RaveThe RumpusI like to think of Hystopia as a Poetic Pharmaceutical Apocalypse. For while the psychotropic plot device of Tripizoid propels the characters forward in this retelling of history, Means never lets things devolve into hallucinogenic parody. The prose is beautifully rendered ... African-Americans seem absent from Means’ Hystopia hellscape. At first I found this a little odd. Then it dawned on me that it sort of makes sense: the Vietnam War hit African Americans especially hard. In Hystopia’s protracted aftermath of ‘Nam it is easy to envision that segment of the population has been vaporized by the Southeast Asian holocaust ... The Michigan of David Means’ brilliant debut novel is actually modern America.
