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American War

A Novel

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American War

Auteur(s): Omar El Akkad
Narrateur(s): Dion Graham
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À propos de cet audio

An audacious and powerful debut novel: a second American Civil War, a devastating plague, and one family caught deep in the middle - a story that asks what might happen if America were to turn its most devastating policies and deadly weapons upon itself.

Sarat Chestnut, born in Louisiana, is only six when the Second American Civil War breaks out in 2074. But even she knows that oil is outlawed, that Louisiana is half underwater, that unmanned drones fill the sky. And when her father is killed and her family is forced into Camp Patience for displaced persons, she quickly begins to be shaped by her particular time and place until, finally, through the influence of a mysterious functionary, she is turned into a deadly instrument of war. Telling her story is her nephew, Benjamin Chestnut, born during the war - part of the Miraculous Generation - and now an old man confronting the dark secret of his past, his family's role in the conflict and, in particular, that of his aunt, a woman who saved his life while destroying untold others.

©2017 Omar El Akkad (P)2017 Random House Audio Dystopique Fiction Fiction de genre Fiction littéraire Science-fiction Guerre Guerre civile Militaire
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There is not a single person you wouldn't love if you could read their story.

This is her story.

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Akkad is a very good writer: descriptive but not gushy, imaginative but not distracted, thoughtful but not soap-boxy, character-driven but with a well-paced plot. This book is not for the faint of heart: it gets quite dark, but thankfully without being gratuitous... Most of the graphic events are left just out of the reader's view. Early on I began bracing for a book that was just an indirect tirade against Republicans out Democrats. Not so, not at all. Insights regarding the contemporary political scene can be found (and both sides are dissected), however, American War is more deep than picking a side... It is a stark examination of human nature and social forces. This is not Fox versus CNN (I wouldn't have finished it if it was). Unlike another reviewer, I am glad that Akkad did not get caught up in trying to predict future technology —that isn't the point, and would distract and detract. His vision of the future is compelling, measured, absorbing, and convicting. This is a timely book, and I reckon it will be for awhile yet.

Compelling, character-driven, dark, thoughtful

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Regardless of the genre, we're all looking for a story that's satisfying....something that will leave a mark on our psyche. With American War that appetite finds itself well nourished.
The background of future civil war is both gripping and prophetic. And in the foreground the characters are developed with great insight into the human condition rendering them vivid and psychologically undressed before the reader, which in the end makes of the story an intimate experience for the audience.

Definitely worthwhile!

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I'll start with what is good in this book. El Akkad does a great job of creating a multi-layered protagonist. in the end this is a person we sympathize with, but when looked at more objectively is a pretty horrible person. the story has some very good individual elements in it. the narration is consistent and good throughout, except for a painful section which has many redactions.

where I think the book fell short is in being a cohesive story. I did not like the perspective changes in the last third or the excerpts between the chapters. the future He depicts here is a weird amalgamation. the world has suffered much ecological and geopolitical changes, but the technology seems to be stuck in the past and the culture seems to be a stereotype of mid-twentieth-century Southern USA.

overall this is a good book but not great. I would not go out out of my way to recommend it to anyone.

mixed bag

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The story was really good. I found the performance ok, very breathy and that was distracting at times.

If you can get past the breath, I would highly recommend.

Compelling listen

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This is one of those books I've come to appreciate more after reading, as I find my mind wanders back to it. Chosen for a book club I initially found the subject matter to be depressing and the book to be a heavy read, but it really does perfectly capture a world of 'what if'. I think both author and narrator did an amazing job! #Audible1

An interesting read....

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This is a well written, well narrated book which really shows the human cost of war, and has made me think of the lives of refugees and people living in conflict areas.

Excellent book

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the narrator does an excellent job at reading the story however it meanders along and ultimately does not offer anything surprising

An interesting premise told very slowly

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The novel fantasizes about a destroyed America and an emergent Arab empire, driven by solar panels and a nasty desire to intervene abroad. So, it's a kind of weird allegory of the current world, topsy-turvy. We see an Arab empire that is slowly destroying America by supporting southern radicals (who look a lot like Jihadists) as they spread destruction everywhere. There are so many possible booby-traps and ideological no-fly-zones here that it is kind of fun, embarrassing and fascinating. BUT after a few chapters, there's no real development, just a slow awkward fall of a woman. It just fizzles by the end. Promising premises, though!

interesting as an allegory, but just that

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A wonderful piece of speculative fiction by Omar El Akkad. I may have hummed and hawed at some parts but in the end I was left dumbstruck. Not by a crazy twist or an unforseen conclusion but by the way this journey was able to, at least partly, humanize an indefensible act. I don't want to go any further and spoil anything for future readers so I'll leave it at that. I just wish we had gotten some more background in a few areas. Damn fine nonetheless!

What a story!

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