Jonathan Selwood has said he wanted The Pinball Theory of the Apocalypse to be the kind of novel you start as your plane leaves Los Angeles and finish as you land in New York. That is a modest goal, and an honest one, and the book meets it.
The story
Isabel Raven is a disillusioned Los Angeles artist who makes her living painting copies of old masterpieces with modern pop icons swapped in for the original subjects, selling them to rich buyers who can afford original art but not a real Old Master. Her life is not going well. She fights with her art dealer, loses her long-time boyfriend to a teenage pop singer, and then an earthquake takes her apartment. From there the novel careens, like the pinball in its title, through the art world, celebrity culture and the general absurdity of Los Angeles.
What works
Selwood writes with energy and keeps the chapters short. There is no slow middle to wade through, which is rarer than it should be in comic novels. The satire of the art market, where meaning is mostly a matter of price, is sharp. Readers who enjoyed films like Art School Confidential will recognize the territory, and the novel handles it better.
What does not
This is pulp entertainment, and it does not pretend otherwise. Characters are broadly drawn, and some jokes depend on references that have aged. Readers looking for depth will not find much beneath the surface.
Verdict
Never boring, which is the point. Pack it for the plane, the beach or a lazy weekend, and expect to finish it.
Sources: The Pinball Theory of the Apocalypse, Goodreads.
