Amazon Exclusive: Emily Rubin Reviews Pharmacology
Emily Rubin is the author of Stalina, the International Book Award Finalist. She divides her time between New York City and Columbia County, New York, with her husband and their dog. Read her exclusive guest review of Christopher Herz's Pharmacology:
I have had many memories and stories of the great city of San Francisco, and now to add to that list is Christopher Herz’s latest novel, Pharmacology, set in that gem of the West coast. Herz uses the city as a playing field for this fast paced novel with bohemian beauty and a gaggle of eccentric inhabitants on the verge of a revolution. The upheaval is technological, and he catapults us back to the early 1990s when the Internet was about to change the tools of communication forever.
Pharmacology follows Sarah Striker, a writer/artist transplant from Kansas City, who comes to San Francisco with a fire in her belly for all things activist and literary. On her nights off from pushing caffeine at a hip coffeehouse, she produces an underground lit mag called Luddite. She uses the journal to rage against the machine. The irony of producing the magazine at the local Kinko’s is not lost on the radical, yet very practical, Sarsah.
When her barista days are over, Sarah is wooed by an ad agency with a roster of clients from the pharmaceutical industry. Attention Deficit Disorder is the illness of the hour and the ad agency’s job is to instill panic for this scourge on the nation’s youth--as well as promote the latest FDA approved drug designed to quell the epidemic.
Sarah spends her days "focused on finding ways to spread the word on how the Internet and Ecstasy were causing the youth of America to develop ADD." At night she continues to produce Luddite, fueled by her desire to expose the greed and lies at the center of the corporate greed machine. Her crisis of conscience is ameliorated by the popularity of the underground journal, and by sending home money from her day job to help pay for her beloved father’s cancer treatment.
Herz’s incisive look into the early days of the internet and his skewering of the fear tactics used by the pharmaceutical conglomerates includes some of the most eccentric supporting characters I have ever encountered. Sarah comes home to a house filled with cross-dressed, perpetually high, vampire teeth-implanted housemates who level the playing field and add a dose of reality to this brutally honest look at our not-too-distant past. Pharmacology is a Tales of the City for an Internet-savvy generation. This novel takes off from the bedrooms and back stairs of Maupin’s classic stories, pulls us right to the teetering edge of cyberspace, and pulls us through with lots of literary angst and discoveries, sexy encounters, wobbly high heels, and the dreams that come with new beginnings.
--Emily RubinA Letter from Shaden Pharmaceuticals
The following letter came to the publishers just before the release of this book. We felt it only right to present the Pharmaceutical Industry’s side of the story. While we fully stand behind Sarah Striker, everyone deserves a chance to speak.
Dear Reader,
We at Shaden Pharmaceuticals are fighting the publication and distribution of this book. Who knows what lies Ms. Sarah Striker and her friends came up with when originally publishing the stories in her zine, Luddite?
I, myself, met Ms. Striker when her advertising company was prepping the campaign for one of our products. The office was filled with less than desirable “workers” skateboarding around and making more money than they should have been. When the internet went boom in the early 90s, companies like ours fell under the incorrect assumption that being young and whimsical equated with talent.
The pharmaceutical industry often times comes across as being unjust and focused only making money. I assure you we have only the best interest of people who pay for our medication in mind. We work hand in hand with insurance companies and regulatory boards to ensure our products are affordable and reach those who need them.
The files Ms. Striker stole from us and interpreted into her ‘Zines -- which have now been turned into this book, are pure fiction. I urge you not to read this book, but also understand the public’s need to have a good villain to turn their anger on.
Deep inside, you must realize we’re just trying to help you.
We thank you. We are thinking of you. We are creating only for you.
Best,
Kimberly Most
Product Manager
Shaden Pharmaceuticals