A group of young friends begins experimenting with tarot cards, honing their powers toward a form of radical empathy they hope will one day build a peaceful utopia. Pretty soon they’re applying their philosophy to the political movement du jour, and since “Overthrow” by Caleb Crain, on sale now from Penguin Random House, is set in 2011 during Occupy Wall Street, that means directing their powers of divination at the rich and powerful “1 percent” in their midst.
But knowing what other people are thinking has its downsides, and the friends soon find themselves straining under threats of doxxing and criminal charges. The friends will be forced to reckon with their loyalties, their privilege and the drawbacks of radical transparency.
Caleb Crain is a Brooklyn-based writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books and elsewhere. He is the author of the book “Necessary Errors.” Crain will host a launch party for “Overthrow” at Books are Magic in Cobble Hill on August 27.
