Just say no, Nancy Reagan urged us in the 1980s. But what if we apply her drug advice to status-chasing consumerism and always-on work connectivity?
In “Alan Opts Out,” a consummate adman begins to question his priorities after a pitch for a milk campaign goes horribly awry. He slowly withdraws from the agency he co-founded and attempts to curb his family’s extravagant spending habits. Predictably, those around Alan are perplexed. “You still have a job, don’t you?” take-charge wife Vivian queries after she finds him home on a weekday, while neighbors raise their eyebrows at his offbeat behavior, which includes washing his hair in a bird feeder and camping out in the family playhouse.
Alan lives with his family in Greenwich, Conn., a wealthy town famous for its New York City adjacent strivers, but he could just as easily reside in Brentwood or other moneyed enclaves around the country. And that is part of the appeal of Courtney Maum’s latest novel. Many a resident in these enclaves, I venture to guess, has at one time fantasized about opting out of the rat race like Alan does.
Why I liked it
The author satirizes consumerism and the suburbs in a gentle, yet affectionate way. We learn that Alan became fascinated with marketing campaigns at an early age in Michigan and why fellow Midwesterner Vivian is so frantic about gaining acceptance from their community’s popular crowd, no matter how mean girl their behavior can be. Vivian and Alan’s daughters have their own quirks, though their mother clearly wishes they didn’t for conformity’s sake.
As the novel unfolds, we also learn more about their neighbors, good and bad, while Alan begins to reckon with the discomforts that go hand in hand with living a simpler life. The narrative culminates in an elaborate party with a surprise ending that I will not spoil here. Throughout the novel, Maum weaves in neighbor exchanges on social media as amusing meta commentary on community activities.
Modern-day Bartleby
The story took a while to get going for my taste, and I briefly considered ditching the book, but am glad I did not: Once Alan begins to opt out the narrative comes alive. The modern-day Bartleby the scrivener would simply prefer not to engage in work and society conventions he no longer finds meaningful, but he’s never mean or pedantic about it. Even his exasperated wife can’t help but admire the way he sticks to his guns. Maum previously worked in advertising, and it shows in her depiction of Alan’s work and the stress involved his creative enterprises. Do yourself a favor and say yes to “Alan Opts Out.”
‘Red Sheet’ by James Ellroy
It’s been so long since I read an Ellroy novel that I forgot that I prefer my hard-boiled fiction on the minimalist rather than the maximalist side. And he’s a maximalist, albeit one with comic flair. There is much to enjoy in “Red Sheet” for fans of old L.A. and JFK era crime busting in the City of Angels: The action picks up just after the conclusion of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: Fred Otash is running an anti-red probe at Attorney General Bobby Kennedy’s behest, keeping future police chief Daryl Gates apprised of his rule-skirting activities along the way. Gubernatorial candidate Dick Nixon, Playboy czar Hugh Hefner and future mayor Tom Bradley also figure prominently in this historical yarn replete with seedy businessmen attempting to cater to the so-called integration generation.
People are killed in lurid ways, pills are popped and much heroin is ingested. For me, the book is best read in small doses, but as always, your mileage may vary.
“Alan Opts Out” by Courtney Maum, Little, Brown, available now
“Red Sheet” by James Ellroy, Knopf, available now
Originally published on my Lititude substack