A review by electrostatic
Anthem by Noah Hawley

3.0

It’s hard to write a review of a book like this: I enjoyed Noah Hawley’s style of writing so much, how he built his characters to be sympathetic (all except one) to a degree where you understood why they made the choices they did. but overall it was such an unpleasant experience reading it because it felt like it was something that wasn’t just highly plausible but also bound to come to pass, perhaps as soon as in 6 months. It’s speculative fiction that didn’t have to go very far in speculation. At the same time, it clearly is set out to do just that: tell you pointedly that this shit is barely fiction because it’s happening now. He even takes a break in the middle of the book, beaks the authorial fourth wall if you will, and preface-style tell you “look man. i didn’t know how to make it more ridiculous than reality already is which is why there’s a random lion that shows up in that chapter”. i’ve never read anything like it nor have I been existentially terrified like this before (more so than reading non fiction about the state the world is in? even the ending which is meant to be hopeful leaves us to wonder how the “protagonists” will actually fare because the world at large has not changed.