Take a photo of a barcode or cover
em_reads_books 's review for:
The Submission
by Amy Waldman
I'm actually a little surprised how much I liked this - I generally enjoy character-driven novels that work hard to convince me that Person A would have said X and done Y. And this used its characters as props and plot devices a bit more than I'm usually OK with, giving them clever, profound lines and insights. It's not at all shocking that the author is a journalist; much of the book sounds like quotes a writer would kill for from an interviewee.
But the writing is flawless and incisive and works in the gray areas super well. It doesn't shy away from hard to read, complicated feelings or try to resolve things neatly. It's really like...let's throw this scenario at America, and see what happens. And as much as it brought me back to a slightly earlier version of culture and politics (uh oh, 9/11 is nearly historical fiction territory at this point, huh?), it's...unpleasantly relevant to read now.
If you need a novel with no easy answers or good/bad guys, with zero sentimentality but plenty of compassion, and you're willing to put up with some intellectual verging on pretentious discussions, I recommend this one.
But the writing is flawless and incisive and works in the gray areas super well. It doesn't shy away from hard to read, complicated feelings or try to resolve things neatly. It's really like...let's throw this scenario at America, and see what happens. And as much as it brought me back to a slightly earlier version of culture and politics (uh oh, 9/11 is nearly historical fiction territory at this point, huh?), it's...unpleasantly relevant to read now.
If you need a novel with no easy answers or good/bad guys, with zero sentimentality but plenty of compassion, and you're willing to put up with some intellectual verging on pretentious discussions, I recommend this one.