Landscape with Invisible Hand

Landscape with Invisible Hand is a satirical dystopian science fiction novel by M. T. Anderson, written for a young adult audience. A diverse author, Anderson writes both fiction and nonfiction for people of all ages. In 2023, Landscape with Invisible Hand was adapted for film, reflecting the novel’s popularity and relevance. The book depicts a future world in which an alien species, the vuvv, have sold their technology to humans, causing the collapse of the human economy and subsequent extreme poverty on Earth. Adam Costello, who lives with his mother and sister, Nattie, fights against the wealth gap and extreme capitalism by expressing truth through his art. While he initially strives to fit into the new vuvv-ruled society, he realizes that the most logical means of improving his family’s circumstances is for them to leave their old lives behind and restart on society’s outskirts, where they can watch the proceedings from a distance.

This guide uses the Kindle version of Landscape with Invisible Hand published by Candlewick Press in 2017.

Content Warnings: The novel and this guide briefly discuss suicide. In addition, the novel uses offensive and discriminatory language, which the guide repeats only in direct quotations.