Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ronnie_z 's review for:
American War
by Omar El Akkad
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For full transparency, I had gotten this book through Book of the Month Club back in 2017. I didn't look too deeply into what it was about and thought it was more a sci-fi dystopian novel—but considering the political climate of 2017, I couldn't bring myself to read it. Over 7 years later, in a desperate attempt to get through my backlogged TBR or finally decide to simply donate some books, I decided to read it.
Man was it heavy.
I do feel that in general it overpaints a seconds Civil War with the brushstrokes of the first Civil War but with less of the historical value and more of the vibes. According to the book, the South hates the North for a number of things, the main thing being that they're not allowed to use fossil fuels anymore. It's never explained why the South is so hamfisted about needing fossil fuels beyond stubborn Southern pride along with a bunch of other colloquialisms assigned to the South. And considering I'm reading this book now, at the beginning of 2025, fossil fuels being the Main Thing just fell really flat for me. Maybe I would have felt different 7 years ago.
Also, the book was really heavy—that wasn't surprising to me, I just wasn't prepared for it to be heavy in the ways that it was, and heavy about a character that I was struggling to care about it. I didn't really find anything redeeming or even empathetic about Sarat as a main character. I just struggled to identify with her at all, and because of that she felt like an unmarked vehicle carrying the story.
The writing itself I enjoyed—it was well-written and evocative and I didn't struggle with the pacing or the prose, but I mostly struggled with the dialogue and the... characters were all sort of the same shape, but I did enjoy how the book was kind of like a poetic ouroboros.
I'm glad it's finally off my TBR, but it's not something that left me feeling good.
Man was it heavy.
I do feel that in general it overpaints a seconds Civil War with the brushstrokes of the first Civil War but with less of the historical value and more of the vibes. According to the book, the South hates the North for a number of things, the main thing being that they're not allowed to use fossil fuels anymore. It's never explained why the South is so hamfisted about needing fossil fuels beyond stubborn Southern pride along with a bunch of other colloquialisms assigned to the South. And considering I'm reading this book now, at the beginning of 2025, fossil fuels being the Main Thing just fell really flat for me. Maybe I would have felt different 7 years ago.
Also, the book was really heavy—that wasn't surprising to me, I just wasn't prepared for it to be heavy in the ways that it was, and heavy about a character that I was struggling to care about it. I didn't really find anything redeeming or even empathetic about Sarat as a main character. I just struggled to identify with her at all, and because of that she felt like an unmarked vehicle carrying the story.
The writing itself I enjoyed—it was well-written and evocative and I didn't struggle with the pacing or the prose, but I mostly struggled with the dialogue and the... characters were all sort of the same shape, but I did enjoy how the book was kind of like a poetic ouroboros.
I'm glad it's finally off my TBR, but it's not something that left me feeling good.