Synopses & Reviews
Citizens’ stories of state abuse, from secret wiretapping to unjust imprisonment and worse, make headlines daily. In the hands of novelist Gordon W. Dale, they drive a masterful political thriller. As
Fool’s Republic opens, Simon Wyley floats in a tiny all-white cell. A short-order cook with a genius-level IQ, Wyley has had a steady job for twenty years, paid his taxes, kept to himself. A dedicated husband and father, he’s a model citizen. So why is he being held?
Wyley is accused of committing crimes against the state—the charges are always implied, never specified—and is being held without formal charge, benefit of counsel, or due process of law. He confuses and confounds his interrogators using the only weapons at his disposal, irony and whimsy, to challenge their arrogance and false assumptions. As Wyley’s journey proceeds, we develop a deeper understanding of the man behind the wisecracks and of the society that has imprisoned him.
Exhibiting a crackling narrative energy and vivid prose, Fool’s Republic is about freedom—freedom of action, freedom of thought and, ultimately, the freedom to be human. It is the story of a man’s struggle to come to terms with himself and the culture in which he lives.
About the Author
“Timely and gripping —
Fool’s Republic drew me in and wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t put it down.”—Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award winner and author of
The Liar’s Lullaby
“Gordon W. Dale’s protagonist, the perfectly maladjusted Simon Wiley—think one part Lenny Bruce, one part Lew Archer, and one part Anna Ahkmatova—whisks us along the tightrope of this keen political (and refreshingly familial) thriller through one delicious dope-slap after another. He is a bright light in the face of these imbecilic times. Dale’s lucid prose is unwavering in its precision and downright addictive. This is a book that will haunt you into action.”—John Kain, author of A Rare and Precious Thing
“Gordon W. Dale has written a meditative thriller about loss, deception, and the search for soul in a terrifying world.”—Miha Mazzini, author of Guarding Hanna