A Better World by Sarah Langan is being marketed as “Shirley Jackson on mushrooms,” which is an extremely accurate description of this sinister dystopia.
For those unfamiliar with Jackson, she penned The Haunting of Hill House (adapted to film as The House on Haunted Hill) and also The Lottery, the latter being the work that comes to mind when reading A Better World. In that short story, a fictional American community observes an annual tradition known as “the lottery,” which is intended to ensure a good harvest and purge the town of bad omens. One person is selected, and let’s just say this is one lottery you don’t want to win.
Langan is a founding member of the Shirley Jackson Awards, and she did her namesake a solid with the similar-in-structure, A Better World. This is a surreal, smart thriller set in a dystopian future where seemingly utopian bubble-towns maintained by eco-firm BetterWorld have cropped up since mankind effectively destroyed the world via climate disaster. Those lucky enough to be selected for residence are offered clean air, ample food, and comfortable shelter at a price not immediately known to these fortunate recipients.
With an ominous tone saturating every scene, A Better World follows the Farmer-Brown family, who have recently been plucked from Brooklyn for the honor of a trial run at Plymouth Valley, the crown jewel of the BetterWorld towns. They’ll receive permanent residence if they manage to pass an annual review.
Linda, our narrator, has more misgivings about this transition than her husband Russell, and at first the concept of fitting in seems out of grasp for the entire family. Everyone in Plymouth Valley is relentlessly polite, but they also deliberately snub the Farmer-Browns, seemingly pointedly excluding them. Is this hazing, or is something more involved?
Then, almost by accident, the pieces seem to fall into place, cementing the Farmer-Brown’s place in the community. Linda is a pediatrician, and she brings her skills to the table after securing a coveted spot with ActHollow, the community’s charity. Russell, a former EPA scientist, at first flails in his position with BetterWorld–in particular, it appears information is being deliberately kept from him–but suddenly it’s smooth sailing. Even Hip, their awkward teenage son, finds (near-obsessive) love with the daughter of one of the town leaders.
The only one who doesn’t flourish is Josie, Hip’s twin and typically the outgoing, self-assured one. She’s a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit, which might serve as a warning to the Farmer-Browns that perhaps Plymouth Valley isn’t so perfect after all.
While Russell and Hip are blithely oblivious–in large part, perhaps, because they are drawn in by the intoxication of finally belonging somewhere–Linda recognizes that something’s wrong. It’s not so much one large indicator, but many strange elements to the town which collectively create a sense of unease. There are strange traditions like “Hollow” which are not adequately explained. What, for example, is the “Harvest Festival?” The Caladrius, a bird genetically engineered for a food source, is downright creepy (and a mandatory component of each home). And what is there to make of the ramblings of Gal, the soon-to-be-ousted resident who interrupted Linda’s first meeting with ActHollow?
Through Linda’s eyes, this opportunity for salvation slowly morphs in a dark trap, but where is the escape? And from what? What happens at Harvest Festival?
There are components of this world we are aware are dark, but not how dark, until the true nature of Plymouth Valley is revealed. And the question is, when that revelation occurs, will it be too late for the Farmer-Browns?
A grislier Stepford Wives, A Better World is an intricately-developed, ambitious work that will appeal particularly to those who like darker dystopian fiction.
Sarah Reida is the author of NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, a dark comedy thriller about a killer targeting the morally bankrupt residents of an upscale neighborhood, which will be out in April. Click here to learn more about Sarah, follow her on Instagram, click here to enter to win a copy of her novel on Goodreads, and click here to win a copy of her novel on StoryGraph.
