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chgoange 's review for:
American War
by Omar El Akkad
The United States is divided and at war within once again, only this time over the use of fossil fuels. The South (Reds) want to continue to use them and the North (Blues) have outlawed their use. That’s the short synopsis of the story. The longer one is a little bit harder to describe. The world has changed mightily. The United States is no longer a super power and barely a democracy but the Middle East is now both. Washington D.C is a real swamp once again and the federal government is now located in Columbus, Ohio. And South Carolina has done gone and seceded again along with Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. Texas is now a part of the Mexican Protectorate. Our protagonist, Sarat Chestnut is forced out of a Louisiana now surrounded by the Mississippi Sea, along with her family to a refugee camp bordering Tennessee. While there, she is quickly radicalized by a Northern southern sympathizer and becomes a terrorist in her own right.
I wanted to very much like this book, especially as it touches on much of the division we are currently dealing with in this country. But in the end, I found Sarat to be a pretty unlikable character and the story line a bit to implausible even for dystopian fiction. Though it is briefly mentioned that Sarat is probably a mix of Latino and African American, race barely makes a mention in the story, which seems odd being many of the characters are “proudly southern.” Also, the states that seceded because they want to use fossil fuels seems an odd choice since fossil fuels (oil) play a much bigger role in the economies of Texas and Louisiana, which are barely mentioned. The same can be said of the coal states of Kentucky and West Virginia.
To sum it up, an interesting at times novel about what could happen if U.S. society turns on itself. It would appeal to lovers of dystopian fiction and would probably scare the bejesus out of someone who spends too much time reading the Washington Post and Politico.
I wanted to very much like this book, especially as it touches on much of the division we are currently dealing with in this country. But in the end, I found Sarat to be a pretty unlikable character and the story line a bit to implausible even for dystopian fiction. Though it is briefly mentioned that Sarat is probably a mix of Latino and African American, race barely makes a mention in the story, which seems odd being many of the characters are “proudly southern.” Also, the states that seceded because they want to use fossil fuels seems an odd choice since fossil fuels (oil) play a much bigger role in the economies of Texas and Louisiana, which are barely mentioned. The same can be said of the coal states of Kentucky and West Virginia.
To sum it up, an interesting at times novel about what could happen if U.S. society turns on itself. It would appeal to lovers of dystopian fiction and would probably scare the bejesus out of someone who spends too much time reading the Washington Post and Politico.