Landscape with Invisible Hand

Adam is an artist. In his works, he renders imaginative locations such as unique castles or he portrays the changes in the landscape that have taken place due to the Vuvv, the aliens who have come to Earth and made a treaty with the human population. The Vuvv's advanced technology has caused widespread unemployment and poverty, but they don't seem to notice. Instead, they enjoy the arts, including still life paintings of fruit, making it unlikely that Adam can make money from his art. For entertainment, the Vuvv enjoy 50's pop culture, so Adam and his girlfriend Chloe take a job acting as a couple who is in love in the 1950's for the aliens to watch pay-per-view style, complete with 50's slang and doo wop, which is a surefire way to kill any romance. Of course, it doesn't help that Adam has become infected with a disease that causes rather embarrassing gastrointestinal eruptions. This brief novel from award-winning author M.T. Anderson, is a brilliant satire with a main character who is both witty and sympathetic.