"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Saturday, May 19, 2018

American War (Omar El Akkad, 2017)

(413 pages)

Book club selection (via POC; session held 16 May 2018).

Post-apocalyptic; author is exploring how the United States might split up in the future; interestingly, or oddly, the split pretty much tracks the 19th century Civil War territory.  With fossil fuel usage as the main divisive factor.  (Earth has warmed considerably; coasts tend to be swamped; national capital has moved inland to Columbus, OH.)

An African empire (Bouzazi) keeps the southern "resistance" afloat.

Protagonist is Sarat Chestnut, but she's not much of a hero.  Pretty much brainwashed and weaponized by elders.  Spends time in a Gitmo-style camp, with waterboarding - in this story, yields zip in terms of usable intelligence. 

Northern violence/punitive-ness provokes continued Southern resistance.  Including germ warfare - two rounds of it - severe. 

Echoes of World War I - where Allies lose control of the narrative - the "losers" in this war (i.e. the South) are allowed to message - though story line ends before we see how this might have played out.

No comments: