Another Doctorow paperback pickup, Eastern Standard Tribe thrilled me more than his earlier novel. With a simple yet imaginative idea, Doctorow makes corporate espionage seem like a new story. The concept — that allegiances and tastes run by time zone, not nation-state — is presented as fact, not explained…which is for the best. Just set the foundation, and then tell the story from that slightly skewed foundation and see where it goes. It doesn’t hurt that the protagonist is a user experience designer, and Doctorow gets in several jabs at the music industry’s shortsightedness.
I’ll have to read his third novel sometime.
(This is part of my end-of-the-year rush to capture my major media consumption before the year actually comes to a close.)