Omar El Akkad‘s debut novel, American War (2017), is an arresting, gripping contribution to the landscape of post-apocalyptic fiction. Here, the disaster is largely environmental: all of Florida and most of the Eastern seaboard is underwater, the US economy is shattered, and world power has shifted to China and to a new Middle Eastern empire that stretches (much like it once did) across North Africa and throughout Arabia. America is at war with itself, with a new Civil War pitting the North against what is left of the South.
So far, so standard, at least for the genre.
The most intriguing thing about American War, however, is the protagonist, who is a Southerner (actually from the Louisiana borderlands–Texas is no more, having been re-absorbed into Mexico). She is, however, not a “true believer” of any stripe; instead, she is merely caught up in the cycle of war, and manipulated into her role as a human weapon by forces far beyond her control or comprehension.
This allows El Akkad to explore many perspectives on the war, and allows him to strengthen the character, as their motivations depend on relationships and commitments, not on blind ideology. It’s very effective, and while some of the “historical” documents inserted into the narrative are a little thin, the overall impact is a well-written, page-turner, with clear relevance to contemporary international politics (think Palestine, think disaffected youth through the world, think urban centers of unemployment in Asia, South America, and Africa).
#WhatIWishICouldDo
There is something courageous about these choices as they relate to the protagonist. It is facile to read El Akkad’s journalistic experience in the Middle East as their source; those may have been a factor, but I prefer to credit him with a very creative, very smart way to make a protagonist both more human and thoroughly dedicated to a violent cause.