Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
"Model Home," the first novel by Eric Puchner, is set during the Reagan presidency and tells the story of a family — Camille, Warren and their three kids — who move from Wisconsin to Southern California so Warren can get into the real estate game. From a review at The Rumpus:
Warren has built a housing development in the desert, on the risky assumption that suburbia will keep expanding; the development turns out to be located close to a construction site for an industrial waste dump. Warren’s car has been repossessed, his credit cards rescinded—though he’s not above trying to sell houses to unsuspecting customers, his project is in ruins and he has yet to admit the truth to his family. Before the novel closes, worse disasters will befall all of them.
Now that's a story for our times.