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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Reread in 2025, haven’t picked it up since high school. Truly enjoyed it again, an uncomfortable look at righteousness. Felt more relevant than ever.
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really thought-provoking read -- I'm not sure how I would have responded to it when it first came out, but it's been interesting to think about its commentary on global imperialism and foreign involvement in civil warfare as I read it in 2025. A lot of the more critical reviews are focusing on the lack of nuance in the reasons for the civil war and the ideology motivating the southern fighters, and it's true that these are either presented in broad and simplistic terms or not really addressed at all. But I don't think that's El Akkad's story to tell, nor was it the one he was attempting to tell, which is surely why he left those details vague. Instead, the commentary that he really delivers here focuses on the massive disjunction between foreign powers that invest heavily in a war on the one hand, and the individuals whose lives are entirely shaped by that involvement/interference on the other. The other points that stick with me are those about how military violence is sanitized and purposefully overlooked by citizens of the colonizing nation/s -- as in “What was safety, anyway, but the sound of a bomb falling on someone else's home?” -- and how military conflicts are rhetorically constructed -- as in “You fight the war with guns, you fight the peace with stories.” At any rate, it hit close to home (literally and figuratively) and is one of those dystopian settings that feels frighteningly plausible. I'll be interested in reading El Akkad's new release to see how he has continued to develop his work.
I didn't get to finish this book: may get back to it later when my giant to-read pile diminshes a bit.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
An interesting, horrific tale of America after another Civil War. Mexico has annexed the southwest, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi have seceded, and South Carolina is quarantined due to biological warfare.
While most of the individual story was quite compelling, the motivations and cause of the civil war seem absurd and too simplistic. The issue is gasoline. It's not nuanced or the last straw, or even about economics. The United States bans anything gas powered, and the south secedes.
Then the ending. The whole story leads up to a big, heaping, pile of nothing. Like something is trying to be said but really missing its mark.
I did love a quote in the book. Someone dealing with a horrible past is told, "I don't have to live with what happened to you. I have to live with you are now." It made me think hard about how we can feel sorry and love someone who have had horrific things happen to them, but still set boundaries and not allow destructive behavior.
While most of the individual story was quite compelling, the motivations and cause of the civil war seem absurd and too simplistic. The issue is gasoline. It's not nuanced or the last straw, or even about economics. The United States bans anything gas powered, and the south secedes.
Then the ending. The whole story leads up to a big, heaping, pile of nothing. Like something is trying to be said but really missing its mark.
I did love a quote in the book. Someone dealing with a horrible past is told, "I don't have to live with what happened to you. I have to live with you are now." It made me think hard about how we can feel sorry and love someone who have had horrific things happen to them, but still set boundaries and not allow destructive behavior.