One Potato

Tyler McMahon

Description

• Relevant Subject Matter: One Potato’s darkly funny approach to timely topics of neocolonialism and anxiety about GMOs—topics mostly left to nonfiction—makes this a unique and important take on climate fiction.
• Compelling Characters: Vivid and compassionately drawn characters are at the heart of One Potato. Eddie comes to terms with his own Cuban-American identity as his journey to the beautiful country of Puerto Malogrado brings him face to face with the morally gray spaces in science, bureaucracy, and class—and the innocent, extraordinary people deeply affected by it all.
• Critically-Acclaimed Author: Tyler McMahon’s prose has been praised by USA Today as “Gritty, fast-moving,” and Kirkus Reviews as “breathtaking.” McMahon deftly balances biting wit and propulsive storytelling in this irresistible satire.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Thriller
• Science-Fiction
• Toute la Science-Fiction
• Genetic Engineering
• Science Fiction
• GMO
• Genetically modified organism
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 26 avril 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781684427840
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

PRAISE FOR ONE POTATO
“This novel is deranged, in the best way. If Aimee Bender and Charlie Kaufman wrote a book together, this is what it would sound like. McMahon has written a perfect novel satirizing our imperfect time.”
—Joshua Mohr, author of Sirens and Model Citizen
“You’re going to want more than a helping of One Potato , which humorously weaves together such disparate topics as American intervention in South America, the dangers of botanical monoculture, violent revolution, population bottlenecks, and a good, old-fashioned love affair. It is a sign of a truly accomplished writer that this novel entertains as it elucidates. You’ll never see a spud the same way again.”
—Allison Amend, author of Enchanted Islands, A Nearly Perfect Copy, Stations West and Things That Pass for Love
“With urgency, wit, and vivid imagination, Tyler McMahon’s One Potato engagingly explores the dangers of monoculture, a ruthless dictatorship, GMO controversies, corporate greed and corruption, and the necessity and power of a free press. Packed with absurdist humor and a vibrant sense of place, a fast-paced and suspenseful plot and a layered rendering of its often hapless characters, One Potato is a memorable novel with an impressive scope. I was wonderfully entertained by this book, but I also learned so much from it.”
—Joanna Luloff, author Remind Me Again What Happened
“Fast-paced, comedic, with significant social undercurrents—Tyler McMahon’s latest novel One Potato is a wild ride with real heart. [McMahon] pairs hilarious antics and a sweet romance with very real research into GMO plants and products. If you’ve always wondered how Michael Pollan’s nonfiction would look in the hands of Tom Robbins or TC Boyle, then this is the novel for you.”
—Kristiana Kahakauwila, author of This is Paradise: Stories
“ One Potato blends cauterizing satire with a deeply humane worldview. It manages to be—all at once—fast-paced and thoughtful, hilarious and consequential, disturbing and delightful.”
—Elise Blackwell, author of Hunger and The Lower Quarter
“Like the diaries of Ché Guevara seen through an Ore Ida lens, this deeply funny yet pointed novel juggles the acknowledgement of a future we should all be terrified by, and the hope that our shared but loveably flawed humanity will win out in the end. Buy two copies, read one, and use the other as compost for your new organic backyard potato patch.”
—Sean Beaudoin, author of Welcome Thieves
“Reminiscent of Vonnegut in his prime, One Potato drives the tantalizing line between satire and global reality, using quick, vivid chapters to create a captivating read. Eddie Morales and his game sidekick Raven Callahan are in over their heads in the most wonder-filled ways as they venture into the unknown world of Puerto Malogrado and the mysteries of genetics. Their story is both insightful and poignant, their trail of discovery one you can’t help but follow.”
—David Bajo, author of The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri and The Ensenada Public Library
“ One Potato is a brutal, hilarious, and perfectly-timed interrogation of Big Agriculture’s colonization of the human food supply—And McMahon’s landscape of “third world conflict porn” is brilliantly pollinated by unforgettable characters either longing for connection, painfully suffering their genetics, or absurdist and malignant in their dedication to the regime of Capitalism crop-dusting our minds and hearts.”
—J. Reuben Appelman, author of The Kill Jar
ONE POTATO
A NOVEL BY
TYLER M c MAHON
Keylight Books
a division of Turner Publishing Company
Nashville, Tennessee
www.turnerpublishing.com
One Potato
Copyright © 2022 by Tyler McMahon. All rights reserved.
This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design by Lucy Kim
Book design by Mallory Collins
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McMahon, Tyler, 1976- author.
Title: One potato / Tyler McMahon.
Description: First edition. | Nashville, Tennessee : Keylight Books, [2022] Identifiers: LCCN 2021030552 (print) | LCCN 2021030553 (ebook) | ISBN 9781684427833 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781684427826 (paperback) | ISBN 9781684427840 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Transgenic plants--Fiction. | Genetically modified foods--Fiction. | LCGFT: Thrillers (Fiction)
Classification: LCC PS3613.C5846 O54 2022 (print) | LCC PS3613.C5846 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021030552
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021030553
Printed in the United States of America
For Paul Diamond
Before the ordeal, all I cared about was my assistant Jill and the perfect vending-machine French fry. I finally had my own lab on the second floor. Our latest round of prototypes had brought us so near to a breakthrough that I could almost taste it.
“We’re getting close,” Jill said over the bubbling oil. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail just below the strap of her safety goggles. Even under the fluorescent lights, the skin of her face looked dewy and round.
“Very close.” Indeed, after months of hard work, the reconstituted potato flakes had finally formed into convincing batons. We’d worked out a particular blend of oils, the perfect temperature, and a viscosity that wouldn’t clog any of the machine’s parts. The only aspect that still eluded us was aesthetic: a crispy, golden-hued outermost layer. The samples we’d produced thus far all had a mealy texture and a pale color—never quite brown enough.
I was convinced that one more step, some sort of coating or varnish, would take our product to the next level.
We spread a batch of samples across the stainless-steel counter, along with a dozen potential browning agents. I painted the latter onto the fries, while Jill labeled the grid.
“Seriously, Eddie. This could be a game-changer.” Jill’s voice grew throaty with excitement. The smell of her shampoo was still faintly pleasant over the aroma of hot oil.
“I’m just the R & D guy.” I shrugged.
“Don’t be so modest!” She gave me a playful hip-check. “Warren changed the world with frozen fries, half a century ago. If you figure this out, no teenager will have to stand over a fryer getting acne ever again.”
I nodded.
“Imagine it,” she said. “They might as well put a fry dispenser beside the soda dispenser in McDonald’s.”
“Self-serve.” I said it as though the concept hadn’t occurred to me. “It’s possible.” In truth, I preferred to imagine these machines at lonesome truck stops and rest areas, the waiting rooms of hospitals and bus stations. What motivated me most about this project was the notion that any American anywhere might be able to buy real, warm fries—the world’s greatest comfort food—at any hour of the day or night, with one unwrinkled dollar bill. No prep and no mess.
“It’s more than possible.” Jill’s elbow brushed mine. We exchanged a mutual embarrassed glance.
“Once we get our part sorted out,” I said, “the engineers will have to finish up the machine.”
“Then we can finally celebrate.” Jill looked up from the grid and cocked an eyebrow at me.
I felt my face start to blush and turned back to the varnish.
“Morales!” The door to the laboratory burst open. “Is Doctor Morales around?”
“We’re in the middle of an experiment here,” Jill shouted.
The intruder was a big-shouldered lump of a man with a dark suit and a shaved head. I could tell by his red badge that he was from Operations.
“What can I do for you?” I snapped off a rubber glove. “I’m Doctor Morales. And you are?”
“Lutz.” His big hand gave mine one hard squeeze, then released. “You’re needed on the eighth floor. Immediately.”
“That’s Warren’s floor!” Jill stage-whispered.
“There must be a mistake,” I insisted. The oil inside the beaker let out a spatter. “I don’t have any business up there.”
“Smells like fries in here,” the Ops man said. “You coming, or what?”
“Go!” Jill said. “I’ll handle this.”
I nodded and took off the goggles and lab coat. Jill straightened my collar, tucked my hair behind my ear, and gave me a thumbs-up. I followed Lutz to the elevator. His thick finger nearly covered the Up button as he pressed it.
“The eighth floor?” I asked.
“That’s correct,” he said.
“I’ve never even been up there before.”
Lutz sighed. “The elevator does most of the work.”
Warren Shepherd had started this company when he was fourteen years old with a few potato seeds and an acre of southern Idaho soil. Now, Tuberware was the world leader in all potato-related products, taking Solanum tuberosum into areas of science not previously considered possible: improved foodstuffs, many of them frozen or shelf-stable; starches and fillers for use in other processed foods; non-edible goods like potato-based insulation and packing materials; as well as a whole new array of plants and seeds. This building, One Potato Way, functioned both as an executive headquarters and an innovation laboratory for new products and technologies.
I’d shaken Warren’s hand at the Christmas party a couple of times, but I’d never had a full-blown face-to-face conversation with the man. He kept a private office on the eighth floor. When I’d first started here, a sign in the elevator had explained that no employee was allowed to enter without an invitation or an escort. Now the sign was gone and the fact was simply understood.
“Is this about the machine?” I asked Lutz as we slowly climbed.
“The what?”
“The French-fry vending-machine prototype.”
“I doubt that Warren is aware of that project’s existence,” Lutz said.
“So it is Warren I’m going to see up there? Mister Shepherd, I mean.”
“Nobody else has a