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Anthem
- Author
- Noah Hawley
- Narrator
- Shiromi Arserio
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Publish Date
- 17 March 2022
- Run Time
- 15 hours 24 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
America spins into chaos as the last remnants of political consensus break apart. Against a background of environmental disaster and opioid addiction, debate descends into violence and militias roam the streets - while teenagers across the world seem driven to self-destruction, communicating by memes only they can understand.
Yet the markets still tick up and the super-rich, like Ty Oliver, fly above the flames in private jets.
After the death of his daughter, Ty dispatches his son Simon to an Anxiety Abatement Center. There he encounters another boy called the Prophet. And the Prophet wants him to join a quest.
Before long, Simon is on the road with a crew of new comrades on a rescue mission as urgent as it is enigmatic. Suddenly heroes of their own story, they are crossing the country in search of a young woman held in a billionaire's retreat - and, just possibly, the only hope of escape from the apocalypse bequeathed to them by their parents' generation.
Noah Hawley's epic literary thriller, full of unforgettably vivid characters, finds unquenchable lights in the darkest corners. Uncannily topical and yet as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale, this is a novel of excoriating power, raw emotion and narrative verve, confirming Hawley as one of the most essential writers of our time.
'Noah 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
'Terrifyingly good... Hawley is such an experienced storyteller...this book is nothing if not art imitating life' - Irish Sunday Independent
'Hawley makes this sing by combining the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book' - Publishers Weekly
* * *
PRAISE FOR NOAH HAWLEY:
'He has an intuitive understanding of human behaviour and an instinctive grasp of plot that make him a master storyteller'
Guardian
'An addictive thriller whose thematic richness is reminiscent of Franzen'
The Sunday Times
'Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page'
Daily Mail
'A thriller of masterful precision'
Independent
'High-class entertainment'
Mail on Sunday
'One of the year's best suspense novels'
New York Times
(P) 2022 Hachette Audio
Critics Review
-
Epic... Apart from being the Emmy award-winning creator of the superb television series Fargo, the American author Noah Hawley is a talented deviser of high-class literary thrillers... It's a fabulous worst-of-all-fears scenario... Hawley attacks his narrative from a broad, TV drama-ish viewpoint, assembling a large, intercutting cast of characters
The Sunday Times
-
In Anthem, Hawley has written some of the most savage satire since Jonathan Swift . . . The plot-rich, cinematic story moves swiftly and compellingly, exciting reader interest and empathy. Anthem is truly an epic adventure
Booklist
-
An all-too-plausible dystopia rendered believable through matter-of-fact prose. Hawley makes this sing by combining the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book
Publishers Weekly
-
Hawley is a TV veteran, and he knows how to quickly establish character, maintain pacing, and write excellent action scenes
Kirkus Reviews
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Hawley has crafted an explosive, multi-genre American novel, offering entertaining cultural commentary as well as intellectually courageous observations on empathy, politics and corruption
shelf-awareness.com
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Noah Hawley confirms his place as one of the most essential writers of our times
Belfast Telegraph, Books of the Year
-
A timely and provocative take on the classic trope of young people tasked with saving the future. Truly like nothing I've ever read before
Anna Bailey, author of Tall Bones
-
Terrifyingly good... Hawley is such an experienced storyteller...this book is nothing if not art imitating life
Irish Sunday Independent
-
[A] story that hurtles at an accelerated velocity...[Hawley's] dialogue brings the characters alive...humorous, sad and revealing...[a] tender, complicated reflection...charged with considerable anger and despair about our chaotic world
New York Times
-
Plenty of novelists aiming at the mainstream market have lately taken to borrowing from SFF's toolkit as they struggle to describe our current reality, but few have done it with Hawley's skill, bravado and understanding of genre fiction
SFX
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Wow, this sprawling dystopian thriller packs a punch
Peterborough Telegraph
-
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
-
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
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Anthem is a Great American Novel for these tumultuous times-a provocative work of fiction that sees to the heart of things, cuts through the noise, and asks, 'How can we change, before it's too late?'
Esquire
-
Terrifying, expertly crafted literary thriller
Oprah Daily
-
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
-
The plot-rich, cinematic story moves swiftly and compellingly, exciting reader interest and empathy. Anthem is truly an epic adventure
Booklist
-
[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
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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
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An act of Hawley's sorcery, and with his sharp dialogue and short, elegant chapters, Hawley propels this novel toward a form of hope
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
San Francisco Book Review
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Noah Hawley
- Narrator
- Shiromi Arserio
- Duration
- 15 hours 24 minutes
- Release Date
- 17 March 2022
- ISBN
- 9781399709408
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Thriller / suspense fiction
Synopsis
From the visionary bestselling author of Before the Fall and The Good Father, an epic literary thriller set where America is right now . . . and the world will be tomorrow.America spins into chaos as the last remnants of political consensus break apart. Against a background of environmental disaster and opioid addiction, debate descends into violence and militias roam the streets - while teenagers across the world seem driven to self-destruction, communicating by memes only they can understand.Yet the markets still tick up and the super-rich, like Ty Oliver, fly above the flames in private jets.After the death of his daughter, Ty dispatches his son Simon to an Anxiety Abatement Center. There he encounters another boy called the Prophet. And the Prophet wants him to join a quest.Before long, Simon is on the road with a crew of new comrades on a rescue mission as urgent as it is enigmatic. Suddenly heroes of their own story, they are crossing the country in search of a young woman held in a billionaire's retreat - and, just possibly, the only hope of escape from the apocalypse bequeathed to them by their parents' generation.Noah Hawley's epic literary thriller, full of unforgettably vivid characters, finds unquenchable lights in the darkest corners. Uncannily topical and yet as timeless as a Grimm's fairy tale, this is a novel of excoriating power, raw emotion and narrative verve, confirming Hawley as one of the most essential writers of our time.'Noah 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'Terrifyingly good... Hawley is such an experienced storyteller...this book is nothing if not art imitating life' - Irish Sunday Independent'Hawley makes this sing by combining the social commentary of a Margaret Atwood novel with the horrors of a Stephen King book' - Publishers Weekly* * *PRAISE FOR NOAH HAWLEY:'He has an intuitive understanding of human behaviour and an instinctive grasp of plot that make him a master storyteller'Guardian'An addictive thriller whose thematic richness is reminiscent of Franzen'The Sunday Times'Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page'Daily Mail'A thriller of masterful precision'Independent'High-class entertainment' Mail on Sunday'One of the year's best suspense novels'New York Times(P) 2022 Hachette Audio
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