3.5 stars. I wanted to love this, I really really really wanted to. And I almost did! I loved the premise, the concept, (some of) the characters, the commentary, and the horror. Unfortunately, even though that sounds like it covers most of the book, it wasn’t enough to overcome some of the story’s aspects that weren’t specifically geared to my particular taste. 

The writing was strange. Very stylistic, and very unique to this author, but it’s just not my favorite. There’s nothing WRONG with choosing to tell a story in three parts with three different perspectives, but it felt a little fractured and just a *bit* too meta for me. I also wasn’t a fan of the ending, not because I didn’t like the direction (I did) but because it felt rushed when compared to the rest of the (sometimes—nay, often—repetitive) narrative. We spent so much time in the same scenario with the same inner monologue and same sense of dread and disgust, only to have it trail off at the end with relatively little satisfaction. 

This also just felt really, really heavy right now. And I get that’s the point. I understand. I RECOGNIZE THAT THIS BOOK’S PUBLICATION WAS SPECIFICALLY TIMED SO AS TO HOLD UP A MIRROR TO THE LEFT IN THE DAWN OF ANOTHER TRUMP PRESIDENCY. I understand the nuance and the commentary and the criticism. I know it was on purpose, and it was done well, and it can also have been not the right book for me at this particular moment in the downfall of humanity.

I like my political horror more human-based, and I think there’s more than enough real-world material to have informed this story without resorting to speculative elements.