"An ambitious sociopolitical epic." -- Rudy Ruiz, award-winning author of The Border Between Us Welcome to very-near-future Los Angeles, where the economic divide and culture wars have reached the tipping point. As neighborhood crime and homeless encampments infiltrate the fabric of idyllic suburbs, residents respond with fear and anger, vowing to do whatever it takes to hold on to their hard-earned American Dream, no matter the human cost. The societal rift is embodied in the fraying dynamic between interior designer Wendy Forman and her husband, Brad, a physician who heads an exclusive concierge practice. In response to a local break-in, Wendy starts her own neighborhood watch group. Brad, meanwhile, runs into an injured man behind a dumpster at the local shopping center and tends to his wounds, a life-changing interaction that propels the doctor to moonlight outside his comfort zone. He enters the world of street medicine, where he combs campsites and freeway underpasses to treat the underserved. There, bonding with the lost, the drug-addled, and the discards, he forms a unique connection with Laila, a woman determined to rise above what seems like an endless series of bad breaks. Diasporama is where the well-heeled meet the shoeless. Where the unhinged bully the unhoused. Where every scrap of real estate is gold in somebody's pocket. As the efforts of street docs and the plight of the have-nots are pitted against the political and corporate "haves," conflicting passions lead to a fierce battle for what kind of society we want to be and how we choose to define wealth. The results are as surprising as they are profound.
"Brimming with both humor and heartbreak, Bruce Ferber's Diasporama is an ambitious sociopolitical epic targeting America's toxic mix of wealth inequality, racism, social media obsessiveness, and insatiable consumerism. The novel challenges us to examine what becomes of our humanity and values when people are treated like disposable commodities; easier to discard or store out of sight than confront face to face. At once thought-provoking, guilt-inducing, and inspiring, the beauty of Diasporama is that it does not simply pose the question. It compels us to stop averting our gaze and stare it in the eye."--Rudy Ruiz, award-winning author of The Border Between Us "In the sweeping narrative that is Diasporama, Bruce Ferber targets the dangers of unchecked populism while illuminating the ways in which dignity and decency can survive (and thrive) within it. As Ferber's diverse cast of characters confronts a Los Angeles homelessness crisis bursting at the seams, passions run hot and consensus goes AWOL. The preferred solution skews horrific, yet the novel manages to turn the most contentious issue of our time into a clarion call for hope. A story of the moment -- for all of us."--Donald Cohen, author of The Privatization of Everything "Bruce Ferber has crafted a thoughtful, nuanced story with a cast of characters that could well be your friends, your neighbors, the people you drive by hidden in tents along the underpass--and, most of all, you. Chances are, you will see yourself in multiple characters. Diasporama will make you think about yourself and your place within your community. It will ruffle and challenge you, while shining a light on the hard topics of today and what it means to be "well meaning."--Cari Lynn, NAACP Image Award-winning writer of Becoming Ms. Burton and The Whistleblower "Bruce Ferber's Diasporama is an Altmanesque portrait of Los Angeles, rich and vividly imagined in both its bleak truths and its compassionate sense of character. A stunning and important work." --Dan Chaon, author of One of Us "The distance between the dystopian Los Angeles of so much fiction and the one in which we now live seems to get narrower each day. Bruce Ferber's Diasporama pitches itself inside this shrinking gap by training a gimlet eye and a Steinbeckian clarity on this all-too-real dystopia's most pressing feature: our housing crisis. Diasporama is a total knockout."--Matthew Specktor, author of The Golden Hour
