SA's 'Broken Monsters' writer aims her poison pen at Trump

25 January 2017 - 17:49 By Dave Chambers
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South African novelist Lauren Beukes is one of 10 top fiction writers chosen to offer a dystopian vision of the future under Donald Trump’s presidency.

In Patriot Points‚ a short story that will appear on Slate.com at the end of the week‚ Beukes imagines a consumer loyalty programme in Trump’s America.

In what she calls “vicious satire”‚ Beukes describes how people who apply to join are awarded bonus points for speaking “American English” or belonging to an evangelical church.

If they admit to being Muslim‚ they are awarded 50 bonus points and informed: “You qualify for an exclusive resort experience on behalf of the US government. Representatives from the Patriot Points offices will contact you after you submit this form.”

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Beukes was invited to join Slate’s Trump Story Project by US novelist Ben H Winters. “We’re fans of each other’s work‚ and he asked me to write about some aspect of what the new America might look like‚” she said.

“I wanted to do something about Planned Parenthood and women’s rights but another writer got there first‚ so I’ve written quite a cheeky story about something that could be happening right now.”

The Patriot Points application form in her short story begins by demanding social media log-ins and passwords. Predicting executive orders already signed by Trump‚ it asks‚ “Do you have any chronic diseases or conditions that may make you a drain on the economy?” and “Have you made use of secular ‘reproductive healthcare’ service such as Planned Parenthood?”

Said Winters: “Since the election we’ve all read 100 think pieces about what the next four years might hold‚ but fiction has a special power to clarify‚ galvanise‚ prophesy and warn. I asked some of my favourite writers to offer visions from the alternate history we are now entering.”

Slate’s series began yesterday with a story by Héctor Tobar. Other contributors include science fiction writer Nisi Shawl and fantasy writer Jeff VanderMeer.

With Moxyland‚ Zoo City‚ The Shining Girls and Broken Monsters‚ Beukes has established herself as one of South Africa’s leading writers of fiction. She is working on a new novel and a TV show pitch. - TMG Digital/The Times

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