The Mandibles Intl

<p>This brilliantly witty and insightful novel, set in near-future America, follows four generations of a once-prosperous family as they navigate the aftershocks of a devastated U.S. economy brought on by a national debt crisis - one that will seem all too frighteningly realistic.</p><p>In 2029, the United States is engaged in a bloodless world war that will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Overnight, on the international currency exchange, the &quot;almighty dollar&quot; plummets in value, to be replaced by a new global currency, the bancor. In retaliation, the president declares that America will default on its loans. The government prints money to cover its bills. What little real currency remains for savers is rapidly eaten away by runaway inflation.</p><p>The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable inheritance, once their ninety-seven-year-old patriarch dies. When their birthright turns to ash, what began as mere disappointment spirals into the challenge of sheer survival. </p><p>Avery is petulant that she can't buy olive oil, while her sister Florence is forced to take now-homeless family members into her cramped household. Their aunt Nollie, an expat author, returns from abroad at seventy-three to a country that's unrecognizable. </p><p>Nollie's brother Carter fumes at caring for their demented stepmother, now that an assisted-living facility isn't affordable. Only Florence's oddball teenage son Willing, an economics autodidact, will save this formerly august American family from the streets.</p><p>In The Mandibles, Lionel Shriver brings the full power of her creative imagination to bear on a topic that seeps into every corner of our lives: money. Using her ability to nail the zeitgeist, her droll humor, and her psychological insight, Shriver has created an unforgettable and engrossing fictional world.</p>