The Resisters

Gish Jen is one of the best writers in our midst, and in The Resisters she has outdone herself with the grace and dexterity of her seductive voice. I have been a fan of hers since discovering Typical American some time ago, and It has been a deep pleasure to watch her become a master of her singular style. In this otherwise ominous account of a dystopian future she manages brilliantly to interweave humor, tenderness and compassionand to allow her characters their full measure of humanity. Her voice is deceptively light upon the ear while managing to convey a terrifying vision of technology as it may entrap us in the not-too-distant future. She has written a cautionary tale that–day by day–becomes closer to reality, and The Resisters is a book that shouldnt be missed by anyone!
Robb Forman Dew

I could only ask myself: Whats the point? If Id been less than 45% I wouldve tanked the book. But I kept on til the predictably treacly, maudlin and smarmy conclusion. The schizophrenia of this book is totally and underwhelmingly disconcerting. Is it a baseball novel? A dystopian odyssey? A coming of age novel? It matters not. I couldnt get involved with the characters or the fates. This work would have benefitted from scalpel editing.

Gish Jen does an incredible job of raising some of the most important issues of our time, all within the context of America’s favorite pastime. She is a wonderful storyteller and what is special here is how she takes a timeless game/sport and projects how it will fit into a tech/surveillance dominated future that may not be so many years away. Through the lens of something as pure, democratic and American as baseball, we have to consider how our insatiable thirst for economic efficiency, winner-take-all outcomes and data-driven perfectionism are likely to drive us down a very slippery slope towards a dystopia that actually isn’t that hard to imagine us reaching in the relatively near future. How can a book be such an enjoyable baseball story AND a critically important reminder that we need to start asking hard questions NOW of our tech sector and government leaders, before it is too late? Gish Jen’s brilliance makes that happen — I’m in awe!

As a neuroscientist who prefers George Eliot and Rilke to anything dystopian, I was gobsmacked by the deep humanity and hope in this wonderful account of a future that might be all too near us. Although I was struck by the extraordinary, uncannily timed prescience of Gish Jen’s account of what happens to a society which has undergone a severe crisis, I was more impressed by her ability to look unflinchingly at the undersides of our species and still find reasons for joy, humor, and resilience. I wanted to shake my fist at the end, and I wanted the novel never to end. Indeed I will earnestly hope she writes another book with these same characters whom I have come to cherish. My syntax was precise: these characters have found a home in me. Or rather, Gish Jen gave me both a new set of individuals to care for, and new reason to find hope today in our own tragic crisis around the world. Prof. Maryanne Wolf, UCLA

I am an avid reader (40-50 books a year). I love baseball, but his book does not hit a home run. Since it takes place in a future time, I felt that not everything was explained in enough detail. It was hard to follow and I am not sure that I really liked the writing style ( this is the first book I read by this author). I had read a good review on it but after reading it I felt it did not live up to the good review. I will say the ending I did not see coming so in that aspect it almost salvaged the book.

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