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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
"You fight the war with guns. You fight the peace with stories."
" 'Everyone fights an American war.' "
" 'Everyone fights an American war.' "
4.5 stars - and going on my favourites-2020 shelf because I continued to ponder this book months after reading it.
A stunning and gut wrenching portrait of war and the commonality of the human experience. This book is difficult to read, as we see how a child ultimately grows into an instrument of terror. The fictional horrors visited upon Sarat throughout the course of her relatively short life are, unfortunately, all incidents that have their origins in actual events.
I was so impressed by the author's writing. I realise he is an experienced and decorated journalist, but his novel writing skill is absolutely evident here. It isn't what I would call poetic, but it certainly is evocative, easily rendering itself in three dimensional images in the mind of the reader.
The ending is no surprise, as it is set up right from the outset. Even so, I could not help but keep hoping to the last it would somehow be a different one. Not only for the people of that fictional world, but for Sarat herself.
[T]he misery of war represented the world's only truly universal language. Its native speakers occupied different ends of the world, and the prayers they recited were not the same and the empty superstitions to which they clung so dearly were not the same--and yet they were. War broke them in the same way, made them scared and angry and vengeful the same way. In times of peace and good fortune they were nothing alike, but stripped of these things they were kin. The universal slogan of war, she'd learned, was simple: If it had been you, you'd have done no different.
***
On a personal note, I noticed several reviewers expressed some disbelief that people would get so worked up over the issue of banning the use of fossil fuels (the basis of the initial conflict between the Northern and Southern US states in this book). Honestly, I believe it. I drive an electric car (yes, for environmental reasons), and I can tell you that there are so many people out there who are incredibly angry and rude both in their actions and in expressing their opinions on the very idea that they too might one day be expected to drive one. One person's decision to drive an electric car certainly doesn't affect them personally at all, but you would never know it. (And seriously, if you are an electric car sceptic, you should try one! They are an amazingly nice drive.)
I don't have to use much imagination to believe people can become incredibly violent over the issue of banning fossil fuels, particularly if they perceive it to have any effect on their jobs or local economy (people generally do not do well with change of any kind), because I already see it starting to happen. Climate change and what to do about it is an emotional and divisive issue for people, of that there is no doubt.
A stunning and gut wrenching portrait of war and the commonality of the human experience. This book is difficult to read, as we see how a child ultimately grows into an instrument of terror. The fictional horrors visited upon Sarat throughout the course of her relatively short life are, unfortunately, all incidents that have their origins in actual events.
I was so impressed by the author's writing. I realise he is an experienced and decorated journalist, but his novel writing skill is absolutely evident here. It isn't what I would call poetic, but it certainly is evocative, easily rendering itself in three dimensional images in the mind of the reader.
The ending is no surprise, as it is set up right from the outset. Even so, I could not help but keep hoping to the last it would somehow be a different one. Not only for the people of that fictional world, but for Sarat herself.
[T]he misery of war represented the world's only truly universal language. Its native speakers occupied different ends of the world, and the prayers they recited were not the same and the empty superstitions to which they clung so dearly were not the same--and yet they were. War broke them in the same way, made them scared and angry and vengeful the same way. In times of peace and good fortune they were nothing alike, but stripped of these things they were kin. The universal slogan of war, she'd learned, was simple: If it had been you, you'd have done no different.
***
On a personal note, I noticed several reviewers expressed some disbelief that people would get so worked up over the issue of banning the use of fossil fuels (the basis of the initial conflict between the Northern and Southern US states in this book). Honestly, I believe it. I drive an electric car (yes, for environmental reasons), and I can tell you that there are so many people out there who are incredibly angry and rude both in their actions and in expressing their opinions on the very idea that they too might one day be expected to drive one. One person's decision to drive an electric car certainly doesn't affect them personally at all, but you would never know it. (And seriously, if you are an electric car sceptic, you should try one! They are an amazingly nice drive.)
I don't have to use much imagination to believe people can become incredibly violent over the issue of banning fossil fuels, particularly if they perceive it to have any effect on their jobs or local economy (people generally do not do well with change of any kind), because I already see it starting to happen. Climate change and what to do about it is an emotional and divisive issue for people, of that there is no doubt.
A hard to put down portrait of war and radicalization, told through an imagined second US Civil War beginning in 1975, mostly through the perspective of southerners. Some things wrap up too neatly or seem simplistic, and I’m not sure we needed the frame narrative, but I’m glad I read it. The author is a journalist who has covered conflict and revolution, which comes through in depictions of refugee camps, drone strikes, etc., and it’s clear the goal is to make Americans think about those who may hate us beyond our borders, and put ourselves in their shoes. Perhaps on the nose at times, but effective.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Torture
"What was safety, anyway, but the sound of a bomb falling on someone else's home?" -Omar El Akkad
This dystopian novel was eerily believable. Relying on commoners, not politicians perpetrating the worst of crimes and showing what might happen when we refuse to compromise.
This dystopian novel was eerily believable. Relying on commoners, not politicians perpetrating the worst of crimes and showing what might happen when we refuse to compromise.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I think this is one of the oldest @bookofthemonth picks that I hadn’t read yet, and it definitely surprised me. It starts slow, at the onset of the second American Civil War in 2074. Sarat Cheatnut is six, and the story follows her through the war. Her family spends much of the conflict in a refugee camp, where she meets an unlikely mentor whose teachings set her on a treacherous course through the rest of her life. I found myself growing more and more attached to Sarat, and ended up racing through the end of this one. Interesting and would make for good conversation.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
No quotes due to having proof copy. The review for the Sunday Times can be read here: http://bit.ly/2qyELH3
This book had so much potential, but feel flat. It was a reflection on how a "terrorist" is created, but meh. The writing was subpar. The characters were decent. Well developed. I just didn't care by the end of the book. I kept waiting for something more to happen.