BOOK DESCRIPTION
Meet Michael Marks, the man who wants to buy everything
Michael Marks is a Successful Advertising Agent, obsessed with consumerism and climbing the corporate ladder. He takes more pleasure in buying a new car than in his wife’s third pregnancy. In fact, he even appraises his children in terms of profit and loss! Then a series of experiences and disillusionments begin to turn his life upside down…
A roller-coaster of events shakes Michael to the core
When Michael’s client is jailed for embezzlement, Michael learns that the American prison system is a business for profit with the highest ratio of inmates in the world, 1:100! His company advertises meat without FDA approval, leading to a crisis that forces Michael to fire thousands of workers. Then in an argument with his impoverished housekeeper, Jonathan, Michael is unnerved when accused of being an unwitting prisoner in a gilded cage who worships the “God of Consumption”.
The complete transformation of Michael Marks
Michael comes around to Jonathan’s way of thinking and together they write a manual advocating the overthrow of the corporate “sole” and its grip on society. Can Michael free himself and his family of “modern slavery?” Can he change the world without losing all that is dear to him?
REVIEW
A well crafted and thought-provoking story, May 27, 2017
Whatever flaws we might identify or frustrations we might feel are trivial in comparison to a reader’s pure joy in losing himself/herself in a narrative. When all the elements come together: an intriguing plot, thoughtful, profound themes, complex, troubling, characters, and language that make us shudder for its honesty, clarity, and confidence; we gratefully set all analysis aside and give ourselves up to the sheer magic of a great book. And for me, Modern Slavery and the Gods of Consumption is such a book.
This was also my first time reading this author and I must say I was very impressed. The story had every element a good story should have. An interesting plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well illustrated scenes that really make you feel like you are right there in the story, and that’s something I look for in a good book.
The book description says it all: “Michael Marks is a successful advertising agent, obsessed with consumerism and climbing the corporate ladder. He takes more pleasure in buying a new car than in his wife’s third pregnancy. In fact, he even appraises his children in terms of profit and loss! Then a series of experiences and disillusionments begin to turn his life upside down…
When Michael’s client is jailed for embezzlement, Michael learns that the American prison system is a business for profit with the highest ratio of inmates in the world, 1:100! His company advertises meat without FDA approval, leading to a crisis that forces Michael to fire thousands of workers. Then in an argument with his impoverished housekeeper, Jonathan, Michael is unnerved when accused of being an unwitting prisoner in a gilded cage who worships the “God of Consumption”.
Michael comes around to Jonathan’s way of thinking and together they write a manual advocating the overthrow of the corporate “sole” and its grip on society. Can Michael free himself and his family of “modern slavery?” Can he change the world without losing all that is dear to him?” Well, since I’m not one for giving spoilers, you’ll have to turn the pages for yourself to find out!
This captivating and commendable work had me immersed from the beginning. The story flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional skill when it comes to storytelling. It’s one of those stories that come along once in awhile that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader!
This was an interesting story about the nature of consumerism as we normally think of it, and what really matters for human happiness. It sheds a great deal of light on our collective social, political, economic and environmental responsibilities to our planet and its inhabitants.
I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading more from Ofer Even in the future. I would definitely recommend this book. Five stars from me.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ofer is curious. He floats along various life-streams as he delves deeper into his main hobby: people.
To make a living, Ofer Even is a lawyer. This allows him to watch and learn how things work. People, crowds, religions and how all of these clash are of particular interest.
Ofer’s life is atypical. At eighteen he was diagnosed with cancer and given less than a 30% chance at survival. This completely changed his world-view. Now, each day is a gift and each year is a warmly embraced surprise.
This is Ofer’s first book. It attempts to organize 30 years’-worth of accumulated insight gained by observing the environment, the distribution of wealth and exponentially increasing cultural changes.
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