Seth Greenland's timely novel is a smart and darkly amusing dissection of the American way of life in all its sordid glory. Set in the hardscrabble California desert community of Desert Hot Springs and the manicured enclave of Palm Springs, the novel lives at the intersection of the Old Testament and Elmore Leonard. In this sun-blasted territory, with its equally arid culture, a fiercely contested congressional election is in progress. The wily incumbent, Randall Duke, is unburdened by ethical considerations and his opponent, Mary Swain, is a sexy and well-financed newcomer who does not have a firm grip on American history or elemental economics.
This is the ideal setting and cast of characters for Seth Greenland, one of America's finest satirists. The Angry Buddhist convincingly explores mendacity in tis modern American forms: contemporary politics, middle class sexual mores, the criminal justice system, and the limits and cost of filial love. Green land is able to mix satire with crime to produce humor that is vibrantly caustic and subjects that are alarmingly authentic.
