by Lou Tafler, Ph.D.

Backlash Books, Vancouver, 1994

"It's the most politically incorrect work of art I have ever seen. It's also hilariously funny and scathingly insightful."

-- Karen Selick, Canadian Lawyer, March 1995

"Tafler's book attempts to depict how a politically correct world would actually appear. To the casual reader some of these excursions may appear too bizarre to be taken seriously. The truth, however, is more disturbing. Fair New World satirizes the actual daily life in a growing number of North American universities."

-- David Smith, SAFS Newsletter, July 1995

"Fair New World . . . is so outrageously politically incorrect that most publishers would probably be afraid to put their imprint on it. This is high praise, indeed."

-- Karen Selick, Balance, Spring 1995

"Readers will recognize in Feminania both stereotypical femininity and stereotypical feminism--but the latter rings soberingly true. Using a mixture of pathetic, hilarious, and frightening excesses of feminism, Tafler successfully and most readably extrapolates current sexual correctness trends into the future . . . this finely written book gives one much to laugh and cry about, all the while absorbing the reader and conveying a potent political message. It is highly recommended."

-- Joseph Fulda, Sexuality and Culture, Autumn 1997

"Fair New World is a political novel focused on the war between the sexes. Its genre is obviously that of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley's Brave New World--and it stands comparison to these classics in its style, depth and satirical wit . . . The first society, Feminania, is dominated by feminism-run-amok. The second, Bruteland, embodies extreme 'machismo' values (reminiscent of certain American cities). And the third, Melior, outlines Tafler's vision of social sanity . . . Elements of deliciously taboo-smashing realism grade into a relentlessly detailed surrealism which, more than once, takes the reader over the edge of the politically unthinkable and unsayable. It may be a nightmare into which we plunge, but it is a poignantly contemporary nightmare. This book just may wake some people up--if anything can."

-- Kurt Preinspurg, Philosophy Department, Vancouver Community College

Fair New World is an acerbic political nightmare satirizing . . . a war whose scars are teethmarks at the center of Eden's sour apple, here reconstituted along the lines of Swift, Orwell and Vonnegut: marinated in three times its volume of acid royal.

-- Michael Godfrey, English Department, Dawson College, Montreal

Fair New World is a novel that manages marvellously to be serious, alarming and funny all at the same time . . . Swiftian in the savagery of its humour, which is directed at the veryreal and present dangers inherent in radical feminism and political correctness running amok, with the possibility of an extremist and fascistic "masculinist" reaction lurking in the dark corners. Tafler reduces to absurdity current cultural tendencies by pushing them to their utmost logical--and irrational--development. The most alarming feature of the book is the insanely and sytematically feminized language of Feminania, the feminist utopia, he limns so amusingly . . . After reading it for a few pages it suddenly begins to seem so natural that one ceases to have recourse to the glossary at the back of the book. Now that's really scary.

-- Donald Todd, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Simon Fraser University

". . . a Swiftian combination of a utopian and dystopian vision . . . Tafler brings into play an abundance of invention, verbal ebullience and wit. These, together with an eye for and relish in the absurd and ridiculous, serve his anger as he satirizes the excesses of feminism and political correctness of the con-temporary scene . . . The best part of this book is the sheer and abundant ingenuity that went into devising the culture and institutions of Feminania and Bruteland, as well as the unfolding drama of their secret relations with each  other that culminate in a war . . . Tafler characterizes the excesses of affirmative action and political correctness as irrational and vicious efforts to reverse rather than right past wrongs . . .Without men, women become travesties of themselves . . ."

-- Kay Stockholder, Professor Emerita of English Literature, University of British Columbia

Fair New World is a political and sexual satire, set in the year 2084. As its title and date imply, it plays changes on both Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Through a series of revealing vignettes, Fair New World portrays three fictitious polities: two dystopias, called Feminania and Bruteland, and a utopia called Melior. The narrative affords glimpses of the outrageous institutions within each state, and gradually discloses the secret relations and tensions which obtain among them.

Feminania is ruled by militant sexist sows, who have reduced men to figurative and literal eunuchs. Feminanians speak a language called "Fairspeak", which is English absurdly purged of all male lexemes. Every conceivable offense against women, whether real or imagined or instigated, is catalogued as "gendercrime". The GEQUAPO (Gender Equality Police) and their hordes of Brown Skirts maintain a constant vigil against offenders, who are sentenced to the BREAST (Behavioral Rehabilitation, Empathy And Sensitivity Training). The sex-life of rank-and-file Feminanians is confined to the realm of virtual reality, while their rulers (the Femininny Party) conduct shocking biological experiments, and maintain a clandestine commerce with hated Bruteland.

Bruteland is governed by male chauvinist swine, who have reduced females to slavery and property. Bruteland's parliament--the Brutestag--has outlawed female children and has institutionalized rape. The religious mythology of Bruteland, contained in "The Brutestament", is written in "High Brutish": that is, pig-Latin. The Brutish deity ("Odgay") celebrates man's dominion over woman. Armed violence is rife in Bruteland: hyper-macho men kill one another for trifles. Bruteland exports machinery to Feminania, in exchange for supposedly docile female slaves.

Feminanians and Brutelanders alike share an ironic fear and loathing of Melior: "Go to Melior!" is a popular expression in both dystopias. Melior's rulers have wisely disseminated disinformation about their utopia in order to distance Melior from its dystopian neighbors. Melior is a radical meritocracy, in which individual advancement depends solely upon ability, and not at all upon gender. In Melior, males and females co-exist on the basis of a shared humanity, which encourages cultural equality of the sexes while recognizing that biological differences potentiate social divergencies. Political and sexual machinations among the three states reach an apocalyptic climax, culminating in a war between Feminania and Bruteland, in which Melior judiciously intervenes.

Fair New World is a savage yet poignant satire of political correctness. It ridicules extremes of gender discrimination and reverse-discrimination alike. It sounds alarms about the dire consequences of politicizing the eternal power struggle between the sexes. Fair New World is a novel both for our time, and for all times.