Gibbon’s Decline and Fall
Gibbon’s Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper, published by Bantam in 1996, is a thought-provoking narrative set in the year 2000. This first edition spans 404 pages and is presented in English. The story unfolds in a changing America, where fundamentalism is on the rise, leading to societal upheaval marked by suicide cults and paranoid militias. Central to the plot is prosecutor Jake Jagger, who aims to leverage a high-profile case involving a fifteen-year-old girl, Lolly Ashaler, to further his political ambitions.
Readers will find a complex interplay of characters as Carolyn Crespin, a retired lawyer, is drawn back into the courtroom to defend Lolly against Jagger’s relentless pursuit of a death sentence. As Carolyn reconnects with her college friends and grapples with the haunting presence of their deceased companion, Sophy, the narrative delves into themes of friendship, justice, and the nature of good and evil. The story raises questions about the true nature of the plague affecting society and whether it serves as a curse or a potential remedy, all while navigating the legal and moral dilemmas of its time.
Official synopsis Publisher
The year is 2000. America is changing, swept up in a tide of fundamentalism that is overwhelming the world. Suicide cults and paranoid militias are on the rise, mobs of hooded men drive young women from the streets, and a new plague is taking root around the world, threatening the future of humanity. The right-wing American Alliance is marshaling its forces to close an iron grip on the United States, grooming swaggering prosecutor Jake Jagger as an eventual presidential candidate. Jagger’s first stepping-stone to power is a fifteen-year-old girl, Lolly Ashaler. Terrified and uncomprehending, the illiterate Lolly left her newborn baby in a Dumpster – and Jagger wants to see her condemned to death for her crime. Carolyn Crespin has retired from her law practice, ready to devote herself to family and farm life. The last person she wants to face in a courtroom again is Jagger, who once dealt her a devastating defeat. But she can’t say no to this case. She begins to gather her own forces, the five women whose friendship has sustained her in the decades since they met at college – and the oddly present spirit of their group’s one missing member, the ever-mysterious Sophy, who committed suicide three years ago. As the case progresses, Carolyn begins to understand just how far Jagger is willing to go to win. And on her own side, the questions are mounting: Is Sophy truly dead? And is her spirit guiding Carolyn and her friends to something benevolent, or demonic? Is the plague touching their lives really an illness… or a cure?
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