Reviews

Anthem by Noah Hawley

shirleytupperfreeman's review

Wow - this was a wild ride. Hawley has woven a story, with a few essays mixed in, from all the extremes in American society as we enter 2022. Consequently, the story has lots of guns, anxiety meds, power and money hungry adults, climate concerns, suicides, references to anti-masking and the capitol riot. You name it, it's probably in here. The story centers mostly on a group (loosely connected) of young people who end up on a quest to rescue some other young people from a bad guy known as the Wizard - a rich and powerful businessman/sexual predator. Occasionally, the author stops the story to speak directly with the reader - in one case apologizing for there being so many guns in the story but then explaining why they're necessary in a story about the current state of affairs. This novel will be talked about when it comes out in January!

the_enobee's review

2.0

Way too heavy handed and not enough character development. I get wanting to capture current times, but I don’t need to be spoon fed political allegory. I can actually infer some things, thank you.

myyours's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.75

What a letdown. Hawley is a great TV writer, so I had high hopes when I learned he had written some books. Reminds  me of an alternate timeline book that I would have tried to write about modern times. I would have started  with good intentions  but I know it would have turned into an irritating, boring mess. 

There’s little creativity here. Low stakes  for such  a big  stakes setup. The narration is sloppy and all over the place. It’s at times a hybrid between fiction and a memoir, and it fails at both. 

And he seemingly got so bored of it himself that he didn’t write much of an ending. 

.75 because of that creepy witch, though. 

duparker's review

4.0

Creative and well thought out. This book is a mixture of genres and plays to their strengths. I really enjoyed the characters in the plot and how the author inserted himself into the story at times. It's almost a mixture of fiction and nonfiction when that happens. Well done

ers407's review

4.0

Anyone in need of a reality check should read this. And I believe that’s most people..

hewitthm's review

dark reflective medium-paced

2.0

christinebeswick's review against another edition

3.0

The blurb on this book sounded very promising, but it turned out to be disappointing. In general, it was a diatribe against modern society and all its ills, including climate change, capitalism and the mega rich, surrounding a story line which was fairly simplistic. Just as the story starts making some progress, the author digresses yet again into a rant on the ills of the world. Of course, the issues are all very real, but I felt that it was unnecessary to spend so much time lecturing the reader. I got it the first time!

There were spelling issues in the text and inconsistencies in the story which further irritated and which resulted (for me) in a general dissatisfaction with the book as a whole.

lyrareadsbooks's review

4.0

So much to unpack in this book. Following a group of teenagers through the apocalypse of our current times, this story is both deeply cinematic and philosophical. Much like a Stephen King novel, there are elements that repel and compel. Worth reading for the journey.

stylus's review

2.0

I feel like this book wasn’t edited at all. Like I just read a first draft.

danwaldman's review

3.0

The political commentary is very on the nose. Personally, I enjoyed it, but also there were times when it became a bit much. It reminded me of the first Kingsman movie, where the first half was carefully scripted and then in the second half they just started blowing people up. If this was a season of a tv show it would be called American Horror Story: Joe Rogan. It’s definitely a fast read and will inevitably make for an interesting tv show.