Alan Opts Out

An advertising pitch to gain a milk account goes awry.

"'It is a waste,' said Daniel in a quantifiable shout, wrenching his arm away from Alan. 'Ours is the most wasteful culture to ever foul the planet! And advertising's to blame! ...'" - Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum, p. 76

Alan, an advertising executive, having lost the account then proceeds to lose his mind a little bit, moving into the playhouse in the backyard, giving up purchasing anything, choosing only to walk, etc. His family things he's mad, all the while his wife is desperately trying to join the very exclusive women's club in their neighborhood and his children are desperately trying to not fit in with that neighborhood's culture. 

This is very much over the top satire, but not to the point you despise the main characters. The author gives them too much humanity for that to happen. But it is a cautionary tale about consumerism, worrying about what other people think, and missing what is actually important. 

There is even an excellent dig at Amazon, though doesn't go so far as to push for an absolute disavow of using it. If you go so far past realism you lose your audience, I guess. And for the record, I have been absolutely Amazon-free for well over a year now and actually don't miss it at all. It can be done. 

I do recommend this book. It's light, funny, and has a good message. Plus, the author actually nailed the ending which is not always a given. 

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