From novelist Benjamin Obler comes a bold, darkly comic literary thriller that asks: When suffering becomes currency, who really profits?
The Foundation for the Advancement of Inclusivity and Recognition (F.A.I.R.) has spent nine years celebrating activists, survivors, and advocates from every marginalized community imaginable. Now, in the autumn of 2018, they’re hosting their biggest event yet—an awards gala at the Winslow family townhome, where 155 “worthy” guests will gather to vie for the ultimate prize: public recognition for their unique plights.
Candace Winslow hosts—the foundation’s impassioned leader who watches her baby become her nightmare. Attending are: Monti Taylor, a troubled outsider who crashed the party and finds the trophy in an attic; Evonne Sorenstam-Finch, a kidnapping survivor building a yoga practice in Pittsburgh; and Christine Wong, an Asian-American theater director conceptualizing a play about death as a commodity.
These guests and dozens more—from NFL concussion victims to human trafficking survivors—are each convinced they deserve the award most. But as the night progresses, oxygen thins and tempers fray. Bodies press into bodies. Voices grow quieter. And what begins as a celebration of inclusivity becomes a suffocating tragedy of epic proportions.
The Exploding Fete is a daring work of meta-fictional satire that employs interactive storytelling via Outcome Branch Narrative Technology ™, allowing readers to shape character fates; sharp social commentary on performative activism, wealth inequality, and the politics of suffering; and dark literary comedy in the tradition of Mark Leyner, with echoes of Jonathan Franzen’s social precision.
The novel splits into multiple narrative paths: Will Monti Taylor escape into the night, trophy in hand? Will the Winslows face legal reckoning—or walk away unscathed? Does Candace build a memorial or bury her guilt?
Set in Minneapolis/St. Paul against a backdrop of corporate influence and celebrity philanthropy, this is a novel about intention versus consequence, the commodification of pain, and what happens when turning no one away becomes deadly.
Perfect for readers of: The Overstory, Normal People, and fans of literary satire that dares to ask uncomfortable questions about social justice, class, and accountability.