Scan barcode
A review by sara_grace
American War by Omar El Akkad
5.0
This book does a very clever thing. It paints Southern, poor, conservatives a picture of how oppressed people become terrorist in a language that is familiar and in a way that at least borders on plausible -- all wrapped up in an engaging dystopian story. We have drone strikes killing families, refugee camps, retaliation murders of a lot of innocent people (disproportionate responses), extremist recruiters (a guys who is one of the most likable characters in the book for awhile. He's seriously charming.) a barely veiled Guantanamo prison...
When you are zoomed in to the human level view of war it isn't hard to see why the main character Sarat is making the choices she makes. This book has you empathizing deeply with a terrorist. It also never really lets Sarat off the hook for her actions either. She doesn't get a free "get out of jail pass" for what she does by any stretch. But her story is human, painful, and disturbing. I thought it was immersive and smart. It does a fantastic job of smashing against the barriers we work so hard to erect between "us" & "them."
To quote the author, " No. I don't think you're supposed to have sympathy for her [Sarat]. My only hope is that you understand why she did it. I think one of the things that's been lost in this incredibly polarized world we live in is the idea that it's possible to understand without taking somebody's side."
When you are zoomed in to the human level view of war it isn't hard to see why the main character Sarat is making the choices she makes. This book has you empathizing deeply with a terrorist. It also never really lets Sarat off the hook for her actions either. She doesn't get a free "get out of jail pass" for what she does by any stretch. But her story is human, painful, and disturbing. I thought it was immersive and smart. It does a fantastic job of smashing against the barriers we work so hard to erect between "us" & "them."
To quote the author, " No. I don't think you're supposed to have sympathy for her [Sarat]. My only hope is that you understand why she did it. I think one of the things that's been lost in this incredibly polarized world we live in is the idea that it's possible to understand without taking somebody's side."