The Transformation: GTE 45 - Faren R. Siminoff

The Transformation: GTE 45
Faren R. Siminoff
Starry Night Publishing
ISBN 9780692766101
eISBN 940158001215
ASIN B01DCIQXJS




I read this book with both a bit of fear and fascination. Much like Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal I fear that some people might take this book seriously. The book is in some ways a terrifying read, especially after the recent US election and the aftermath that we are still witnessing. Set in the rebranded Corporate States of America, where people are classified and are wither contributors or takers. Takers live in walled ghetto's. The 'we' class strive and struggle every day just to stay afloat. And the JC class create jobs and are the elite.

The story follows two people from youth through adult hood. Is also written around the official and unofficial history of the CSA (Corporate States of America).  The GTE The Great Transformation in America took place some 45 years before the main part of our story. Paul Gaugin is a 'we' but he dreams of being an artist. At every turn that dream is squashed and he is threatened with reassignment as a taker and being demoted to the projects. And the other is Layla Saenz, she was raised as a 'taken' and rose from the projects to become a Proffie, a professor at the premier university. But she also likes to break the rules and push the boundaries. She sees something in Paul and loves his art. But she also falls for the Reverend Isaac Freeman the leader of the new state church of the revealed saints.

Following politics and corporate green it would not be a long shot to see a story like this come true. If good people do not stand up, soon no one is left to stand up. The book is disturbing and a true dystopian novel. But from this book the GTE was planned and worked for by the top 1% for many years before their plans came to pass. And with what we are seeing in the wake of the 2016 presidential election we can only hope this book is not prophetic.

It was a good read. I was glued to the story and wanted to find out what would happen next. But in the way that you witness an accident and cannot turn away, you want to, but you just cannot. Once you start this book you will be hooked in that way. It is an interesting read and a cautionary tale.

Books by Faren R. Siminoff:
The Transformation: GTE 45
Crossing the Sound: The Rise of Atlantic American Communities in Seventeenth-Century Eastern Long Island
Tackling College Admissions: Sanity + Strategy = Success