherwise.  The event was called The Arrest.              

The exception is the Blue Streak, a nuclear powered, big round ball of impregnable material with enough nuclear powered devices to protect itself from all attacks.  The location of the action is a communal enclave on the coast of Maine where the residents have managed to feed themselves and maintain their community and who seem to be quite content without any knowledge of the planet and how everyone else is coping.  I thought inciteful, was a line in the book occurring early: "The U.S. wasn't replaced with a next thing.  It was replaced by wherever one happened to be".

No one knows what happened to the rest of humanity and apparently they don't care.  The only knowledge of the outside world is from Peter Todbaum, the operator of the Blue Streak, from his trek in the Blue Streak from Malibu to Maine and his adventures in route. The  main character/narrator Alexander Duplessis, otherwise referred to as Sandy or Journeyman is the connection between Todbaum and these small communities on the coast of Maine such as East Tinderwick and Spodosol.  

Apparently the communities are being protected by a group called the Cordon who periodically show up to threaten or dine or destroy stuff.  We're not very clear about where they come from or what they do otherwise.  The presumption is that they are maintaining a vigil not allowing other people to settle in the communities or even allowing visitors.   They were unable to impede the progress of the Blue Streak, although they tried and suffered some casualties which caused some hostility.

What also makes this book an acceptable read to most Bigots is the apocalyptic event, a future firmly established in the imaginations of most Bigots.   The inhabitants of these communities appear to be self-sustaining nutrition wise.  Now what happens when things begin to break and are not replaced does not seem to concern them. "Damn, my hoe broke.  What do I do now?"

The locals decide that the Blue Streak must go and they capture it and make a lighthouse out of it (in case a Frenchman shows up in a rowboat) - - they have rejected what has disappeared and they appear quite content to live without any form of modernity. There is no attempt to use the Blue Streak to their advantage, but only to exclude it and make it as non-functioning as possible.  Considering this is the only power source available to them, it seems odd they would refuse to utilize it; much unlike what THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON would have done.

Of course, there isn't much discussion about what will happen when someone needs an ambulance or an emergency room, or what may occur when a person's blood pressure meds run out, or when a broken bone needs setting.  We have a serious lack of reflection from the inhabitants.  With everyday food, bed, and clothes to wear, there isn't much to think about apparently; and, winter hasn't set in yet.  There is a library which Journeyman would like to utilize but is occupied by a squatter who doesn't allow access. 

Most Bigots will feel right at home here with the exception that there does not appear to be an organized form of control.  Without the ability to control others in their thoughts and activities, Bigots feel insecure and anxious.  But  East Tinderwick and Spodosol, having no government, would be ripe for one with police and other forms of control since there are none at present.  All in all, it would appear that this book is one that a Bigot would, in the main, find inoffensive and be able to read.  

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo