PIRATE UTOPIA by Bruce Sterling

4 Stars

Historical farce or farcical history?

I'm a sucker for covers, especially ones that say "Pirate" or "Utopia" and have screaming propagandistic art. Put them altogether and I'm a goner. I can't help it. I'm weak. It actually took me a few moments to catch the flow of the story, the bumbling ridiculousness narration of it. And then, I was amused. 

This story is a clever and critical editorial of events. Yes, there is an assumption of knowledge of the period, but the addendums at the end explain this more thoroughly for those readers who might have been confused, so skip and read the explanation of the alternate timeline and situating Sterling's viewpoint on the Interwar period if one is baffled after the first ten pages. Additionally, there is an extensive interview, Q&A with Sterling regarding the book. 

The Interwar critique of the Italian state of Fiume and the slippery slide and friction between anarchism to communist idealism and its schism to fascism. It's funny and complicated and a knowledge of European geography, relevant political allegiances and the differences between the warring political ideologies of modernism make for a not so subtle farce. 



The artwork throughout is nicely done, and definitely adds flavor to the tale. 

Croatian pirate refusing change for British pound in Kingdom of Yugoslavia dinars. The racket of internal stamps trading in lieu of "money". The laundry list of languages spoken and who is willing to speak which ones and why. The demise of Italian industry greatness brought on by Armistice. 

He was a teenage boy from Turin, so race-cars and airplanes interested him much more than philosophical aspirations.

In case one isn't familiar, this is the rooftop racetrack for Fiat in Turin. So, after all the Nietzsche worship because he spent time studying in Turin and considering him a son of Turin, I found this more than a little amusing. 

Really. It's funny:

Tarzan was the American version of the Nietzschean Overman. He was a Superman anarchist, but since he lived in a jungle, he did not have to smash the State.

His immediate superior in piracy was the Ace of Hearts.

The subversion of the premise of piracy is freaking hysterical. As is all the political ideals that are subverted throughout the book. Sad, but funny. 

The grenade failed to detonate. It was a factory second.

It's a time capsule. It is bald-faced, so any readers who go into this expecting political correctness instead of the scathing representations in a myriad of manifestations is going to be offended. All the little mentions that typify the era are present from boys adventure stories (propaganda masquerading as entertainment), League of Nations, lingering occultism, and the idealist belief of a better future. The funny thing is, reading this I became even more aware how relevant Chaos Theory is to human societies. It constantly has to be cultivated and rebuilt because it is degrading into violence and separation. And, the shelf life for heroes is very short. 

So laugh. If you don't, it's just sad how much what seems to be a farce is actually reality. Don't worry, "It's All Been Done Before" (Barenaked Ladies) 

Fellow cynical idealists, this is a story for YOU.