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The Resisters: A novel (Vintage Contemporaries) Paperback – January 12, 2021

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 511 ratings

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The moving story of one family struggling to maintain their humanity in circumstances that threaten their every value—from the highly acclaimed, award-winning author of Thank You, Mr. Nixon. • “Intricately imagined … [It] grows directly out of the soil of our current political moment.” —The New York Times Book Review

The time: not so long from now. The place: AutoAmerica, a country surveilled by one “Aunt Nettie,” a Big Brother that is part artificial intelligence, part internet, and oddly human—even funny. The people: divided. The “angelfair” Netted have jobs and, what with the country half under water, literally occupy the high ground. The Surplus live on swampland if they’re lucky, on water if they’re not.
 
The story: To a Surplus couple—he once a professor, she still a lawyer—is born a girl, Gwen, with a golden arm. Her teens find her happily playing in an underground baseball league, but when AutoAmerica faces ChinRussia in the Olympics, Gwen finds herself in dangerous territory, playing ball with the Netted even as her mother battles this apartheid-like society in court.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Intricately imagined . . . The Resisters is a book that grows directly out of the soil of our current political moment.” The New York Times Book Review

“The magic of [
The Resisters] is that, amid a dark and cautionary tale, there’s a story also filled with electricity and humor—and baseball. . . . [A] great gift.” The Washington Post

“Sweeping, subversive. . . . Brilliant. . . . [
The Resisters] finds in baseball a compelling metaphor for a country that will always have something to prove.”Entertainment Weekly
 
“A dystopia so chillingly plausible that an entire review could be spent simply describing its components. . . . Marvelous.” 
—The Boston Globe
 
“[An] inspired vision. . . . In
The Resisters, [Jen] offers hope that, after a long, misbegotten seventh-inning stretch, Americans of the near future will be eager to once again play ball and take up the hard work of participatory democracy.” —NPR

“Jen writes electric, entertaining sentences. . . . In sport, Jen finds a metaphor for what it is to be human.”
Bookforum
 
“An entertaining ride in a new yet familiar world. . . . Empowering.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
“Triumphantly original . . . a
1984 for our time. . . . Don’t dare call this fantasy or science fiction. This is a world all too terrifying, dangerous and real.” Newsday
 
“Sweeping, subversive. . . . Brilliant. . . . As Jen reveals how America became AutoAmerica, one seemingly tiny but cumulatively fatal development at a time, she finds in baseball a compelling metaphor for a country that will always have something to prove.”
Entertainment Weekly
 
“Jen masterfully builds her dystopian world, depicting how easily such a change can creep over a populace too ready to trade liberty for convenience . . . At heart, a story about love, family, and the core values of freedom and independence.”
Nashville Scene
 
“Clever . . . So meaningful, and so disquieting . . .
The Resisters raises a host of provocative questions about what a ruthless combination of omnipresent technology and economic inequality might look like. George Orwell would be proud. And scared.” Shelf Awareness
  
“Astutely realized and unnervingly possible . . . Jen masterfully entwines shrewd mischief, knowing compassion, and profound social critique in a suspenseful tale encompassing baseball ardor, family love, newly insidious forms of racism and tyranny, and a wily and righteous resistance movement.”
Booklist (starred review)
 
“A dire tale of nonconformity in a world gone mad.”
Library Journal (starred review)
 
“Subtle dystopian fiction . . . beautifully crafted and slyly unsettling. . . . The juxtaposition of America’s pastime and the AI-enabled surveillance state Jen presents here is brilliant.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 
“[A] shrewd and provocative near-future novel. . . . [Jen’s] intelligence and control shine through in a chilling portrait of the casual acceptance of totalitarianism.”
Publishers Weekly

The Resisters is palpably loving, smart, funny and desperately unsettling. The novel should be required reading for the country, both as a cautionary tale and because it is a stone-cold masterpiece. This is Gish Jen’s moment. She has pitched a perfect game.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House
 
“An absolute joy . . . I finished
The Resisters with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face. Who could ask for a better combo? Gish Jen has written a one-of-a-kind book with great characters—especially Eleanor, who is the heart of the story—and a warm heart. Remind Ms. Jen that the great Ernie Banks said, ‘Hey, guys, let’s play two!’ Which is my way of saying I wouldn’t mind a sequel. Probably won’t happen, but a guy can hope. P.S. This lady knows her baseball.” —Stephen King, author of The Institute

“Can there be a dystopian novel of lightness, delicacy and charm? In which baseball, our subtle, determined summer game, is the means of resistance against the dehumanizing overlords? In which a girl who pitches like Satchel Paige is the blue-haired hero? Gish Jen says, Yes! And she is right! Where there is baseball, there is hope. And beautiful prose, too.”
—Cathleen Schine, author of The Grammarians
 
“Inventive, funny, and tender,
The Resisters is about family, baseball, and the future—but more than anything, it is about freedom, and it is about us—here, now.” —Allegra Goodman, author of The Chalk Artist

“Brilliant . . . A heartbreaking novel with the sensitivity, emotional range, and prophetic power of Margaret Atwood's
The Handmaid’s Tale.” —Jean Kwok, author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

“I LOVE this novel as much as I fear the future Gish Jen has conjured in it. In this anything but brave new world, baseball is what survives and reminds us of our humanity, and a girl’s golden arm forms the kernel of resistance. What an enchanting conceit! Gish Jen has hit a grand slam.”
—Jane Leavy, author of The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World he Created

About the Author

GISH JEN is the author of four previous novels, a story collection, and two works of nonfiction. Her honors include the Lannan Literary Award for fiction and the Mildred and Harold Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She delivered the William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in American Studies at Harvard University. She teaches from time to time in China and otherwise lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (January 12, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0525657223
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0525657224
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.69 x 7.92 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 511 ratings

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Gish Jen
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Gish Jen has published short work in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and dozens of other periodicals, anthologies and textbooks. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. Nominated for a National Book Critics’ Circle Award, her work was featured in a PBS American Masters’ special on the American novel and is widely taught.

Jen is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study fellowship, and a Mildred and Harold Strauss Living award; she has also delivered the William E. Massey, Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University. She is currently a Visiting Professor at Harvard.

THANK YOU, MR NIXON is her ninth book, published for the 50th anniversary of President Nixon's historic trip to China.

Her website with more information is gishjen.com, and her wikipedia page is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_Jen.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
511 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable for baseball fans. They appreciate the humor, tenderness, and hope in the story. However, opinions differ on the narrative quality - some find it deftly interwoven and heartwarming, while others find it disjointed and smarmy. There are also mixed views on the pacing - some find it deep and hopeful, while others feel it's stilted and unrealistic.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

17 customers mention "Readability"12 positive5 negative

Customers find the book easy to read. They appreciate the author's insightful writing style and the timely prescience. The themes of feminism, race, class, and technology are discussed in an engaging way. However, some readers feel the book is too light on dystopia background and lacks depth.

"...Through the lens of something as pure, democratic and American as baseball, we have to consider how our insatiable thirst for economic efficiency,..." Read more

"The book is pretty darn good. The writer makes you want to turn the page. I’m not a baseball guy but the writer made me feel as if I were." Read more

"I found this book both captivating, and at times, a little disappointing but never predictable. I think a young adult audience would love it most." Read more

"Gish Jen has, here, written a necessary read...." Read more

7 customers mention "Knowledge of baseball"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's knowledge of baseball. They find it an enjoyable read for baseball fans and a must-read for socially conscious fans. The book includes detailed information about the game, which is considered timeless and American.

"...How can a book be such an enjoyable baseball story AND a critically important reminder that we need to start asking hard questions NOW of our tech..." Read more

"...But it is also a book about baseball and for me some of the best passages are those that describe the nuances of the game and the struggles that the..." Read more

"...nefarious government and fierce girls. A must-read for socially-conscious baseball fans." Read more

"...Beautifully written, deeply knowledgeable about baseball, our looming dystopian post-privacy future and its societal clashes, the novel is as..." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book.

"...at the undersides of our species and still find reasons for joy, humor, and resilience...." Read more

"...ominous account of a dystopian future she manages brilliantly to interweave humor, tenderness and compassion—and to allow her characters their full..." Read more

"...Yet the humor, tenderness, and finally hope, herein do leaven the despair...." Read more

15 customers mention "Narrative quality"10 positive5 negative

Customers have varying views on the narrative quality. Some find it heartwarming and engaging, with a wonderful storyteller and an interesting dystopian twist. Others feel the story is disjointed and lacking cohesion. The game helps tie the story together for some readers.

"...She is a wonderful storyteller and what is special here is how she takes a timeless game/sport and projects how it will fit into a tech/..." Read more

"...However, I found the ending confusing." Read more

"...The narrative deftly interweaves (interestingly, weaving and knitting are a key part of “The Resistance” at certain points)..." Read more

"...I was gobsmacked by the deep humanity and hope in this wonderful account of a future that might be all too near us...." Read more

9 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it thought-provoking and uplifting, providing hope in troubling times. Others feel the pacing is stilted and unrealistic, with too many plausibility issues.

"...Eliot and Rilke to anything dystopian, I was gobsmacked by the deep humanity and hope in this wonderful account of a future that might be all too..." Read more

"...The character dialogue is painfully stilted and unrealistic...." Read more

"...of a dystopian future she manages brilliantly to interweave humor, tenderness and compassion—and to allow her characters their full measure of..." Read more

"...Yet the humor, tenderness, and finally hope, herein do leaven the despair...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2020
    Gish Jen does an incredible job of raising some of the most important issues of our time, all within the context of America's favorite pastime. She is a wonderful storyteller and what is special here is how she takes a timeless game/sport and projects how it will fit into a tech/surveillance dominated future that may not be so many years away. Through the lens of something as pure, democratic and American as baseball, we have to consider how our insatiable thirst for economic efficiency, winner-take-all outcomes and data-driven perfectionism are likely to drive us down a very slippery slope towards a dystopia that actually isn't that hard to imagine us reaching in the relatively near future. How can a book be such an enjoyable baseball story AND a critically important reminder that we need to start asking hard questions NOW of our tech sector and government leaders, before it is too late? Gish Jen's brilliance makes that happen -- I'm in awe!
    9 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2023
    The book is pretty darn good. The writer makes you want to turn the page. I’m not a baseball guy but the writer made me feel as if I were.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020
    Gish Jen has, here, written a necessary read. We are introduced to the dystopian nation of AutoAmerica, a dystopian United States of an undetermined time certainly not too far in the future. AutoAmerica is essentially a weird return of apartheid, dividing the (not-too-clearly defined) ruling class, “The Netted” against Unretrainables (people with discontinued professions, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.) and others termed “surplus” who are being actively “winnowed.” Race is also part of the equation, as The Netted are uniformly “angelfair”(via AryanDerm) and the rest, like Eleanor, Grant and Gwen, are a melange of races, termed “coppertones.”

    Eleanor, a former lawyer (still quite active, one of the leaders in ‘the resistance’) and Grant, a former teacher, have a precocious daughter, Gwen, a preemie at birth with a variety of ailments in her first two years. The narrative fairly quickly moves through Gwen’s early adolescence as she distinguishes herself with her remarkable talent: pitching baseballs.

    The narrative deftly interweaves (interestingly, weaving and knitting are a key part of “The Resistance” at certain points)
    the various difficulties faced by our protagonists in legal battles with AutoAmerica and in the difficulties they face day-to-day, forced to to live in swampy lowlands or pontoon-towns as the waters continue to rise. Forced to play on fields contaminated with...? And forced to accept the free food from the government laced with...?
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
    This was light reading - a dystopia background, but pretty well-worn stuff about the surveillance state, But if you like baseball, it’s a decent read.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2020
    As a neuroscientist who prefers George Eliot and Rilke to anything dystopian, I was gobsmacked by the deep humanity and hope in this wonderful account of a future that might be all too near us. Although I was struck by the extraordinary, uncannily timed prescience of Gish Jen's account of what happens to a society which has undergone a severe crisis, I was more impressed by her ability to look unflinchingly at the undersides of our species and still find reasons for joy, humor, and resilience. I wanted to shake my fist at the end, and I wanted the novel never to end. Indeed I will earnestly hope she writes another book with these same characters whom I have come to cherish. My syntax was precise: these characters have found a home in me. Or rather, Gish Jen gave me both a new set of individuals to care for, and new reason to find hope today in our own tragic crisis around the world. Prof. Maryanne Wolf, UCLA
    17 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2020
    I found this book both captivating, and at times, a little disappointing but never predictable. I think a young adult audience would love it most.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2020
    Gish Jen is one of the best writers in our midst, and in “The Resisters” she has outdone herself with the grace and dexterity of her seductive voice. I have been a fan of hers since discovering “Typical American” some time ago, and It has been a deep pleasure to watch her become a master of her singular style. In this otherwise ominous account of a dystopian future she manages brilliantly to interweave humor, tenderness and compassion—and to allow her characters their full measure of humanity. Her voice is deceptively light upon the ear while managing to convey a terrifying vision of technology as it may entrap us in the not-too-distant future. She has written a cautionary tale that--day by day--becomes closer to reality, and The Resisters is a book that shouldn’t be missed by anyone!
    Robb Forman Dew
    9 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2020
    I enjoyed this book and I'm glad I read it, especially because of the female protagonist. However, I found the ending confusing.