A review by emanck15
Anthem, by Noah Hawley
4.0
That was quite the ride. Honestly, I don't even know how to describe this book. Present day anarchist dystopian political satire? The writing is incredible. The characters intriguing. The action non-stop. The plot... somewhat convoluted. I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to feel. Some of the references were a little too close to reality, but I think that was the point.
Now that I'm beginning to process what I've just read... I'm really stuck on the author's words at the end about empathy. And honestly, I'm quite confused how we got here... "Is our dilemma that we aren't feeling enough empathy? Or is empathy itself the problem?"... "Empathy, like any emotion, can be manipulated... Empathy, therefore, is a tool that can be used for good, or for ill." ... "What if- like happiness or misery- feelings of empathy hit you intensely in the moment but then wane over time? For example, when we see a homeless child, we feel a swell of empathy. The feeling brings with it a bloom of moral righteousness... We carry that feeling of moral goodness with us through the rest of our day, and yet the child is still homeless."
24 hours after writing this review, I'm still thinking about empathy... maybe that's the point of all of this. Would we be where we are today if we demanded action? We have this giant social issues boiling over in our country, but we sit back and allow our politicians to take YEARS to even begin to discuss (argue) change. When our neighbor is affected by something, we feel empathy for them, but do we go out of our way to change their situation. Sure there is the rare instance where we make a donation of our time or money, but only when we can "afford" it. Would we be where we are today, if we truly thought of what's best for society rather than what's best for us? Okay, additional rambling done.
Overall, I liked it and I hated it all at the same time. I really am curious if this has the potential to become the social commentary future generations look back at to dissect the chaos of the world in 2020. Is this the cautionary tale we reference in the future? Could they look to Hawley, like we currently look to Orwell, Huxley, Bradford, Attwood, and more... ?
Now that I'm beginning to process what I've just read... I'm really stuck on the author's words at the end about empathy. And honestly, I'm quite confused how we got here... "Is our dilemma that we aren't feeling enough empathy? Or is empathy itself the problem?"... "Empathy, like any emotion, can be manipulated... Empathy, therefore, is a tool that can be used for good, or for ill." ... "What if- like happiness or misery- feelings of empathy hit you intensely in the moment but then wane over time? For example, when we see a homeless child, we feel a swell of empathy. The feeling brings with it a bloom of moral righteousness... We carry that feeling of moral goodness with us through the rest of our day, and yet the child is still homeless."
24 hours after writing this review, I'm still thinking about empathy... maybe that's the point of all of this. Would we be where we are today if we demanded action? We have this giant social issues boiling over in our country, but we sit back and allow our politicians to take YEARS to even begin to discuss (argue) change. When our neighbor is affected by something, we feel empathy for them, but do we go out of our way to change their situation. Sure there is the rare instance where we make a donation of our time or money, but only when we can "afford" it. Would we be where we are today, if we truly thought of what's best for society rather than what's best for us? Okay, additional rambling done.
Overall, I liked it and I hated it all at the same time. I really am curious if this has the potential to become the social commentary future generations look back at to dissect the chaos of the world in 2020. Is this the cautionary tale we reference in the future? Could they look to Hawley, like we currently look to Orwell, Huxley, Bradford, Attwood, and more... ?