American Subversive »

DAVID GOODWILLIE’s fiction has appeared in Swink, BlackBook, and other publications, and he is a contributor to the essay collection My Father Married Your Mother (Norton, Spring 2006). He lives in New York City.

"As the twenty-first century enters its second decade, foreign wars, the lingering recession and a caustic political environment are taking their toll on Americans. But the party hasn't ended for Aidan Cole and his friends, a band of savvy - if cynical - New York journalists and bloggers who thrive at the intersection of media and celebrity. At wine-sodden dinner parties or in dimly lit downtown bars, their frenetic talk - of scoops and page views, sexual adventures and trendy restaurants - continues unabated." "Then, without warning, the specter of terrorism reenters their lives. A bomb rips through the deserted floor of a midtown office tower. Middle Eastern terrorists are immediately suspected. But four days later, with no arrests and a city on edge, an anonymous email arrives in Aidan's in-box. Attached is the photograph of an attractive young white woman, along with a chilling message: "This is Paige Roderick. She's the one responsible." So begins an extraordinary journey into the dark soul of modern America - from a back-to-the-land community in the Smoky Mountains to a Weather Underground-like bomb factory in Vermont; from Fishers Island, isolated getaway of the wealthy elite, to the hip lofts of Manhattan's Meatpacking District. American Subversive is David Goodwillie's sharp and penetrating take on the paranoia of our times - and its real, untold dangers. In examining the connection between our collective apathy and the roots of insurrection, Goodwillie has crafted an intoxicating story of two young Americans grasping for a foothold in a culture - and a country - that's crumbling around them.

The New York Times - Malena Watrous

…hip and quick-paced…[Goodwillie] excels at jet-black social satire in a style reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis…[he] has created two flawed yet sympathetic main characters, with distinct and memorable voices. In Aidan's voice, he has written a scathing and hilarious indictment of our bizarre moment in time, complete with jaded socialites, quasi-celebrities and the media that feed off them and one another. And Paige is a strong and memorable female heroine, whose sincerity keeps the novel from being a farce.