Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
A well written and horrifying near future dystopia. While some of the coincidences and dramatizations seem a bit too easy and over the top, I overall enjoyed it and had a hard time setting it down.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
American War isn’t so much a speculative story of a future civil war but rather what the ravages of war inflict upon a people. Whether they inhabit present day Ethiopia and Syria or future America. That being said it’s a pretty bleak novel overall—set in the final decades of the 21st century you’d be forgiven if the hallowing out of the federal institutions, the scourge of climate change and a fast moving plague all sound familiar. Yet this is all background noise as we follow Sarat’s life in hell. I can’t say I had much sympathy for her and the choices she made but then again that is likely the point of this novel—war makes you act in ways you never would imagine you’re capable of.
Thoroughly lived-in vision of a hellish and realistic future. Americans succumbing to terroristic tactics learned from 21st century wars, and yet somehow it's a comforting read that never loses sight of the country's natural beauty, even as it's gripped by climate change. Just don't call it prophetic okay?
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was phenomenal. I hate that it felt so real.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The subject matter was interesting but the author's clipped style made me cringe. It was also very slow reading, like The Grapes of Wrath only with a future dystopia setting with war all around.
2.5 stars. I don't recommend this book. It was ok. I listened to it and I found it difficult to follow. This want just a story, I felt the author had a message and was pushy about it. I don't like that. War sucks. There's evil on both sides. I get it.