Reviews tagging 'Grief'

American War by Omar El Akkad

10 reviews

rideauriverreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

wandering_seal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oooh this was good in the most grim, unremitting way possible.

I did struggle with the pacing at the start, but overall this was such an interesting piling on of events. I particularly loved the shifting focus at the end - the conclusion was exactly what I expected and also not at all.

I listened to this on audiobook, and while I thought it was so, so well done I do wish I'd a physical copy of the book so I could flick back between some of the events and documentation as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

underwaterlauren's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

this was just so wholly unpleasant to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Xenophobia and Vomit

wafflepolly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I think this is one of those books that is going to stay in my head for a long time. I strongly recommend listening to the NPR Throughline podcast episode "Extremist Futures" which features some really insightful input from the author about his thoughts, metaphors, and own experiences behind the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Grief, and Death of parent

cara_elaine's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a twisted and disturbing idea of what our future could hold. set in the near future- the book details what another american civil war and splintering of the country could be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical trauma

kelly_e's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Title: American War
Author: Omar El Akkad
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: January 30, 2018

T H R E E • W O R D S

Plausible • Unsettling • Inventive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Narrated by Benjamin Chestnut, an older man living in neutral Anchorage in the aftermath of the war, American War begins in 2074 in a post-apocalyptic world where climate change was wrecked havoc on the coastal United States. In an attempt to halt emissions, the government has banned the use of fossil fuels, greatly upsetting the Southern states. Sarat Chestnut is only six as the second American civil war breaks out, and soon finds her and her family forced into the sprawling tent city known as Camp Patience.

💭 T H O U G H T S

What a fierce and powerful cautionary tale from debut novelist Omar El Akkad!

I didn't expect this to be a book for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. While reading, the storyline felt eerily plausible with a future America torn by it's own political tribulations, climate change, plague, and power struggles and conflict. It forced me to imagine the uncomfortable realities of our current world and the complex ruins and implications of war at many different levels. The writing and the story are equally powerful.

My one qualm would be that it was overly detailed at times, but other times there were gaps in the world building. Overall, a solid read worth picking up.


📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• dystopian fans
• readers who enjoyed The Underground Railroad

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"You fight the war with guns, you fight the peace with stories." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

keegan53's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An amazing book. The world building is fantastic and there is amazing character development. So well crafted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

egleezy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and War

pollyandthebooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

hmatt's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Incredibly powerful. This is such a hard but also necessary time to read this sort of work - or just this work, in particular. I read quite a bit of speculative fiction and I still can't quite compare this book to much else. Think World War Z, but closer to home, more realistic, and more political. I was wowed at how I could both disagree with the protagonists and also empathize with them (the mark of great characterization, IMO). 

If you like audiobooks, it's short-ish and extremely well narrated. Plot-wise, it almost lost me about two-thirds of the way through, but quickly turned back around and tied everything together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Suicide