Subtitled “An Entertainment”, this novella is precisely that. It took one evening to finish. While deemed by one critic as “a stocking filler in left-leaning households”, The Captain and the Glory is, in many ways, very funny. Although the story begins innocently enough, have no doubt this is a forceful satire about Trump, told in the form of a parable. A new “captain” takes control of a ship (called The Glory, perhaps per making America great, or glorious, again) and everything then goes wrong. Trump is, of course, an easy target to lampoon, but it is testament to Eggers's skill as an author that he pulls off the task mostly successfully. At times his attacks become a little grotesque, although few would disagree that the Trump presidency did pervert all previously held conventions. 7.5/10.
By Dave Eggers