Review: What Happens on Outlook by D.F. Nightshade

Examining human nature under a thrilling magnifying glass, D.F. Nightshade has constructed an incisive and powerful read in What Happens on Outlook. Peering into the lives of seven eccentric characters living on Outlook Street, each with a potential bullseye on their back, this slow-burning thriller is both entertaining and far outside the box.

Birdy is a new-age guru with an inexplicably smelly apartment and a lifestyle deemed too “rainbow” by the uptight members of the Committee. Sakamoto is an honest shopkeeper on Outlook Street with a remarkably even temper, despite being forced out of his space by ugly, unfair, and overt racism. May and Peach are running an honest library, but their eviction notice comes all the same, from the mouth of a bigoted old Committee member with a distaste for their “morals.”

MJ is the sensei of a dojo who is threatened with eviction unless he strong-arms a neighbor into keeping quiet,a request he refuses. Kya, Carrie, and Gale operate a successful sandwich shop, but their femme-driven success seems to irk the committee, who raise their rent on a whim and seize patriarchal control of their business. Readers are introduced to these unique characters through anecdotal scenes, separated by self-reflective musings from the sniper perched across the street, watching the drama unfold as lives just like his are turned upside down.

The diverse group of tenants, each fighting their own personal battles, must unite against the powers that be, even if they feel alone in the fight. At its foundation, this novel is an allegorical class war and capped off with a sniper of Damocles hanging above the entire tale. Rivet represents the misplaced anger of entire generations in recent history – disenfranchised, put down, and marginalized to the point of invisibility. In a frightening parallel to reality, he doesn’t take his fury out on the overarching powers that have oppressed him, but on those who have seemingly “replaced” him.

Rivet’s anger at the stores and owners that replaced his and Paul’s and the other old vendors is tragically ironic, juxtaposed against the current tenants being kicked out for equally unfair reasons, which is a keen commentary on the state of the world today, where people fight amongst themselves, while the real power, and the real problem, lies elsewhere. That said, sometimes the social criticism is a bit too heavy-handed, which takes away some of its bite. For example, the three Committee members are at times too hateful and vocally racist to be believed, and their lack of class consciousness may be a step too far. The repetitive derogatory language becomes excessive and unnecessary; for readers, the villains are obvious from early on, and the point has been made.

This issue aside, the dialogue is authentic and snappy between tenants, and the narration starkly delineates their very different lives. All told, What Happens on Outlook is a timely and compelling read, offering a richly drawn tapestry of experience and belief, and readers will root for the inhabitants of Outlook to the very end.