Review: The Optimistic Decade

The Optimistic Decade by Heather Abel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“The Optimistic Decade” tells the story of a high plateau summer camp run as a kind of eco/spiritual Outward Bound. The book follows a number of characters:
- the camp director with the crazy idea to start the camp,
- a returning camper who realizes he want to be a part of the camp as his career,
- an idealistic new camp counselor, an activist student,
- the activist’s father, a failing radical newspaper publisher,
- the original owner of the land where the camp stands
- his son, a troubled young man making unlikely plans to take the land back
- various others, including funders, parents, current and former campers.

The book is written with chapters telling the story of the camp through different times, from the original creation of the camp through a current-day story (view spoiler)[ involving the downfall of the director and the camp itself. At the end, pretty much every character has become the opposite of where he started – the activist has found love and sex, the director is no longer quite so dedicated to the land after threats of lawsuits and job loss, the returning camper has lost his chance at his dream job, even the camp is on the way to becoming a subdivision. Everyone is optimistic, and like a decade, it comes to an end. (hide spoiler)] I listened to the audiobook version and found myself enjoying the descriptions of the camp and the land, but not really getting into the plot. I found it much like following a TV show through a few episodes, where the bad guys and the good guys are all kinda wimpy. Good production values, but the story felt too familiar, and with no one to root for. I was expecting something different.

View all my reviews



View all my reviews