Landscape with Invisible Hand
Age 14+
Children's & Young Adult Fiction & True Stories
National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson returns to future Earth in a sharply wrought satire of art and truth in the midst of colonization.
When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem "classic" Earth culture (doo-wop music, still-life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it’s hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they hate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he’s willing to go — and what he’s willing to sacrifice — to give the vuvv what they want.
Creators
M. T. Anderson is the author of Feed, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; the National Book Award–winning The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party and its sequel, The Kingdom on the Waves, both New York Times bestsellers and Michael L. Printz Honor Books; Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad; and many other books for children and young adults. He lives near Boston, Massachusetts.
Reviews
Adam’s voice is compelling, full of teenage angst and anger, insecurity and inspiration, written in deceptively simple language. This is social satire at its best. Those expecting a simple space romp will find that they are enjoying instead a thought provoking commentary on what is happening in too many parts of the world today.
Reading Time
I recommend reading this book because it is beautifully written. Because the world building is strong and believable. Because I think it is important to feel the emotions Anderson’s imagery invokes in us.
Gilly Reads
This novel has so many important and inspirational key messages
Pocket Full of Pages
This is a strong and brave modern novel that addresses the idea of our perhaps not being alone, nor being in fact superior, or protected by any higher beings, living on the edge and in tension, on this planet in the universe that we inhabit.
Read Plus
Wow this novel will blow your mind
Bob's Books
This is a powerful look at our society.
Read Plus
