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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I really did not enjoy this book. The characters didn’t hold my attention, I really didn’t care for anyone in the book. The war was at the very least an entirely realistic possibility, but I’d classify this book more as future dystopian rather than science fiction. The only science fiction part of the book is that everything is run on solar power which in my opinion really doesn’t seem that fiction since a lot of the world is trying to move in a direction away from fossil fuels.
The only reason I finished this book is because I was listening to it on audio (able to speed it up which was nice) and it was for my book club. Overall wouldn’t really consider this a sci-fi book and didn’t connect or care about a single character.
The only reason I finished this book is because I was listening to it on audio (able to speed it up which was nice) and it was for my book club. Overall wouldn’t really consider this a sci-fi book and didn’t connect or care about a single character.
I don’t give 5 stars lightly, but this book deserves it. Eye opening, heartbreaking and honest. A truly nuanced perspective of war with a complex main character
Audiobook
Holy cow - post apocalypse American Civil Wars that I can actually see happening.
Holy cow - post apocalypse American Civil Wars that I can actually see happening.
Amazing read that will stay with me for a long time. The plot, structure, characters -- I have zero critique of how this book plays out, in either form or content. American War was simply not what I was expecting. It delivers a drippy, crunchy empathy that sticks in your throat, calling your (at least my) sense of right/wrong into question.
First, I am a sucker for clever structural storytelling. The book lays out a narrative with "archival excerpts" tucked between the chapters. While we follow the main characters through their lives (in "real time") the archives allow us a zoomed out view of space or place or time.
Sometimes these excerpts show us what is going to happen next, but are just elusive enough to hide the who/why/how and keep you on the edge of your seat. Sometimes the excerpts enrich the characters, showing a side you can't see from the narrative perspective of the main characters. I found myself flipping back and forth to appreciate the clever foreshadowing and callbacks.
I adore the maps at the beginning and have to mention them -- you immediately understand the immensity of how the nation has changed both physically and politically.
The prologue gives you the broad overarching scope of how the war began and ended (and what tragedy immediately follows). For me, this established the good guys and the bad guys, and I expected a straightforward social/cultural critique of a stubborn, egotistical "Free Southern State."
I expected a heroine who struggled and did what she needed to survive in a deep Red/Rebel territory entrenched in violence. A protagonist who maintained some sort of heroism *in spite* of her surroundings. But in war, everyone has to take a stance, and this story shows us that stance-taking isn't an isolated event.
First, I am a sucker for clever structural storytelling. The book lays out a narrative with "archival excerpts" tucked between the chapters. While we follow the main characters through their lives (in "real time") the archives allow us a zoomed out view of space or place or time.
Sometimes these excerpts show us what is going to happen next, but are just elusive enough to hide the who/why/how and keep you on the edge of your seat. Sometimes the excerpts enrich the characters, showing a side you can't see from the narrative perspective of the main characters. I found myself flipping back and forth to appreciate the clever foreshadowing and callbacks.
I adore the maps at the beginning and have to mention them -- you immediately understand the immensity of how the nation has changed both physically and politically.
The prologue gives you the broad overarching scope of how the war began and ended (and what tragedy immediately follows). For me, this established the good guys and the bad guys, and I expected a straightforward social/cultural critique of a stubborn, egotistical "Free Southern State."
I expected a heroine who struggled and did what she needed to survive in a deep Red/Rebel territory entrenched in violence. A protagonist who maintained some sort of heroism *in spite* of her surroundings. But in war, everyone has to take a stance, and this story shows us that stance-taking isn't an isolated event.
This book pulled me in quickly. It was an interesting novel and more literary than I usually choose, but all of the characters were human and compelling and the story believable, which made me love it.
A wonderful novel. A haunting story that takes place in the future during America’s second civil war but at times seems very plausible and real. Poor Sarat - a character that will stay with me for some time. I’m not typically a fan of dystopian novels, but I loved this book. I highly recommend!
In spite of the title, the war serves only as backdrop to the story of the Chestnut family and especially to one of the fraternal twins, Sarat. This is announced in the novel's prologue: "This isn't a story about war. It is a story about ruin"(7). One reads to find the multitude of ruins.
The same prologue tells some of the end in a broad way. This is a narrative structure I find appealing, leading me to read more for how something happens than what happens. Meanwhile, there are plenty of intermediate steps where the relevant question is, What happens next? Another similar device is interspersing "quotations" from various news items, trial notes, and memoirs between chapters. There is a good balance of the two strategies.
I found the pacing of the novel amazing. It starts with six-year-old Sarat playing with honey on the wooden floor and quickly introduces the war background, the bureaucracy, climate disasters, and the family's poverty. The family faces increasing tension in this setting, but also normal childhood adventure is interspersed. Sections of the novel are 5 years apart, allowing for condensation. Then comes an abrupt shift from living in wartime to participating in war. And imprisonment with torture. (This is not a spoiler: the torture is foreshadowed in the prologue.) The point of view changes from first person of the prologue to third person for the first 2/3 of the novel; the last third returns to first person, but it is not clear whether it is the same narrator. The first person portions provide immediacy and reflection as it is an older narrator reflecting back on events.
There is a map of the US in 2075 that shows a portion under Mexican rule. Although I would love to know how and why, it isn't told. Nor is it necessary to the novel. Necessary changes are told: portions of land under water, the quarantine of South Carolina because the north had dropped a virus so deadly that the whole state had to be walled off. This walling off of disease is one of several points where it was a stretch to suspend disbelief. Another was that only four states would resist giving up use of fossil fuel and secede. Another was that race was not an issue, Sarat being of mixed race with black features in contrast to her fraternal twin, Dana.
Most of the characters were well developed and likeable. Even those who turned out to be unlikeable, started out in better terms. I found myself always empathetic to Sarat, her decisions always being clearly motivated.
In short, it is a good read on a harrowing theme.
The same prologue tells some of the end in a broad way. This is a narrative structure I find appealing, leading me to read more for how something happens than what happens. Meanwhile, there are plenty of intermediate steps where the relevant question is, What happens next? Another similar device is interspersing "quotations" from various news items, trial notes, and memoirs between chapters. There is a good balance of the two strategies.
I found the pacing of the novel amazing. It starts with six-year-old Sarat playing with honey on the wooden floor and quickly introduces the war background, the bureaucracy, climate disasters, and the family's poverty. The family faces increasing tension in this setting, but also normal childhood adventure is interspersed. Sections of the novel are 5 years apart, allowing for condensation. Then comes an abrupt shift from living in wartime to participating in war. And imprisonment with torture. (This is not a spoiler: the torture is foreshadowed in the prologue.) The point of view changes from first person of the prologue to third person for the first 2/3 of the novel; the last third returns to first person, but it is not clear whether it is the same narrator. The first person portions provide immediacy and reflection as it is an older narrator reflecting back on events.
There is a map of the US in 2075 that shows a portion under Mexican rule. Although I would love to know how and why, it isn't told. Nor is it necessary to the novel. Necessary changes are told: portions of land under water, the quarantine of South Carolina because the north had dropped a virus so deadly that the whole state had to be walled off. This walling off of disease is one of several points where it was a stretch to suspend disbelief. Another was that only four states would resist giving up use of fossil fuel and secede. Another was that race was not an issue, Sarat being of mixed race with black features in contrast to her fraternal twin, Dana.
Most of the characters were well developed and likeable. Even those who turned out to be unlikeable, started out in better terms. I found myself always empathetic to Sarat, her decisions always being clearly motivated.
In short, it is a good read on a harrowing theme.
loved loved loved this book. there was so much depth in this book...and what a great and complex character Sarat Chestnut is. she's a force in the middle of a war torn America. a bold and sad woman who's recruited to be a powerhouse. but this story is really about the people...not the war. it's really quite a portrait of a family in good times and bad. well imagined, well written. I loved it.
An incredibly sharp look at how people break, what keeps others fixed, and how those who may appear whole on the outside are riddled with cracks that only need a little prying to fall apart.
Excellent character-building, wonderful aging voices.
Excellent character-building, wonderful aging voices.