A Highly UnlikelyScenario , by Rachel Cantor , takes place in a world where computer plan walk among us , thepolice wear Chipmunk Patrol sashes , and quasi - spiritual philosophic groupsbattle for convert via fast food eating house .
This dystopia comes replete with a Leader whose intellectual nourishment preferences arekept secret to preserve unity , though a neo - Maoist Christian Bible group claims the Leaderhas capture control of the Menus . From that description , readers may mean theyknow what kind of book they ’re reading , but long before they can get theirbearings Cantor is spinning out a plot about medieval Judaic sages , theVoynich manuscript and an elementary schooler who does awful karate kicks .
Leonard is a Listener , as determine by his Neetsa PizzaPythagorean Mentor , mean he spends his dark answering the ireful phonecalls of clients - in - annoyance and offer them compassion via voucher . He also babysits his nephew Felix , of theawesome karate kicks , every day after schooltime while Felix ’s ma Carol function at Jack - o - Bites , a Jacobite eating place or pay heed out with her neo - Maoist Scripture club . Leonard ’s life isuneventfully small as he toils in his menage place until he gets a telephone set call onthe complaint personal credit line from Marco Polo .
Leonard , who is not abysmally worldly , has no theme who hiscaller is , but with the counselling of a medieval Kabalist , who vocalize likeLeonard ’s dead grandfather , Leonard recover himself suck into a domain ofmetaphysical time travel , Latter Day Baconians and Tibetans ( who , the verymention of , can short-change out phones and computers ) . Leonard spoil his fashion through with littlemore than his feeling in Pythagorean principles and his ability to listen . He alsogains an ally in a beautiful woman with prophetic top executive and no motivation to wearfreckle dot makeup .
Cantor ’s first novel never takes an obvious turn when astranger one might do and the result is a secret plan that spring , soap - bubble like , above a earthly concern that is adequate parts absurdity and arbitrariness . The bookis packed with foreign details and odd moment . Cantor has a firm grasp on building a familiar yet surprising world withlanguage – cubit and lucre their more common synonyms . coalesce with the Leonard ’s “ young piece goesout into the world to seek his fortune ” story , the whole thing has the atmosphere of afable translate from a very foreign language .
A extremely Unlikely Scenario or , A Neetsa Pizza Employee ’s Guide to save the Worldis neithera heavy or drear book , even when the future hangs in the balance . But its anti - grittiness , its sheer sense ofwonder and playfulness make it even more unlikely . Sometimes , all anybody needs is a goodlistener .
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