The Resisters: A Novel

Gish Jen's new book combines two things that I've previously loved in books, even though they're not my typical go-tos: dystopian fiction and baseball. The story is set in the indeterminate future, when society has broken down into what are essentially two castes: the Netted, and the Surplus. The Netted are the privileged ruling class, the producers whose role in the world is to create. And the Surplus only exist to consume what the Netted produce. Now they are work-less. To the Netted, that's the same as worth-less. Our narrator for this tale is Grant, a former professor and member of the Surplus class. Grant lives with his wife and their daughter, Gwen, now 17 years old. From the first line, we know that Gwen has never been a typical child. Gwen loves baseball—which is unfortunate because the sport has been outlawed. Word gets out about Gwen's amazing arm and pretty soon she's being recruited to cross over to the world of the Netted. The world Jen has created here is such a fascinating place to spend time in. Release date: February 4, 2020.