Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere by Alex Cothren
Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere is an absolute page-turner. I could not put it down. The blurb says that it's “like Black Mirror, but better.” I agree with Sean Williams’ assessment of this book of short stories. Cothren has written a fantastic, varied collection that focuses on a wide range of deeply topical themes, employing a variety of narrative personas and forms. This is a book for aspiring authors, a masterclass in how to write.
I found ‘The Jaunsons’ particularly hard-hitting, as it focuses on the effects of the aggressive enforcement of immigration law on everyday people. The title story, “Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere,” is brilliantly playful with form, using an academic study as a mode for highlighting the desperate lengths that academics in this fictional university are driven to in order to gain a permanent position. It is darkly funny but probably comes close to the truth! “Ocean Paradise” also adopts the style of a manager reporting on the progress made by a business, in this case, a bar with pokies, making it a disturbing yet funny read.
Cothren uses satire to convey his messages; however, his writing provokes readers to question whether these stories really are fiction, or if they will become real in the near future.
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