Genre Fiction
![Noah Hawley - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_noah_hawley.jpg)
Anthem
What does it take to change the world? The "epic adventure" (Booklist) of a band of unlikely heroes on a quest to save one innocent life who may end up saving us all.
For decades, Judge Margot Burr-Nadir has worked tirelessly, case by case, to administer justice from the federal bench of the Eastern District of the United States. Her position already seems like the highest possible honor. So she is surprised when a call comes from the President of the United States inviting her to accept his nomination to the Supreme Court-not least because in choosing her, in an unprecedented attempt to heal a divided nation, the President has reached across party lines.
For Margot, this should be among the brightest spots of an already charmed existence. But the call comes on a family trip to visit their oldest daughter, Story, who has, without warning, vanished as if spirited away in the middle of the night by forces unseen. Margot soon finds herself thrust onto the national stage in the middle of every parent's worst nightmare.
The desperate search for Story's whereabouts soon intersects with the mission of teenagers Simon Oliver, Louise Conklin, and a young man known only as the Prophet. Together, they have escaped from the Float Anxiety Abatement Center in Chicago on the trail of man known as The Wizard: an unimaginably wealthy, almost mythical figure of unspeakable evil who has for years been taking whatever he wants without reaping the consequences. Stopping him, this band of young people hopes to accomplish what their elders can't or won't do: fix a broken world.
Noah Hawley's new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners. Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale. It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers.
For decades, Judge Margot Burr-Nadir has worked tirelessly, case by case, to administer justice from the federal bench of the Eastern District of the United States. Her position already seems like the highest possible honor. So she is surprised when a call comes from the President of the United States inviting her to accept his nomination to the Supreme Court-not least because in choosing her, in an unprecedented attempt to heal a divided nation, the President has reached across party lines.
For Margot, this should be among the brightest spots of an already charmed existence. But the call comes on a family trip to visit their oldest daughter, Story, who has, without warning, vanished as if spirited away in the middle of the night by forces unseen. Margot soon finds herself thrust onto the national stage in the middle of every parent's worst nightmare.
The desperate search for Story's whereabouts soon intersects with the mission of teenagers Simon Oliver, Louise Conklin, and a young man known only as the Prophet. Together, they have escaped from the Float Anxiety Abatement Center in Chicago on the trail of man known as The Wizard: an unimaginably wealthy, almost mythical figure of unspeakable evil who has for years been taking whatever he wants without reaping the consequences. Stopping him, this band of young people hopes to accomplish what their elders can't or won't do: fix a broken world.
Noah Hawley's new novel is an adventure that finds unquenchable lights in dark corners. Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale. It is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight that have made Hawley one of our most essential writers.
Editorial Reviews
"Hawley taps into our existential anxiety-and transforms it into a hefty page turner that's equal parts horrific, catastrophic and, at times, strangely entertaining."―New York Times Book Review
"Hawley the fiction writer is at his best when pitching his taut setup and its well-drawn cast of characters."―USA Today
"A blistering thriller that follows a group of teenagers on an adventure through an apocalyptic America much like our own."―Entertainment Weekly
"Terrifying, expertly crafted literary thriller."―Oprah Daily, "The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022"
"Hawley creates an all-too-plausible dystopia rendered believable through matter-of-fact prose. [He] makes this sing by combining the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book."―Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review)
"The plot-rich, cinematic story moves swiftly and compellingly, exciting reader interest and empathy. Anthem is truly an epic adventure."―Booklist (Starred Review)
"[ANTHEM is] perhaps the first must-read novel of 2022, the kind of book that you'll be urging your friends to pick up throughout the year"―Book Reporter
"Hawley, more stoic in nature, speaks during pivotal moments, providing commentary that evokes an existential response. A rapid plot, dramatic characterizations, and a horrific but believable setting will excite thriller fans and have them questioning where today's society is headed."―Audio File
"A Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale, it is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight."―Shereads
"An act of Hawley's sorcery, and with his sharp dialogue and short, elegant chapters, Hawley propels this novel toward a form of hope."―The National Book Review
"Gripping, suspenseful… Noah Hawley is one of our most masterful multimedia storytellers."―Wisconsin Public Radio
"An emotionally stark and brilliant work of fiction… A must-read book."―
"Hawley the fiction writer is at his best when pitching his taut setup and its well-drawn cast of characters."―USA Today
"A blistering thriller that follows a group of teenagers on an adventure through an apocalyptic America much like our own."―Entertainment Weekly
"Terrifying, expertly crafted literary thriller."―Oprah Daily, "The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022"
"Hawley creates an all-too-plausible dystopia rendered believable through matter-of-fact prose. [He] makes this sing by combining the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book."―Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review)
"The plot-rich, cinematic story moves swiftly and compellingly, exciting reader interest and empathy. Anthem is truly an epic adventure."―Booklist (Starred Review)
"[ANTHEM is] perhaps the first must-read novel of 2022, the kind of book that you'll be urging your friends to pick up throughout the year"―Book Reporter
"Hawley, more stoic in nature, speaks during pivotal moments, providing commentary that evokes an existential response. A rapid plot, dramatic characterizations, and a horrific but believable setting will excite thriller fans and have them questioning where today's society is headed."―Audio File
"A Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale, it is a leap into the idiosyncratic pulse of the American heart, written with the bravado, literary power, and feverish foresight."―Shereads
"An act of Hawley's sorcery, and with his sharp dialogue and short, elegant chapters, Hawley propels this novel toward a form of hope."―The National Book Review
"Gripping, suspenseful… Noah Hawley is one of our most masterful multimedia storytellers."―Wisconsin Public Radio
"An emotionally stark and brilliant work of fiction… A must-read book."―
Readers Top Reviews
Levi HuxtonThe Ho
All the ingredients of our current malaise are whipped into a bitter concoction in this cynical pre-apocalyptic novel. In Noah Hawley’s Anthem, the culture war has mutated into outright civil war and a polarized America has simply given up on its future, and by extension, the planet’s. And by given up, we’re talking a Covid-scale pandemic of teen suicides. Narrative stakes don’t get much higher than the self-destruction of an entire generation of children, but subtlety isn’t on the menu. Astute social commentary morphs into crass nihilism at the service of a confusing thriller too convoluted and crowded with characters for its own good, let alone ours. Flashes of brilliance serve only to underscore how much the opportunity is wasted. Hawley, who’s created highly entertaining fiction (including 2016’s Before The Fall) and television (Fargo, Legion) lost me with this one. A world on the brink deserves better than exploitative fiction parading as finger-on-pulse commentary. Or maybe I got this exactly wrong and the point is precisely that it doesn’t?
John P. AubinLevi
A terribly dark novel. Almost unrelentingly dark. In the genre of The Stand, Hawley describes a not too distant dystapic America, torn by multiple strifes. Like King, he weaves a little bit of optimism into his tale, but less than King does, and too little for me. Toward the end of the tale he gives us a powerful diagnosis: “I figured it out,” he repeats. “It’s grief. The five stages of death, right? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, but we’re all trapped in the first two stages. The whole country, or maybe the Earth. We’re in denial and we’re pissed, because something we love is dead, except, for half the country, what they’re grieving is the past they think they’ve lost, and the other half is mourning the progress they thought they’d made, but everyone feels the same way. Like someone they love is dead. And I get it. I’m grieving too.” All of us our suffering, we’ve all lost something, someone. Few of us can diagnose it, so we blame it on something else. Hawley diagnoses it, for which we should be grateful. But it’s a hard swallow when the 24 hour news shows yet another wave of destruction unleashed on yet another innocent community.
