corinnek 's review for:

American War by Omar El Akkad

4.0

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 ✅ What I liked: the author is a journalist by trade, and his experience documenting real civil wars is very evident. The conflict feels real, and the chapters that utilize primary sources as a vehicle for information are very effective at creating depth. he does a good job at showing how the "causes" that justify a war are ultimately irrelevant for many of the people affected. What does Sarat care about the use of fossil fuels? she's involved because violence begets violence, and often it really is as simple as that.

❌What I didn't like: many of the characters did feel flat to me, even Sarat sometimes. I felt the most disappointed by Dana's character. I'm not sure what purpose she had in the story. it felt like she was

just there to die

.  What was the purpose of emphasizing how un-feminine Sarat was? of emphasizing how feminine Dana was?

why did the feminine character die?

It just felt a little lazy. what was Dana's personality beyond her love for attention, makeup, and her beauty? very tropey. The author is just not very good at the complex character work and uses tropes (misogynistic tropes) to do the work for him.