Scan barcode
A review by brettpet
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
5.0
Unlike the fully realized Lincoln in the Bardo (my first Saunders book), CivilWarLand is about a multitude of things. Tribalism, indentured servitude, consumerism, etc, but the main through line for me was the theme of artificiality. The American sense of community is not what it was when this book was published in 1996—wealth inequalities have skyrocketed, sense of togetherness has been further fractured by a global pandemic and increasing suburban sprawl, and political identities have become more radicalized. There's a joke on Twitter that Americans only understand things in fast food terms—41 years ago is not a time before the Reagan era would forever change the course of history, it was when the McRib was released. On the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, one user joked "for Americans, this is like if the burger died". In CivilWarLand story "Bounty", a fast food restaurant becomes a hangout for religious zealots, committed to burning themselves in a deep fryer as an act of penance.
Artificiality is a subject that authors rarely show this much attention to, despite how much the concept invades our daily life. We furnish our homes with fake plants because we're scared to take care of real ones, we keep our lawns neat and tidy to try to emulate a vision of a French monarchy trend that was co-opted in the post-World War era, and we fill our bodies with microplastics because we're too lazy to do something about it. For most of the characters in CivilWarLand, artificial communities are the only protection from the terrors of the outside world—roving gangs, unemployment, or slavery. Do we live artificial lifestyles because we perceive them to be safer than the alternative? Do we work in tiny gray boxes instead of doing something more fulfilling because we fear losing office culture would be the final death blow to American life? Do we ache to experience spectacle in every free moment because we will lose these things in the collapse?
This book is hilarious, prophetic (unfortunately), and reminiscent of prime Vonnegut.
Artificiality is a subject that authors rarely show this much attention to, despite how much the concept invades our daily life. We furnish our homes with fake plants because we're scared to take care of real ones, we keep our lawns neat and tidy to try to emulate a vision of a French monarchy trend that was co-opted in the post-World War era, and we fill our bodies with microplastics because we're too lazy to do something about it. For most of the characters in CivilWarLand, artificial communities are the only protection from the terrors of the outside world—roving gangs, unemployment, or slavery. Do we live artificial lifestyles because we perceive them to be safer than the alternative? Do we work in tiny gray boxes instead of doing something more fulfilling because we fear losing office culture would be the final death blow to American life? Do we ache to experience spectacle in every free moment because we will lose these things in the collapse?
This book is hilarious, prophetic (unfortunately), and reminiscent of prime Vonnegut.