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znorth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Something is happening to teenagers across America, spreading through memes only they can parse.
At the Float Anxiety Abatement Center, in a suburb of Chicago, Simon Oliver is trying to recover from his sister’s tragic passing. He breaks out to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet on a quest as urgent as it is enigmatic. Who lies at the end of the road? A man known as The Wizard, whose past encounter with Louise sparked her own collapse. Their quest becomes a rescue mission when they join up with a man whose sister is being held captive by the Wizard, impregnated and imprisoned in a tower.
Right off the bat, Anthem presents itself as two very different books. The first part reminded me of The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The second seemed similar to The Institute by Stephen King. I was interested to see how the two concepts would work together. The publisher's description does not tell you about the American Civil War that breaks, the massive climate disasters, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the many points in time when the author breaks to monologue about the state of the world as he sees it. The description fails to give the reader a clear picture of the book.
For the first quarter of the book, there are two main ideas:
- Teenagers are committing suicide because of something supernatural. (A11)
- Teenagers are committing suicide because the world is a mess and they feel that hope is lost.
Anthem throws out those ideas for something else.
For the most part, I enjoyed this book. What ruined it was the random interludes of author's commentary on the state of the world, the overly descriptive violence, and how disjointed this book was. There is an entire section where Hawley stops the book to tell you that he is sorry for how grim the world he made is but that he's just doing his job as the author. The descriptions of gun violence are overly detailed and give description of bullet sizes entering and exiting parts of bodies. Graphic descriptions of viscera, blood, and internal organs after injury. I get that the nation has been thrown into anarchy and that violence is the state of anarchy. Those descriptions were never necessary to the plot.
Surely the characters are this books saving grace right? Not really. The characters are monoliths. Louise is a 15 year-old black girl that grew up in a broken home in a suburb of a large U.S. city. She's a child who has been sexualized by every man around her, so that must become her identity and tool to make her story move forward to its conclusion. Simon is a leaf in the wind being blown from one plot point to the next by whatever apocalyptic tragedy Hawley throws at him. Most of the other characters are hidden behind code names. The only character I liked was Duane, and he had almost little to no impact on the book.
Here's what I say that's positive about Anthem. It's vivid and packed with action. The world is largely believable. All one needs to do is turn on the news to see stories about Right-wing nuts doing god knows what protesting the next thing their supposed to be angry at, or news about wildfires. There is a reflection of anxiety in these pages that is very real and present. If that were the thesis of this novel from the start, I'd rating this higher.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Racial slurs, Classism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
asquareclaire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Hate crime
It’s a lot. There’s a point to it, but it’s a lot.booksandcatsgalore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gaslighting, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
ambergrewal's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Mass/school shootings
ashleyreadsandruns's review against another edition
5.0
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Anthem by Noah Hawley is a dystopian look at post-pandemic America set just a couple years in the future. It explores the mental health of teenagers and how they have been impacted by all the decisions of adults. It also has a commentary throughout around the climate crisis and what we have done to our Earth.
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I highly recommend this to anyone ready to take on a very dark commentary about America. The book is full of triggers, though, so please tread carefully if that is of concern!
Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Sexual violence, and Gun violence
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War
Moderate: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault