"Harry Shearer occupies a peculiar niche in our pop cultural landscape, somehow managing to be legendary (he played the cucumber-packing bassist in �This Is Spinal Tap�), ubiquitous (he supplies the voices of Ned Flanders and Mr. Burns, among others, on �The Simpsons�) and more or less unknown to the general public. Shearer�s first novel � an engaging political satire called �Not Enough Indians� � probably won�t turn him into a household name. But the book should serve as a welcome reminder of Shearer�s extraordinary versatility as an artist and solidify his reputation as a keen-eyed comic observer of American life.

�Not Enough Indians� is a high-concept novel in the Christopher Buckley mode, with a premise that�s at once utterly outrageous and weirdly plausible. The town of Gammage, N.Y., is in deep trouble: The factories have shut down, the roads and schools are in disrepair, and the beleaguered municipal government can barely afford to collect the garbage.

After failing to woo a Wal-Mart or sell �naming rights to a big ugly building on the wrong side of town,� the city fathers find temporary economic salvation in the unlikely figure of Tony �Loose Slots� Silotta, a thuggish mogul from Las Vegas looking for a piece of the lucrative Indian casino action. Hoping to beat the dubious Wowosa tribe of Connecticut (�It�s not wow! It�s Wowosa!�) at its own game, Silotta makes the town of Gammage an offer it can�t refuse: �Let me get this straight,� a pony-tailed selectperson says. �You want us to get the entire population of the town recognized as an Indian tribe so that we can open a gambling casino?�"

Get the Story:
Troubled town gambles with its 'Indian' identity (The Washington Post Book World 11/22)
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