Medium Rare
A. Natasha Joukovsky’s delicious, multilayered novel Medium Rare muses on contemporary American culture through an average man’s foray to unimagined heights.
Phil, a discontented lobbyist of middling employment, happens to predict a perfect NCAA bracket in the spring of 2019. The story follows his meteoric rise to fame due to the mathematical unlikelihood of such a feat and the lure of the billion-dollar prize offered by a technology CEO who experienced stratospheric success. Phil’s pregnant wife, Raleigh, is pulled along, as is Cassandra, who first met with Phil and Raleigh in college and reencountered them in Washington DC’s back-biting congressional social scene, which is defined by appearances and relative social hierarchies, and wherein perceptions are more important than reality.
Cassandra looks upon Phil and Raleigh with amusement and disdain until she realizes that their situation is a story worth telling. She recalls her own unheeded prophetic advice and is curious to witness whether her instincts prove accurate. Her narration relishes in foreshadowing events; her voice is sure and fluid, using playful language and liberal doses of satire, irony, and wry observations: “It was strictly vicarious drama I craved, but my actions were ultimately rendered in the service of maximizing it.” Through her, the absurdities of society and human nature are revealed.
The book’s pace varies well—accelerating via sentence fragments to reflect the action and excitement of moments like basketball games, and slowing to enhance the tension of interpersonal drama. Throughout, erudite references to mythology, literature, and art convey additional humor and insight.
A joyful satirical novel, Medium Rare follows an ordinary man’s experience of extraordinary success with nuance, wit, and deep appreciation for the arts of language and storytelling.
Reviewed by
Wendy Hinman
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
