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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
A very readable novel of a speculative late 21st century America. El Akkad creates an admirable version of a society battered by climate change, disease, and political strife, with odd echoes of the 19th century American Civil War. The storytelling is very good too, though I personally never quite warmed to the main characters. Still, this is a well-written page-turner, and a worthwhile entry in the expanding and necessary field of contemporary literature that some have called "climate fiction."
The first 60% of the book is why I can’t give it more then 3 stars. The irony of Patience was not lost at that point. I didn’t find the book consistent in pace or even theme. I was expecting something different then what I got. Most of the time it just felt a bit empty and forced. The ending saves a lot of the book, but flaws in delivery are ultimately what’s hurts the story telling the most.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Ending is heartbreaking and unexpected
I read this book as Throughline interviewed El Akkad, and the premise sounded interesting. It was hard to read this book as a lifelong resident of the southern US. I felt beaten over the head with confederate redneck tropes, and Sarat felt like a caricature. The violence and horror of state sanctioned torture in the book made me angry at the failure of American ideals that Guantanamo represents. Before I listened to the Throughline interview my rating was 2 stars, but when I understood the rednecks’ representation mirrored US media’s treatment of brown and black refugees I increased my rating.
phenomenal, best fiction book ive read in awhile...very dark, incredibly engaging.
this dystopian novel addresses the trauma of war by imagining a second american civil war in the late 21st century, after global warming has erased whole states and coastlines, causing the south to be essentially uninhabitable. yet the concepts of heritage and family keep people where they are.
the novel focuses on the southern population of the u.s. and while no one really comes out looking good, it does not look down on anyone. rather, what i found most engaging is how the novel explores how concepts of heritage, family, land and the fights over them truly do not dissipate.
i cannot stress enough how, well, depressing this book is, but i cannot also stress enough how incredibly arresting i found this book to be. i absolutely never wanted to put it down.
this dystopian novel addresses the trauma of war by imagining a second american civil war in the late 21st century, after global warming has erased whole states and coastlines, causing the south to be essentially uninhabitable. yet the concepts of heritage and family keep people where they are.
the novel focuses on the southern population of the u.s. and while no one really comes out looking good, it does not look down on anyone. rather, what i found most engaging is how the novel explores how concepts of heritage, family, land and the fights over them truly do not dissipate.
i cannot stress enough how, well, depressing this book is, but i cannot also stress enough how incredibly arresting i found this book to be. i absolutely never wanted to put it down.
I learned about this book on the NPR Throughline podcast where they interviewed Omar and I have to say, the book did not disappoint. In the podcast, he describes how "The place is the table, and the tablecloth being laid on top of it is somebody else's story. And all I wanted to do was turn the United States into the table." He resoundingly succeed with that goal. Drawing from his experience as a journalist and real world experiences, he really brought the emotions and the horror home with it taking place in America instead of allowing the events to be forgotten by the next news cycle because they are distant...across oceans to other people. His emphasis of wanting to have basic control over what happens to our lives and how often control is an illusion is captured perfectly in Sarat. She is removed from the only home she knows, placed into a refugee camp and continues to be forced from place to place. As we follow her heartbreaking journey, we see how the damage and trauma she suffers (the massacre at camp patience, waterboarding and forced feedings while in prison, the death of her sister from a drone strike) changes her from being fundamentally good to seeking her form of revenge. And yes, there are overtones from the actual civil war, but as the book says "you fight the war with bullets and the peace with stories". For clarity on those stories, I highly recommend reading "The soul of America" by Jon Meacham.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More speculative fiction than strictly dystopian or science fiction, American War is set before, during, and after the second American Civil War. Global warming, opposing ideologies, energy technology - all have driven secession and war. Visceral and scary, this tale of a future civil war fought over fossil fuel use is all too believable.
I love a dystopian novel snd this book is one of the best I’ve read
It’s premise is that due to extreme climate change there has been a break down in civilisation with southern USA states breaking away from northern with a resulting endless civil war
The reality of climate change makes the book compelling reading .The author has experience of interviewing people in refuge camps across the world and terrorists in guatemano bay .This is very obvious in the sections set in the camps and prisons of the story and really add an extra layer of complexity to the story
I loved the way the book is split between descriptions of the life of the narrator sarat as she grows from child to extraordinary adult and sections describing how the country ended up in the situation it finds itself
on occasion I got a bit confused as to what the time period was that was being described in different sections as some sections were written as historical documents discovered far in the future from the time the story was set
It’s premise is that due to extreme climate change there has been a break down in civilisation with southern USA states breaking away from northern with a resulting endless civil war
The reality of climate change makes the book compelling reading .The author has experience of interviewing people in refuge camps across the world and terrorists in guatemano bay .This is very obvious in the sections set in the camps and prisons of the story and really add an extra layer of complexity to the story
I loved the way the book is split between descriptions of the life of the narrator sarat as she grows from child to extraordinary adult and sections describing how the country ended up in the situation it finds itself
on occasion I got a bit confused as to what the time period was that was being described in different sections as some sections were written as historical documents discovered far in the future from the time the story was set
The hidden side of war
This book does a wonderful job of showing the difference between why wars are fought and what the soldiers actually want. An entertaining read that makes you think.
This book does a wonderful job of showing the difference between why wars are fought and what the soldiers actually want. An entertaining read that makes you think.