Blood Test, A Comedy by Charles Baxter

Master storyteller, Charles Baxter brings us a satire of American life in the age of artificial intelligence in his new novel Blood Test, A Comedy.

When protagonist Brock Hobson, an insurance agent and Sunday school teacher, submitted to a predictive blood test at his doctor’s office, he learned that he had a predisposition for felony behavior, possibly even murder. It was a shocking revelation for Broch who as his children say, “ is as predictable as a metronome.” After his wife left him for a body-building subcontractor, their two teenage children opted to live with him, the steady and reliable parent. It seemed outrageous that he would be capable of such a thing.

“I’m not convinced by these predictions.” Brock says. “They’re quite implausible given how upstanding I am. In any police lineup I’d look like a well-fed Rotarian. I don’t have that mass murderer smirk.”

But Geronomics had firmly sunk their capitalistic claws into Brock and would not be loosening them easily. When Brock confronted his ex-wife’s boyfriend, who was bullying Brock’s gay son, the man slipped on a banana peel and fell down the stairs, fracturing his skull.  Geronomics capitalized on the unfortunate catastrophe, determining that the accident confirmed Brock’s propensity to commit murder.

They offered Brock an insurance policy to cover his necessary legal fees, a companion pet (a white rat, to calm his nerves), as well as an offer to monetize his dreams. And when he arrived home, his rat in tow, he discovered a package on his doorstep. Inside was a first-class, top-of-the-line Finn 23 handgun … sent to him by none other than … Geronomics (whose investors had a vested interest in their predictions).

While the novel is subtitled a comedy, it is certainly a satire of our current times. There is a little bit of everything here: gun violence, homophobia, artificial intelligence, and the monetization of health care, among other things. But no worries … Baxter keeps the mood light … helping us to laugh through our tears … and, thankfully, Brock Hobson truly is as reliable as his children say.

Here is a book about staying true to ourselves during uncertain times. A story to embrace and be inspired by … that we too, may be predictable in our character during the most unpredictable of times.

This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Listen to my interview with Charles Baxter on November 28th at 7pm and the 30th at 6am on Superior Reads.