Skip to main content

February--American War by Omar El Akkad

By

American War by Omar El Akkad
Moderator: Brad Craddock
Rescheduled for March meeting due to weather

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, and that unmanned drones fill the sky. When her father is killed and her family is forced into Camp Patience for displaced persons, she begins to grow up shaped by her particular time and place. But not everyone at Camp Patience is who they claim to be. Eventually Sarat is befriended by a mysterious functionary, under whose influence she is turned into a deadly instrument of war. The decisions that she makes will have tremendous consequences not just for Sarat but for her family and her country, rippling through generations of strangers and kin alike.

 Mr. El Akkad will be at SOTA on Wednesday March 27, for a master class with Creative Writing majors.
Ensemble Theatre, periods 3 and 4

Comments

  1. ZachMarch 26, 2019 at 8:05 AM

    I was glad to hear that this book is being used by students, and that they're finding it to be a good read. There was a lot to like about the work - I enjoyed the evolution of the story told through the differing perspectives and what each character was able to bring to the larger tale. I also thought it encouraged a lot of good thinking - be it specifically from a literary perspective (character growth specifically) or from a more "Social-Studies-ie" perspective (political issues/reliance on and impact of fossil fuels/issues surrounding torture).
    I did find my self wanting more from the writing - it seemed like the work was relatively superficial - I thought there were opportunities to delve deeper into the divide specifically, there wasn't much time or energy dedicated on developing the Northern perspective, also I wanted more context surrounding the environmental issues presented.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January Read , 2024----The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher by Christopher M. Tantillo.

By
 Monday, 1/29/2024 The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher  by Christopher M. Tantillo. Moderated by Erica Smith A boy determined to die. A girl determined to save his life. After the death of his little brother, Grayson's guilt spirals his life into chaos; it's all his fault. He wants to rewind that night back. To erase the pain he's caused. So he's decided; in twenty-four hours, he'll kill himself. Then mysterious and reckless Aubrey shows up with a proposition: a "literally insane" all-night adventure that will show him the beauty in the mundane. Grayson doesn't know why the foster girl with the piercings, crimson locks, and fishnet leggings is helping, especially when he finds out she harbors dark secrets of her own. Yet as they spend his last night learning to let go of pain, Grayson may have a new choice to make. But can he ever really be happy again? Told in a heartfelt yet poignant style interspersed with quirky humor,  The Night I Spent with Aubr
3 comments
Read more

March Book---There There by Tommy Orange

By
  March 28, 2022 4:00 Tommy Orange’s “groundbreaking, extraordinary” ( The New York Times )  There There  is the “brilliant, propulsive” ( People Magazine ) story of twelve unforgettable characters, Urban Indians living in Oakland, California, who converge and collide on one fateful day. It’s “the year’s most galvanizing debut novel” ( Entertainment Weekly ).   As we learn the reasons that each person is attending the Big Oakland Powwow—some generous, some fearful, some joyful, some violent—momentum builds toward a shocking yet inevitable conclusion that changes everything. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle’s death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle’s memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will to perform in public for the very
2 comments
Read more

Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple

By
Meeting:  March 30 2:45  A 238 Moderator: Marcy Gamzon A brilliant novel and instant New York Times bestseller from the author of  Where'd You Go, Bernadette , about a day in the life of Eleanor Flood, forced to abandon her small ambitions and awake to a strange, new future. Eleanor knows she's a mess. But today, she will tackle the little things. She will shower and get dressed. She will have her poetry and yoga lessons after dropping off her son, Timby. She won't swear. She will initiate sex with her husband, Joe. But before she can put her modest plan into action, life happens. Today, it turns out, is the day Timby has decided to fake sick to weasel his way into his mother's company. It's also the day Joe has chosen to tell his office -- but not Eleanor -- that he's on vacation. Just when it seems like things can't go more awry, an encounter with a former colleague produces a graphic memoir whose dramatic tale threatens to reveal a buried family
11 comments
Read more