The Swing Voter of Staten Island

Reviewed by Christine I Speakman

Written by Arthur Nersesian

Publisher: Akashic Books www.akashicbooks.com

Genre: Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-933354-34-7

Pages: 280

Price: $22.95

2 out of 4 roses

“The Swing Voter of Staten Island” is in for one crazy ride.

Or, as the inner sleeve states “…a new landscape that at once fuses the real with the surreal, the psychological with the psychedelic.”

I’m still digesting this book and I’m still not sure what ride I’ve just read.  The character, Uli, is suffering from amnesia.  He has been dropped into the new city of New York, Nevada and has been programmed to kill someone.  The whys and hows are not important.  As Uli travels through the Nevada boroughs he meets with many strange characters.  Characters that are either Piggers or Crappers (Republicans or Democrats, confused on who’s who). 

This is truly an unusual look at politics and who’s actually controlling the votes.  I was immediately reminded of Kurt Russell’s escape movies.  Snake Plissken walking through burnt out buildings crossing territories he knows nothing about.

Mr. Nersesian’s tale is an alternate version of what could have been America back in 1981.  His inclusion of real people from prior years adds to the twisting and dreamlike telling of “The Swing Voter of Staten Island.”

If you want something different, you’ll want to read “The Swing Voter of Staten Island.”