Cover image of "Anarchy and Other Lies," a novel about a work in which there aren’t enough jobs

Here’s what we’ve gotten ourselves into . . . “When the rationing first started the stipends were handed out for free, but as food became scarcer the government required a matching contribution. The amount seems to go up almost every month. There aren’t enough jobs anymore for everyone to afford the match, which is probably a good thing because there wouldn’t be enough food to feed them anyway. Life is circular for a reason—problems like this tend to solve themselves.”

All the bees have died

So, how did this happen? In his novel Anarchy and Other Lies, author Jesse McKinnell never tells us directly, but it’s clear enough. A combination of heat, drought, and violent storms, compounded by the death of all the bees, has wiped out most of the food crops. Some farms remain, but they produce far too little. Of course, there are Go-Bars—in a variety of flavors—”fortified with the essential vitamins and minerals one would expect in real food.” But Jake, the young guy who’s telling this story, is about ready to scream if he has to eat another of those goddam strips of cardboard.

Anarchy and Other Lies by Jesse McKinnell (2020) 252 pages ★★★☆☆

The action in this novel when Jake witnesses a young woman blowing up a bridge a little like this one. Image: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette

There aren’t enough jobs

Actually, Jake’s a lucky guy. He has a job. A real job. He’s been working for almost six months. Designing silver table utensils, currently “a new line of three-pronged, silver-plated forks.” Of course, he wonders who would ever buy such stuff. There aren’t many people with money to throw around, and everyone’s got bigger things to worry about, anyway. But, well, it’s a job, and it pays. And then, on the very day that the news comes through that the last queen bee in the world has died, the boss lays off the whole staff. And Jake no longer has a job.

Stunned, Jake gathers up the few personal things on his desk and sets out to wander down to the waterfront. Which is where he sees something he’s not supposed to see. A young woman has blown up the bridge! He only got a glimpse of her running away. But then he checks his glasses, whichrecorded the scene. Sure enough, a lithe young blonde woman ran away from the bridge just after the explosion. And, since his glasses connect to the Internet, everyone else in the world can see the scene as well. Because the media picked it up, and it’s gone viral. Now he’s really in trouble if the police find and question him. Because that’s never a pleasant experience.

But Jake manages to elude the police . . . saved by the blonde terrorist. And then he gets involved in something a lot worse than a police interrogation. He’s falling in love with the woman. And she’s only getting started . . .

About the author

Jesse McKinnell. Image: Bright Community Capital

Jesse McKinnell‘s bio on Amazon reads in full: “Jesse McKinnell is a writer living in southern Maine with his wife and young daughter.” Anarchy and Other Lies in his second novel.

But there is more information about him through the company where he works. McKinnell is Chief Operating Officer of “Bright Community Capital (BCC), a Maine-based renewable energy investor and lender with a national footprint. . . Prior to BCC, Jesse worked as a risk analyst for a large credit card processor.” He holds a BA in History from the University of Southern Maine and a JD from the University of Maine School of Law.

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