Title: Bonfire of the BeastsAuthor: Scott Reardon
First Published: December 16, 2021
Publisher: Belden Press
Pages: 130
Genre: Political Fiction, Satire
Format: Ebook
Source: Free Promotion, NetGalley
Rating:
Synopsis:
Bonfire of the Beasts is the most searing satire of political correctness of our time.
Told from the perspective of a swan named Mother Goose, it’s the story of animals who rise up against mankind to create a society free of bigotry and hate. What unfolds is a depiction of how sympathy and love can pave the way for unimaginable horrors.
Review
Bonfire of the Beasts retells Orwell’s Animal Farm with touches of Nineteen Eighty-Four, but updated for the 21st century. This biting political satire sets its sights on diversity. I will admit that I don’t feel completely comfortable reviewing this title. It is certainly polemical and touches on some thoughtful observations about the way that institutions claiming to be diverse use diversity as a buzzword to maintain the status quo, contributing to ongoing systemic racism. But there is a lot about the story that just doesn’t sit right with me, and it borders on being problematic. Problematic is a word I’ve come to dislike and use sparingly, but I find that it is applicable here.
This book flirts with some dangerous ideas, casting the pigs that espouse social justice as villains. Animals express concerns about the behavior of certain animals, not so subtly alluding to racial stereotypes, and are branded racists and are promptly punished by the pigs. When the antagonists of a story are directly quoting Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi while abusing and even killing those that question the philosophy of tolerance, I can’t help but question the intent of the author.
Altogether I just don’t like this one, it rips off too much of the story right from Orwell’s classic, and the anti-tolerance and anti-diversity stance can too easily be used as a dog whistle.
Quote
“Life could be so nice if we could just stop being so tolerant toward each other!”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Scott Reardon
Scott Reardon is the author of The Dark Continent and The Prometheus Man, which was published in 2017 by Little Brown. He has written and directed two feature films, Our Pet Kat and Dakota Bastard. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.
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