THE RATIONING

An entertaining political satire that follows the handling of a
national medical crisis both in the White House and in the lab.

Around the year 2030, a new flulike viral disease emerges mainly
in the United States. No problem: Science has invented Dormigen, a drug that
effectively treats viral and bacterial infections. Yes problem: A warehouse
fire destroys some of the federal government’s supply of Dormigen, and the
private company that produces the fallback stockpile tries to cut corners. The
awful upshot as the death count from the new bug rises: Washington may have to
ration existing supplies if the National Institutes of Health can’t save the
day. Wheelan (Naked Money, 2016, etc.) teaches public policy at
Dartmouth, has written primers on
economics and statistics, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress. His narrator is
a 30-year-old scientist and purported author of a book called The
Rationing about his experience as one of the NIH researchers seeking a
cure and given access to White House meetings. While the narrative’s science
side is by turns interesting or tedious, the insider’s view of the political
turmoil is the big draw of this debut novel. In a Hollywood pitch, it would be
a mashup of Dustin Hoffman films: Outbreak meets Wag
the Dog. But it’s more like a West Wing marathon, with
Sorkin-esque dialogue, well-drawn characters, and sharp-edged infighting. Meaty
subplots and sidebars arise. A feisty famous older woman starts a national
death watch when she refuses available Dormigen on principle. China mounts a
clumsy tradeoff by offering its stores of the drug in exchange for unfettered
Asian dominance and more parking spaces at the U.N. India’s prime minister
links sharing his supply to a PR campaign involving toilets and televisions.
There’s almost too much going on. Still, the pages generally flutter by
quickly, fueled by the political heat and Wheelan’s smooth, workmanlike prose.

A highly readable and intelligent first novel.