The Cave Dwellers

Alienation. The title of Christina McDowell’s debut novel, The Cave Dwellers, refers to a self-described appellation for Washington D.C.’s wealthiest and longest residents. While many others come and go from Washington, especially politicians, the cave dwellers remain as a form of aristocracy holding up the standards of society. McDowell grew up in that environment and suffered a great fall from the lofty place of her childhood. That experience informed her fictional approach to the alienation and changing times being faced by the cave dwellers. She explores class and race, exploitation, and privilege, and gives us a cast of characters, young and old, who are trying to navigate through a changed world. Part satire and part tragedy, McDowell draws attention to what morality means for our time. Much of the narrative is overwrought and characters are sometimes stereotypes, but anyone who has spent time living in DC or observing the upper echelons of the local society will recognize all the types that McDowell presents in this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Cave Dwellers from amazon.com.