Scan barcode
jennsbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
2.5
I loved Hawley’s book, Before the Fall. So when I saw that he had a new novel coming out that was kind of a dystopian critique of America, I was excited. The jacket description of this book is bananas, but it begins as a compelling, insightful critique of America and how divided we’ve become.
But then it devolves into a bit of a mess. I think I get what Hawley was trying to do. He’s attempting to satirize the current state of America. But I think his point and his narrative get bogged down by the fact that he’s trying to do too much. There’s no issue that isn’t included. We get everything: the political divide, climate change, opioid epidemic, social media, COVID, the Me Too movement, Q-Anon, gun violence, the war in Afghanistan, and more. There’s even a Jeffrey Epstein type character.
To his credit, Hawley acknowledges within the text that the world he created is “ridiculous,” but his points still come across as heavy-handed. It isn’t helped by the dialogue, which is often clunky. There are too many metaphors; people don’t talk like this.
Somewhere in here, though, is a good story. I was invested throughout and anxious to see where it was going. Unfortunately, the problem, to quote from the book: “Simon sighs. It’s all so vague.”
Content Warnings
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
More...