Joypunks
Writing on the Wall
A young man struggles to feel bravery and hope in the face of his imminent demise in the satirical speculative novel Joypunks.
In Fletch Fletcher’s deadpan speculative novel Joypunks, a disillusioned young man decides what to do with the little time he has left to live.
In Danny’s world, a person’s lifespan is written into their DNA. On people’s eighteenth birthdays, their “numbers,” or the dates of their projected natural causes of death, are revealed to them. Some religions forbid knowing the date, which takes some meaning out of life. Further, despite laws protecting those with short lifespans, prejudices exist against those who are slated to die young.
The camaraderie evinced when Danny’s aspirational high school friend, Luke, drives him to get his numbers, unwinds after Danny is revealed to be a “shorter.” Luke, who has a long life to look forward to, all but disappears from the tale, while Danny, who is told he only has few years left, gives up his plan to write for a living. His roommates—Brian, a drug dealer, and Naomi, an addict—are also shorters. The three tease each other, put up with each other, and pass much of their time by abusing an array of substances. When overdoses and breakdowns call into question their life choices, Danny works to change course.
The prose is succinct and declarative, full of Danny’s expressions of disdain and sarcasm. He engages in self-loathing generalities about shorters and everyone else, feeling that he has little left to live for. A few crises whip him into action, but his life otherwise becomes sluggish after he receives his numbers, marked by diminished motivation and self-worth.
Still, though Danny hides his feelings of terror and sadness behind bravado, he revels in instances of compassion and hope. For example, he first sees the term “Joypunks” scrawled on a psychiatric unit wall after an overdose; he learns about the secret group’s philosophy, that life is worth living, and even advises an acquaintance not to do drugs because of it. He also exhibits compassion himself—searching for Brian after a bad acid trip causes him to run away and helping Naomi hold an intervention for Brian. Nonetheless, he seems trapped by his bad patterns: He tries to improve, but relapses, foreshadowing the book’s final emergency. Because Danny’s struggles are so consistent throughout the book, his ultimate confessions of abiding friendship strain credulity; it is uncertain whether his changes will be lasting.
Concluding with momentary catharsis, Joypunks is an experimental novel in which the consequences of knowing one’s death date are explored.
Reviewed by
Mari Carlson
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
