America in the near future is the same, but worse. There's no national government anymore. Only local authorities endure, and they barely function. The real glue holding what's left of society together is death. In this America, everyone who dies is celebrated in a lengthy funeral rite by their entire community, the body sewn into an oxhide and hung next to all the others on the town's main street. The whole ritual is led by the oldest member of the community, according to an undeviating script.
Maxine is one such elder - 99 years old and living in Lakeport, California. Dogged by chronic pain and the indignity of ageing, burdened by grief and above all by boredom, one day she does the unthinkable and changes the words of the funeral rite. Contrary to her expectations, the entire community follows her lead, and the rebellion gathers momentum, unleashing a spate of violence that may transform the whole disintegrating nation. Initially horrified, Maxine is soon intoxicated by her new powers, and finds herself leading funeral rites that resemble political rallies or bacchanals more than solemn ceremonies. When she launches a pilgrimage across the California desert, it triggers a confrontation with the remaining institutional forces of the country - a confrontation she may not survive.
A furiously funny satire on contemporary America, as well as a moving meditation on grief and how it binds us together, this utterly propulsive novel marks an exciting new departure from the author of international bestseller Legend of a Suicide.
