About This Novel
Two young idealists working in Washington–one liberal, one conservative–join forces to become part of an underground movement dedicated to dethroning the dark king of America.
"Year of The Rhinoceros" is a compelling, utterly original novel that savagely and hilariously explores what went wrong in this country a couple of decades ago, and that keeps going wrong even now. Neff is a raucous new voice in American literature.
Robert Olen Butler
Pulitzer winner
 Raised as an awkward "Reagan liberal" in America's conservative heartland, the idealist Manny Eden arrives in Washington in the year 1984 to search for a meaningful career protecting women and men known as "whistleblowers" ... but no sooner does he land his dream job than he discovers himself thrust into a human dimension far darker and more alien than he could ever have imagined, a world he cannot comprehend or overcome until he learns to trust a rebellious Democrat co-worker, Laney Dracos, and become part of her bold plan to bring down the White House regime of his hero, Ronald Reagan ... [more]
The Story of Laney and Manny
The place is Washington, D.C., and the year, 1984. The ruthless dictatorship envisioned by George Orwell has not come to pass.
Or has it?
Under the presidency of former Hollywood actor, Ronald Reagan, the struggle for America's soul has begun—a trial of conscience and idealism versus idolatry and political dictatorship. Democracy is fading, and two employees in solitary small agency created by Congress, the Office of Whistleblower Counsel, are determined to save it.
The White House officials who stand in their way, however, are adamant and ruthless. Their plan is to clear the field for their corporate clients by making the government safe from real public scrutiny for all time to come—and with tens of billions at stake, the servants of corporate Washington will use any means necessary to stop their enemies. Dominated by the White House, the agency works like a Trojan Horse to lure and betray any whistleblower who threatens White House rule. However, underground forces within the agency are actively resisting—these forces led by one woman, Laney Dracos, a powerful insider and staunch Democrat who rejects cooperation with the regime.
Arriving to complicate the mix is Manny Eden, an activist from America's heartland. Like thousands of other young idealists, he is dangerously naive and anxious to devote his life to public service. Following a bizarre interview with his future boss, Mr. Hunsecker—a shrewd Republican cursed with the early stages of a rare, flesh-eating disease—he lands a job at the Office of Whistleblower Counsel—in part because he had successfully pacified Hunsecker, but also, oddly enough, because he is a big fan of Ronald Reagan, having learned to idolize "The Gipper" at a young age.
Other liberals, including his mother, are naturally alarmed by his outlook, but Manny sees himself as an independent thinker. To him though, such political matters are far less important than his goal to help America by protecting whistleblowers—men and women he sincerely believes to be heroes. Having once been a whistleblower himself who suffered a series of demeaning, dead-end jobs in his hometown of Kenosha, he is desperate for a meaningful career.
However, no sooner does he arrive at his new job on K Street, than things begin to go wrong. Manny is shocked out of his wits by an enraged and hostile staffer, none other than Laney Dracos herself—known to the agency as the "agenda-sly Democrat who wants to destroy President Reagan." In the weeks which follow, and despite the many obstacles, Manny learns to forsake office politics and doggedly pursue his mission to provide aid and succor to despondent whistleblowers. Unknown to him, he is being scrutinized, not only by Hunsecker and his toadies, but by the resistance—a secret anti-government organization known as "The American Watch."
After experiencing a series of revelations and calamities, Manny learns the demoralizing truth at last. He will never be allowed to help even a single whistleblower, no matter the urgency or the issue. Meanwhile, his enemy, Laney Dracos, becomes both his mentor and source of hope. At her urging, he joins forces with her, and together they undertake a mission to expose and overthrow the agency regime.
The White House officials who stand in their way, however, are adamant and ruthless. Their plan is to clear the field for their corporate clients by making the government safe from real public scrutiny for all time to come—and with tens of billions at stake, the servants of corporate Washington will use any means necessary to stop their enemies. The take-over of the American government has begun, and Manny Eden will soon learn, with the help of Laney Dracos, what it truly means to live in the Year of The Rhinoceros.
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