In this dark comedy, a young man who manages to escape his hayseed hometown situated in Bible-Belt Missouri is mistakenly hunted down by the national security agencies as a terrorist, while the President plagued by an America in chaos and collapse perpetrates an end-of-the-world hoax, in a desperate attempt to get himself re-elected. Any resemblance to the absurdity of our current political charade is coincidental.
To appreciate why "Blinders Keepers" turned out the way it did requires looking at how it came about.
Many have said that reading this book is like watching a funny, action-packed, weird, but thoroughly entertaining movie.
I was approached by an executive from Los Angeles, a person whose business is making movies. His message was that "11-11-11" and"12-12-12", two recent dark satirical novels by me would make a good movie. The problem was these two books are individually very complex, multi-layered works with way too many characters, parallel stories, sub-plots, and overall so packed with story lines and epic distractions, a movie of these two novels would be no less than 18 hours long.
I got to work. I chopped to the bone, focused on just the main story line -- the journey of main character Noah Tass from Missouri to New York City -- made a lot of necessary changes to what became of certain key characters and their relationships to Noah, and produced a tight commercial screenplay called "Blinders Keepers".
It is now in the hands of six companies in Hollywood, with the prospect of being turned into a full-length movie late 2020 or early 2021.
The novel "Blinders Keepers" is the novelization of that screen play.
Thus it is no surprise that it unfolds like a movie.
This is not to suggest that it is slick and superficial. Yes, to a great extent, it's a light and fun read. But like life itself, which has ups and downs, profound and frivolous moments and chapters, this counterpoint blend only heightens the contrast of the essential gravity of what is going on in the world around us.
America is in crisis. The economy has been and continues to be threatened by collapse. It's not funny at all but points to even graver issues.
Most importantly, the fabric of society -- that which binds us together as a people and has given us a historically unique set of values--is slowly fraying and could disintegrate within the next few decades.
Sometimes this decay and collapse is so frightening, that in our discomfort and disbelief we are actually tempted to laugh--in fact we must laugh-- just to keep from uncontrollably crying. Keeping a sense of humor about life--its ups and downs, its triumphs and disappointments--is often the only way to maintain sanity and perspective in the face of tragedyand disappointment. It is sometimes the only accessible means to gather the energy and achieve the focus required to meet the monumental challenges we face.
That's what good satire hopefully achieves. That's what "Blinders Keepers is about. It offers us a chance to look in the mirror, not take ourselves too seriously, so that we can get on with the serious business of making this a better world.
Excerpt
Chapter One
State of the Union
It was that time of year again. Last week of January.
The President was making his much anticipated State of the Union Address.
After the usual greetings and initial courtesies — thanking everyone for coming, acknowledging the important players in all branches of the government, and offering gracious regards for a few special invited guests — the President delivered the type of crowd-pleasing line which has been the linchpin of State of the Union addresses for as long as anyone cared to remember.
“As I stand before this great body and look out at the faces of those who have dedicated themselves to this great nation, I can say with absolute confidence that America is on strong and certain footing.”
Then abruptly his expression changed, he shook his head and stopped speaking. Hands grasping the edges of the podium, he looked down at his feet and appeared to be lost in thought.
What followed was both unexpected and certainly unprecedented. He looked back up. Gone was the confident smile, the twinkle in his eye, the arched optimistic brow. He appeared somber, a touch sad, apologetic.
“Who am I trying to fool here? You, my respected Congressmen? Some of the finest legislators to ever hold public office? The excellent justices of the Supreme Court who preside over the greatest legal institution in history? Myself? No, I’m not here to try to fool anyone. These are times unlike any this nation has ever seen. So I’ll tell you exactly what the state of our union is. It’s a fucking mess!”
A deathly silence filled the entire congressional chamber. If a pin had dropped, it would have been possible to know its exact size and just how many times it bounced. What wasn’t entirely clear was if they had somehow missed what he just said, or if they had heard it, but it hadn’t actually registered. Blank faces and unfocused eyes filled the chamber.
Then, as if being directed by some invisible conductor, or moved by an invisible resonant force field, everyone immediately stood up and began with thunderous applause, cheering, and raucous acclamation, to give him a huge standing ovation. This went on and on, for several minutes at least, never in the least waning in intensity. The President smiled and waved, basking in the adulation. Finally, he had enough and made it clear he had more that he wanted to say. Using a palm’s down gesturing with his hands, he eventually got them to sit back down.
“So here’s what we’re gonna do. I want you all to look down at the floor. Now pull your pant legs up over your calves. What do you see? For those senators and congressman from Texas, this will be easy. You won’t have to imagine. The rest of you, just look and see what I’m seeing. See those loops. Those are bootstraps. Yes, bootstraps. Okay. Now look back up at me.”
Dramatically the President held up high in front of him his two index fingers.
“See these? What we’re gonna do is take these and insert them right in those bootstraps. Then all together, we’re gonna lift. We’re gonna lift like no one has ever lifted before. And we’re gonna pick ourselves up. We’re gonna pick ourselves up and we’re gonna stay up. Do you know why? I’ll tell you why. Because this is America. This is the greatest country that ever was or ever will be. And as we have demonstrated time and time again, as we have shown the naysayers and skeptics over and over, this is one country that can do it. We will do it! Yes! By God we will do it! Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to each and every one of you for your unselfish dedication, your unwavering patriotism, your honorable service to this great country. God bless America!”
Everyone in the chamber, congressman, jurists, ushers, guards, special guests, select members of the press, again leaped to their feet. The response this time was totally over the top. It made the first ovation look like they had been standing graveside at a wake.
Suddenly and without warning, over the explosive din of the hysterical whooping and yelling, could be heard blasting from P.A. speakers hidden behind the long drapes at the rear of the gallery, the U.S. Army band playing Happy Days Are Here Again. This theatrical touch just added to the ongoing chain reaction, notching the hysteria up another two levels.
With climactic flair which rivaled the best Super Bowl half-time shows, red, white and blue balloons then dropped from the ceiling. Like crazed, frenetic school children, the congressman start batting them around.
Maybe the country was going to hell in a hand basket. But darn it all, there was no reason to get all down in the mouth about it.
Professional Reviews
A cautionary tale - darkly funny, sobering when it's not
Blinders Keepers is a fugitive quest set in the near future in an America none of us would want. In its futurist setting, it aligns with 1984, Brave New World, and The Handmaid's Tale, all cautionary stories about how bad things might get if we don't wake up and smell the decaf.
Wrongly accused of perpetrating a terrorist act, young protagonist Noah Tass embarks on a cross-country journey -- first to get out of boring Dodge, then to simply dodge john law. In running from the Feds, Noah burrows ever deeper into a new Underground, which is populated with disaffected types, whose agendas and socio-economic circumstances all seem different. But they are united in their opposition to the Man and the ominous encroachment of Big Government on what few freedoms the Little Guys still covet.
So the book's antecedents here are the Beat Generation, the Hippies, the Yippies, and the drop-outs, along with the more radical and somewhat more violent groups such as the Panthers, the Weathermen, and the domestic militias. Ironically, Noah's status as cult hero (even though wrongly accused) makes him new best friends with all such unhappy folks.
Critics will say it's episodic. Well, so was Forrest Gump, so get over it.
If your own personal or political unease craves company in a noirish narrative about how wrong things could go, you'll find commiseration here. As for me, I'd say the glass is half full, but I suspect Mr. Rachel would start his measurements at the top of the glass, so high were his ideals (and perhaps his patriotism) before he got, well, disaffected.
Not only Swiftian...
John Rachel's *Blinders KeeperS* is a *tour de force* centered on the fate of a Missouri-born young man named Noah. He is just out of high school and as the story begins he is about to head out to face the wicked world pretty much on his own. Along the way, Things Happen & he does, willy nilly, collect some allies. But they (and he) are hotly pursued by the forces of homeland security and sundry law enforcement agencies, mostly at the behest of a demented President facing a difficult re-election. Did I mention that at the root of all of Noah's travails is a stupid misunderstanding? I fear to say much more about the plot. Without detracting at all from John Reacher's original voice, I should like to add that the writing not only has resonance with Jonathan Swift but also with the Voltaire of *Candide*--I guess because Noah, a self-described rube from Missouri, resembles him in his naive honesty and essential good nature. In case I've not been clear, the novel is replete with both wit,irony and humor. I reckon the wit and irony is what called up my reference to Voltaire. The humor calls to mind Noah's fellow Missourian, Mark Twain.
quite the story teller
It drew me in and unlike most books that I never finish, I found myself going back for more until alas there was no more. That is about the best compliment I can give a book at this stage in my life.
A humorous look at the world and life through my eyes.
Follow the author and his wife, as they travel the world …. several times over.
Laugh at their funny stories, self-inflicted crazy events, strange observations, wacky zoo facts and snippets
The Wholly Book of Doo-Doo-Rot-on-Me is adult satirical humor featuring adult language and adult content, and the work is a parody of the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy.
