The Pinball Theory of Apocalypse
by Jonathan Selwood
Published by Harper Perennial (August release)
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Reviewed by Alex McGilvery
Jonathan Selwood’s The Pinball Theory of Apocalypse is a delightful dark comedy read. Isabel Raven is a starving artist. She is starving, not because she is struggling, but because she is successful. Isabel is not sure about the cost of success. Her agent, manager, gallery owner is pushing her harder and harder is a direction that she just doesn’t want to go. Yet living in the insanity of L.A, she can’t escape insanity of one kind or another.
The story is set in the period after a major earthquake. The quake and its aftershocks force Isabel to examine herself and her art. The glow of wild fires is never far away either, illuminating the delusions that she and the city she calls home live with. The cast of characters range from a Mormon turned Latina pop star, to a billionaire who “gives money away like Tic Tacs,” to an agent who answers the phone with a primal scream and wants to sell Isabel’s paintings, along with everything else in her life.
Reading this book is a lot like riding a really good rollercoaster. Even if you can see the curve coming, it is still a rush when it hits. The story starts with an earthquake and never lets up. Each person the reader meets is bent in some way by the life they have chosen, yet they point Isabel to what she needs to see through her own delusions.
Jonathan Selwood plays his cast to perfection, bringing humor and grace to the story. He doesn’t make judgments or bring a heavy moral to bear, yet this reader felt satisfied at the conclusion that the book was worth reading.
Armchair Interviews: If you are looking for a very satisfying read, this dark comedy is it.
Author’s Web site: http://www.JonathanSelwood.com