Anthem

Thirty-five years ago we made a decision. That if we had a child, that child would be our love letter to the future, someone who would contribute and make a difference. And, that the world would deserve this child.

Today, that child is deciding whether they want to have a child. I worry that the world is not worthy of this possible grandchild. That this possible grandchild would inherit a world of turmoil and violence and deprivation.

Reading Noah Hawley’s Anthem was very difficult and several times I considered walking away and leaving the book unfinished. But I trusted the author to take me on a journey past the horror, his imagining the logical outcome of the trajectory we are on–the West burning up, toxic individualism turning to show more anarchy, the insulated rich indulging their worst natures, children institutionalized for anxiety. And mass suicide, the protest movement of the young.

A group of teenagers go on a rescue journey, and to save the world. In a violent world, they take up violence. They understand what the adults fail to see.

Hawley set his novel in the world of the near future. A society divided, a political system broken, the climate spiraling toward a disastrous reconfiguration. Post-Covid19 lockdown and social isolation and the “lost year,” post “stop the steal.”

Anxiety is crippling children who lack the stability and surety we are supposed to provide them to grow healthy and whole. They understand that adults have focused on the wrong things–money, power, greed, success, the right to dominate, self-importance. And the outcome is death. The children respond by killing themselves in an “act of collective surrender.”

Then, this world erupts into the worst possible, but not inevitable, outcome. While wildfires destroy the redwoods and the West, home-grown terrorists come out in force to destroy the hated and feared architecture of order–the government, anything that restricts their individual freedom.

The authorial tone is caustic, angry, eviscerating both The Party of Truth and the Party of Lies, slicing open our festering wounds to reveal the rot within, reflecting like a funhouse mirror, the grotesque and disturbing image in which we see both who we are and who we may become. The children talk in deeply reflective language, understanding what has gone wrong, with a precocious maturity. But it is this exaggeration, the extremity of violence and horror, that allowed me to read on, knowing it was a tool, a device, to elicit a a reaction in the reader.

“As a writer, your author has long believed that fiction is an empathy delivery device,” Hawley writes at the end. He tells us that his daughter asks how the novel will end, and he admits the future of his characters is “unclear.” He tells us there is a way out of this inevitable future scenario. “All we have to do is change,” for we are in control of our actions. It is up to us.

This may be considered a ‘plot giveaway,’ but it is important to understand this book is not your typical story. The intrusive authorial voice alone sets it apart. The grappling with deep, existential, societal, and political questions is integral.

It’s a novel that gives a huge wallop, sets you back on your heels, gives you the shakes. You will mull it over for days. And then you will look around and wonder, what can I change today?

Because if my child has a child, I want it to inherit a world on fire to share and repair and forgive and affirm.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less

This was a chilling book, based upon an unpleasant (yet intriguing) premise. Written during the height of the COVID pandemic, it is set in contemporary America, that is wracked with tragedy as teenagers suddenly start committing suicide, in huge numbers. A common thread is discovered when it is noted that many of them are leaving a note that simply says ‘A11’.

From there the novel proceeds to deep dystopian themes revolving around bad pharma, excessive government surveillance, and teenagers’ growing sense of disenfranchisement across the world.

I have a dystopian and generally bleak approach to life myself, so this book might have been right up my street, but in fact I didn’t like it at all. I felt that the scenario was clumsily show more over-contrived, and the writing style was not conducive to easy reading. I had picked this book up because I had greatly enjoyed Hawley’s earlier novel, ‘Before the Fall’, but this was entirely different. show less

The post-Covid future has arrived.
“Anthem” by Noah Hawley is a cautionary tale that unfolds a short time in the future, just a few years after the COVID-19 plague swept the planet. Before every game, concert, gathering; before every great event there is the national anthem. It is only fitting that in this moment in history, one that defies comprehension, starts in this manor; a nine year-old girl named “Story” with a supportive family, a busy life, and a beautiful voice, sings “The Anthem”.
Hawley says so much in so few words, “The summer our children began to kill themselves was the hottest in history.”
The narrative unfolds in separate but connected present tense stories; some are “now,” and some are “before.” show more In additional passages, the narrator talks directly to readers, making observations and commenting on events. This tale is filled with average people, extra ordinary people, smart people, delusional people, bad people, and people who gather in the rain, arguing over whether or not they are getting wet. All are people readers know by different names.

The familiar world is replaced by something unrecognizable. The future that people dreaded has arrived, and America is having a nervous breakdown, teetering on the edge. Information and disinformation collide in a mashup of “A Clockwork Orange,” “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”(“Blade Runner”), and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” God is mad; California is burning; the world has gone crazy, and there are clowns.

I received a review copy of “Anthem” from Noah Hawley and Grand Central Publishing.
The narrative poses this question: “How many grown-ups does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer is, of course, “None,” because they do not want to change; they like the “light” the way it is. Plan your time wisely; once you start reading “Anthem” you will not be able to put it down. Even after you turn the last page, it will remain with you. Now, all we have to do is change. show less

Hoo boy, some books just seem prescient - example, Station Eleven in 2015. Let's hope this one doesn't manifest in any way (beyond the ways it already has...) I think what the two books and others like them have in common is a deep understanding of human nature - especially its dark side. This book is a modern masterpiece - set maybe 5 years in the future - hard to tell because many of the events and issues are so timely, it looks like that's where we're headed. America is the same simmering pot of issues, with an additional one - maybe fallout from the pandemic? There is a new epidemic of suicides of young people. Like thousands in a day, across the country, and later tens of thousands across the world. And global disasters have show more ratcheted up another notch. In this backdrop of despair, there is a group of ragtag young people on a mission from God. A true quest to find the Wizard and free the dragon. The leader, The Prophet, formerly known as Paul, believes they are building a new utopia. "The adults are lost. We their children are starting over." ( 30) The three principals, the Prophet, Simon Oliver and Louise Conklin meet in a private mental health facility: the Float Anxiety Abatement Center outside of Chicago. Simon is the son of an opioid manufacturer billionaire in NYC and his sister killed herself. Louise is from San Fran and has a cleaning and cutting addiction and was raised by her grandmother. The Prophet brings them all together and convinces them to 'escape,' even though they are there through 'free will' and the quest begins, as well as an uncanny number of coincidences which makes it seem as if God really is directing the plan. The threads of individual people who are woven together to create this star-spangled tapestry are a true indicator of the author's genius. Here goes: Margot Burr Nadir is a Supreme Court nominee, whose 20-something daughter Story is missing - is she one of the suicides? Margot cannot leave her Senate Confirmation hearings long enough to find out....But Story and her boyfriend Felix Moore, aka Samson DeWitt are on their own quest to find and liberate his sister Bathsheba, aka Katie who has been groomed, essentially kidnapped and impregnated by centi-billionaire E.L. Mobley (the Wizard). Samson and Bathsheba were raised by Avon, a total anti-government nut who does everything off the grid and never even got them birth certificates. They are truly outside the system and ran away from home as soon as they could. Turns out Story and Felix are meant to be part of the Prophet's quest and they join forces making their way west to the Texas compound where Katie is held. There are some set-backs (rogue gun-toting clowns and Hawaiian shirt wearers, some add-ons (feral gun-toting teens: Randall Flagg, Katniss and Cyclops) and additional trials to pass: freeing migrants at the border, liberating Avon DeWitt's wife's sister Rose from The Witch, and getting some retributive justice for Louise, who was also groomed and violated by the Wizard. As they close in on their target, now in CA, the state is literally on fire, and armed uprisings are occuring all over the country, beginning with a suicide bombing in the Senate. While this story premise seems crazy, it is laid out with smart authorial commentary about the world we live in, reminding (warning!) us: huh, not so crazy after all. Here's some examples: "Though the language spoken here appears to be the same, the meaning of each word can be vastly different. What they mean when they say 'freedom.' What they mean when they say 'equal.' What they mean when they say 'fair.' They sing the same Anthem, quote the same Constitution, but the words feel like contronyms: words that mean both one thing and its opposite. As in 'to cleave,' defined as both 'to split apart' and 'to join together.'" (147) Though I originally listened to this book, I had to get a paper copy to better linger (at my own risk) in the world Hawley has created show less

Anthem may be one of the most unusual books I’ve read in a long time, but unfortunately that also makes it one of the most frustrating books I’ve read in a long time. On the surface, it’s a tale of teenagers on a mythical quest torn right out of the pages of Stephen King, occurring at a time when there is an epidemic of teen suicides sweeping across the country, and while the country devolves into civil war. The structure of the book is interspersed with meditations by the author, and liberal talking points (to be fair, he does present some on the conservative side but they are few and far between).

Five stars for the writing, but downgraded due to plot issues, frustrating structure (for me), and the ridiculous dialog being spoken show more by supposed teenagers. show less

Anthem tells the story of America a few years from now, where our political divisions have only gotten worse, climate change remains unaddressed and a wave of adolescents have begun committing suicide, leaving behind only "A11" to explain their choice. In this America, a ragtag group of teens set out to complete a quest and create their own Utopia. This would have been a lot to tackle in and of itself, but Hawley also weaves in a Jeffrey Epstein character, an alt-right uprising, a prophet on a mission from God, wildfires, the Sovereign Citizen movement and an actual, literal witch. Yeah, there's a LOT happening in this book.

With that much going on, its not surprising that some portions hit harder than others. I loved the character of show more Louise and her story of determination and vengeance, but the quest section in the middle definitely dragged on a bit too long for me. The author inserted himself into the book at a few points, including to give us a non-ending ending. I'm not sure he stuck the landing, but I'm also definitely not sorry I stuck with Hawley on this journey. show less

This a dark story of America rapidly falling into dystopia in all-too familiar fashion, while simultaneously a story of a group of young misfits overcoming odds to save one of their own from evil exploitation. Every element & character in this novel is rather transparently transcribed from current events and notorious people (risky on the author's part because it can become rapidly dated, and indeed, you can see that happening already). I would recommend this book because I really enjoyed it, it reads like Kurt Vonnegut with a shade of Steven King thrown in, and would no doubt qualify into the magical realism camp as well, if one wanted to shelve it there. Indeed, I enjoyed it, but, without being too critical, it did read like ersatz show more Vonnegut in many places at which I did cringe, a bit. I'd also warn readers that Hawley changes character perspective fluidly and without warning in many places, which kept me on my toes, and may not be every reader's cup of tea. The author wears his perspective on his sleeve, but, in a good way. Despite this and other nit picks, it gets the solid thumbs up for an engaging read. show less