The Arts Council by Dolly Gray Landon is a bizarre book. It can't really be said to be highly recommended. It can't even be considered particularly good or well written. Instead it is a messy, loud, disturbing, darkly comic, vulgar, inappropriate, immature, witty, bizarre, trippy, unforgettable, sharp, and ruthless satire. You don't go into a book like this to like anyone or anything. You read it to cringe, laugh bitterly, compare it to real life, maybe think, and more than likely wonder “What the heck did I just read?”
The plot mainly involves Honoree Oinkbladder and Modesty Greedance, two high school artists who are constantly trying to one-up each other. It also concerns the Pimpleton Regional Arts Council who determines whose artwork is praised and promoted but are often swayed by famous family names, bribery, and other more nefarious means in selecting pieces. There are also various other subplots that involve cheating spouses, hook ups, break ups, murders, public humiliation, illicit lobotomies, and feral attack therapy dogs.
The Arts Council walks that strange line between being a very intelligent satire and an immature joke. There are savage takedowns everywhere from aggravating political figures, to pretentious artists and art experts, to judicial corruption, to inept intellectuals, to kangaroo courts, to depraved socialites, to obnoxious teenagers, and especially to a society which pays lip service to hard work and merit but lets money and names lead to success.
The attacks especially on the art industry are spot on. Landon skillfully dissects an industry which talks a big game about artistic integrity and free expression but only promotes art that is deemed acceptable when it is financially beneficial for collectors, council members, and gallery owners.
They determine what is considered fine art and will try to assign an arbitrary meaning to make it more valuable. For example, a painting of Honoree’s that was defaced in the most horrible way during a bullying incident is considered a worthy piece. Honoree then displays it, despite its rancid odor and disgusting visuals. She periodically makes some slight additions and changes to make it look like an entirely new piece each time to the delight of her prestigious and unaware fans.
The intellectual satire is augmented by more childish humor making the book a bizarre concoction of humor. Various characters have double entendres and dad jokes for names such as Dweebaldo Van Boofus, Poppin’ Jay Godandy, and Ian Tickleman. The two protagonists named Honoree and Modesty suggest virtue but are conniving manipulative young women who have multiple sexual relationships.
There are moments that over emphasize scatological function and humor. Readers might be torn between sardonically smirking at the satire or rolling their eyes at an obvious dirty joke, sometimes doing both in the same paragraph.
There are many things that prevent this from being a highly recommended book or even a great work of satire and parody. The characters are off putting in that exaggerated way that is found often in satire where everyone is written to an obnoxious extreme and no one is particularly likeable. Some plot points go nowhere or are arbitrarily resolved. It's hard to care about anyone in a cast of shrill annoying caricatures who do stupid obnoxious things as plot devices.
That is probably the point but the incomprehensible plot and one dimensional characters also cause the book to run far too long. Readers might say, “We got the joke the first time. Can we move on please?” It's a book that is not well constructed but also revels in how ill constructed that it is. Technically that makes the book a potential work of genius.
Trigger warnings but there are also moments that are incredibly disturbing. A few characters get publicly humiliated in sexually and physically abusive ways that are treated as graphic and disturbing jokes. One could say that is the point and comedy is subjective. In a world that is becoming increasingly satiric on its own, those who point out society's flaws in arts and entertainment need to be more graphic, more satiric, and crazier to get their points across.
However, these are chapters that go to an extreme that is beyond humor. The excessive nature of these passages turn dark satire into psychological horror. The characters don't just suffer but others stand around, watch it happen, and take part in the humiliations. Once read, the reader can't unsee them and has a hard time focusing on the rest of the book. Because of them, the book could be considered recommended but with extreme reservations that it is definitely not for everyone. It is for people who like bizarre satire, dark humor, sexual innuendo, and have strong stomachs.
