Landscape with Invisible Hand

Landscape with Invisible Hand
M. T. Anderson
Candlewick, 2017 149 pages
Grades 8-Up
Science Fiction

Set in the near future, Aliens, called the Vuvv, have taken over the earth. American teenager and budding artist, Adam, must try to help his family survive. His father left the family, his mother is jobless, and there are very little prospects in this bleak new society, where humans are second -class citizens. When the family takes in another family to help pay the mortgage, Adam begins a relationship with the teenage daughter. In order to raise some much needed funds, the new lovers decided to record their romance in order to sell the footage to the Vuvv, who are obsessed with human relationships. Because they first discovered Earth in the 1950's, the Vuvv particularly enjoy that time period, so Adam and Chloe play-up the relationship, adding as many corny bits as possible. Eventually the strain of taping, seeing each other constantly, and Adam's seemingly incurable Vuvv-caused digestive condition zaps the romance out of the relationship and Chloe finds love elsewhere. The Vuvv drop the show and Adam's family no longer has an income. Adam enters an art contest to try to acquire some cash. Will he win? How will the family survive? Will Adam's illness be life threatening? All of these questions are answered by book's end in a satisfying, yet unpredictable, conclusion.

This short novel is designed as a series of vignettes, each chapter serving as a painting of Adam's. The chapter headings are painting titles and Adam describes his life within the context of the painting he is working on and that of which the chapter is named. Anderson's science fiction novel Feed continues to haunt me, even after reading it fifteen years ago, especially since it was foreshadowing to the society in which we now live; with teenagers constantly hooked into electronic images and advertising. This new offering also is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of our society as shown through eyes of a boy living in a future mess. The writing is tight and beautiful. Every word counts and the volume reads like poetry, yet there remains a plot and an interesting concept. Bright and creative teenagers will love this book, though I fear it is not for everyone. The cover makes sense, since it is meant to be one of Adam's paintings, but may not draw in readers. Anderson's ending feels a bit rushed. The book builds up to a very cool climax, where the author shoots the read's an interesting and unexpected twist, which proves to be disappointing to the main character. The last chapter shows the family's situation all "fixed" despite everything previously going wrong pages ago. This feels a bit unrealistic, but is age appropriate for the target audience, who prefer a happy ending.