American War

By Omar El Akkad

Categories: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy

American War is the 2017 debut novel by the Egyptian-Canadian journalist Omar El Akkad. It imagines a second American Civil War that breaks out in 2074, after the federal government bans fossil fuels and several Southern states rebel. Sarat Chestnut is a child when her family is displaced into a refugee camp. Over the years war, loss and radicalisation shape her into a weapon. The novel follows her life and its consequences for her family and for the divided country.

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• Margaret Atwood: “the terrific dystopian novel, American War”