Mungo City

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

In a world where globalization reigns supreme, there is Mungo City,
which is controlled by the Mungo Cola Corporation. At the other extreme
is the Abyss, a democracy whose inhabitants dwell in comparative poverty
while their leaders lead affluent lives. A Mungo City resident, the
clueless Jimmy Doodle, is inadvertently caught up in an anticapitalist
conspiracy and exiled to the Abyss. Jimmy becomes involved (again,
inadvertently) with a clique that is intent on overthrowing the
corporate world.

This entertaining and thought-provoking novel mocks both worlds. In the
Abyss, for example, the principal spectator sport is bed racing:
accompanied by the frenzied commentary of trackside announcers, and
watched by huge live crowds and TV viewers, 900-pound men drive
motorized beds around an Indy-like track. Sound familiar?