American War

Omar El Akkad is an award-winning journalist who was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar and Canada, and now lives in Portland, Oregon. He has reported first-hand on the Afghanistan War, Guantanamo Bay and the Arab Spring, and it’s clear that personal experience has provided much inspiration for his engaging debut novel. The book is set in late 21st century America, among the tumultuous backdrop of a second Civil War. Parts of the southern and eastern states are underwater due to rising sea levels, the use of fossil fuels is outlawed and millions have been killed or displaced due to the conflict between north and south. We follow the story of Sarat Chestnut who, following the death of her father, helps her family survive in a displacement camp on the Tennessee border, and eventually becomes a pawn in the war herself. The comment being made on the policies and actions of the Trump administration is impossible to miss.