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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Really sad and disturbing story about a suicide pandemic among young people. Long and hard to get into.
This book reminded me of something Tom Robbins might write if he was going to write a book about the current political climate. I thought it was interesting.
“The future we dreaded was already here.” Dark. Dystopian. Likely not for everyone. Spot on commentary on our times. Even mostly believable until the wildly wacky and out of control race to the finish. Could have done without much of the violence but as the author writes, “if you think the next act of American life is going to unfold without gunfire, you’re not paying attention.”
I binge read it and was grateful for The Epilogue.
I binge read it and was grateful for The Epilogue.
Ooh-wee....there is a lot going on in this book. Political strife, a pandemic, climate change, an insurgent attack on the capitol, teen suicides, an evil pharmaceutical company and a rich pediphile. Sounds like the headlines of major newspapers from the past few years.
Hawleys book is in the future but the Anthem certainly covers our last three years of history. While the storyline is down right depressing in the end the book leaves us with hope.
With so many characters there are multiple threads to keep up with and it was challenging since I opted to listen to the audio version. Plus side is the author actually narrates portions of the book which adds a personal tone to the narrative.
I almost gave up on the book because it seemed so bleak but glad I stuck with it to the end.
Hawleys book is in the future but the Anthem certainly covers our last three years of history. While the storyline is down right depressing in the end the book leaves us with hope.
With so many characters there are multiple threads to keep up with and it was challenging since I opted to listen to the audio version. Plus side is the author actually narrates portions of the book which adds a personal tone to the narrative.
I almost gave up on the book because it seemed so bleak but glad I stuck with it to the end.
I’m not sure what to say about this book. I truly favor dystopian fiction, but this has to have been the most realistic one I have ever read. While there was a bit of mysticism mixed in, this book really laid out how we humans will possibly destroy ourselves, our society, and planet.
If you don’t like violence, are easily offended politically or socially, you might not like this book. But the distasteful serves a purpose here in my humble interpretation and left me pondering the state of the world and my generation’s responsibility. Thank you for this book.
Okay, so, it's enormously tempting to compare this to Millet's A Children's Bible, which is one of my favorite books ever.
However, while this book shares an obvious theme in that it's about children reckoning (angrily) with the fact that their future has been ruthlessly destroyed, it's way less subtle. Like. Like it's hit you with a baseball bat subtle. There's a Joe Arpaio type, an Epstein type, Trump is in here, as is COVID, and Q-anon, and it's a big shovel smacking you in the head over and over again.
But damn is this a good book anyway. It's not subtle, but it's a dose of dark hot rage and disgust churned with a hell of a fun (????) story. It's bonkers how this is both really on-the-nose and really engrossing. For what it is, it's really good. For a piece of LitErATuRe, I dunno, but also, who cares? We're all about to be incinerated anyway.
However, while this book shares an obvious theme in that it's about children reckoning (angrily) with the fact that their future has been ruthlessly destroyed, it's way less subtle. Like. Like it's hit you with a baseball bat subtle. There's a Joe Arpaio type, an Epstein type, Trump is in here, as is COVID, and Q-anon, and it's a big shovel smacking you in the head over and over again.
But damn is this a good book anyway. It's not subtle, but it's a dose of dark hot rage and disgust churned with a hell of a fun (????) story. It's bonkers how this is both really on-the-nose and really engrossing. For what it is, it's really good. For a piece of LitErATuRe, I dunno, but also, who cares? We're all about to be incinerated anyway.