Book Review: Anthem, Noah Hawley
Thriller: Anthem, Noah Hawley
Anthem is not a horror story, but in some ways it is the scariest book I have read in some time. Author Noah Hawley uses metaphors, even character names, from the Bible (e.g. Samson, Bathsheba) and from well known fantasy novels (Katniss, Legolas) but gives them to people who are nothing like their eponymous literary figures. Still, it keeps the work walking that fine line between fantasy and prophecy, between science fiction and scientific predictions. Anthem feels like it could happen rather soon, which may be the most frightening horror of all.
Multiple story lines weave through the book, converging and diverging, bringing characters unexpectedly together and then sending them in different directions. A judge is offered a seat on the Supreme Court. Her daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend suddenly disappear, falling completely out of sight. A teenager is hospitalized with anxiety and depression. An epidemic of youth suicides rocks the world. And a mysterious prophet from Nebraska hears the voice of God in the thrum of electronic machines.
Some of the characters are taken directly from the newspapers with barely a fig leaf to cover the differences. The judge testifies that her mind is not made up about key issues of the day, although she has a long relationship with a hyper-partisan think tank. A former president is described only as the God/King. A billionaire uses his attractive companion to lure teenage girls into his bed, then throws money at them and at the authorities to keep out of trouble. January 6, 2021 is mentioned, as is COVID. Armed militias threaten to destroy the country they pretend to love. The opioid epidemic. This novel is truly set into the very near future in a world that is very familiar to us in America.
The young people are the main protagonists. The prophet is too young to drive. Simon and Louise are fifteen. Story and Felix are in their early twenties. They are entering adulthood in a world not of their making (as we all do) but also one that is collapsing beneath them. Uncontrollable wildfires. Billionaires above the law, employing private armies to both protect them and to further their interests by any means necessary. Intolerable heat waves. Anarchy and destruction. We have all given lip service to the idea of leaving our children a better world than we grew up in. We have failed them.
Anthem is a painful and disturbing look at what America could far too easily become. If it sometimes feels very political, you probably are paying attention to what you read. For those of us looking aghast at what we see around us, this book puts some of those fears into writing. I may not like the world I see, but it does make for a compelling novel. I just wish it weren’t so real.
Book Review: Anthem, Noah Hawley