4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A cautionary tale as civilization breaks down...., September 10, 2007
The title, OUR AMERICAN KING, conjures up a slew of provocative scenarios. Has David Lozell Martin penned a slashing send-up of the current occupant of the White House? Has he prepared a fictive but feasible and sober examination of how unchecked imperial protocols might alter our American presidency?
Not really.
OUR AMERICAN KING tells the story of "the calamity:" Sometime in the near future the meager remaining reserves of oil and gas and every other commodity are bought up or outright seized and placed in secure locations by and accessible only to governments and the mega-mega rich. This elitist stockpiling and withdrawal tips civilization into chaos and, in the U.S. alone, starvation and mass panic and violence kill off at least half the total population.
Mary, of Lakota Indian heritage, tells her personal history of this catastrophe. She and her husband, John, are thin as rails, but, by hoarding nothing, have avoided being hacked to death by punk marauders they call "the Patagonians." John decides they must make the trek to nearby Washington D.C. where, he eerily predicts, they will find a man who can lead the unwashed, suffering masses. In front of the abandoned White House (the faceless government is regrouping in shelters and bases far removed), John and Mary join a crowd around a charismatic populist who is hanging the corpses of mid-level bureaucrats upside down from the White House fence. This man calls himself Tazza, and he's set up headquarters in the Executive Office Building next to the White House. He is an extraordinary orator who uses his talent to inspire, support, and lift up the people. They, in turn, adore him and pledge themselves to him. [Comparisons to strongmen in real history are surely inevitable....] John, an intelligent man of letters with a gift for strategizing and cobbling speeches from famous old ones, becomes pied piper Tazza's kingmaker. And so begins the ambiguous but definitely blood-soaked reign of Tazza, whom, not unexpectedly, absolute power corrupts.
Mary, meanwhile, is not a mere follower. She is destined to play a pivotal role as the mother of a child she never expected to conceive. Will she be the mother not only of a child but also of salvation from tyranny and oppression?
Mary tells her story from the relative comfort of fifty years in the future, so we know from the start that she survives the calamity and its turbulent wake. This storytelling choice tamps the suspense somewhat. Mary's narration also narrows the ability of the author to abide by the advice to writers to show, not tell. When Mary isn't a witness, she tends, naturally, to provide less detail. And the last hasty, almost careless, chapters suggest that Martin tired of writing this book. Suddenly, Mary is in a rush to cross the finish line, and that is regrettable because a more thorough scrutiny of certain themes and events would have enhanced the novel.
OUR AMERICAN KING is an unapologetic, yet wry, political commentary, taking both satiric and solemn jabs at the precarious ferment of the early twenty-first century. It stakes a position squarely alongside "the people" in the decidedly collectivist rhetoric of Tazza and John. Tazza dramatically plays out statements about now being the time for them to seize their birthright, to seize the wealth of America from those who hold it and returning that wealth to those who produced it. Yet, the novel also reveals bluntly the craven atrocities any dictator (or dictator-in-training) can unleash when harnessing what is essentially the power of the mob. In Mary's recollections of a time thankfully not realized in our world -- yet -- Martin cannily preaches about the gaping weaknesses of our civilization, and the follies that could lead to unprecedented disaster.
This novel may not entirely meet expectations, but it does pack a punch and may haunt the reader, at least for a while. It might even prompt more determination to reform the current political and socio-economic status quo....
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting- End of the World Story..., February 28, 2008
I'm a sucker for "end of the world" type books. Plagues, environmental disasters, zombies taking over, whatever, I really enjoy that type of book. Which is why I picked up "Our American King".
Alot of other reviewers have already rehashed the story for you, so I won't do that. While the book drags a bit in the middle chapters, the beginning and the ending more than make up for that.
I'm going to read "Facing Rushmore" next, which is apparently the prequel to this book. Maybe you should read that one first..
If you like a well written story, you'll enjoy Our American King.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Inventive and Entertaining, January 20, 2008
The first thing that I have to say is that this book was a superior read to Cormac McCarty's _The Road_. I did not not know that this book was a second in a series, but I will definitely read the first one now.
The book opens after the "calamity" and most people are fighting for their lives, if they've survived the event, the patagonians, and haven't starved. The story is told from the point of view of Mary, a Lakota woman, who is married to John. John is the keeper of historical information and other endless facts that proves to be helpful, if not instrumental in the establishment of the American King's ascendancy from entertainer to leader.
We see from this story that the super rich are protected by the military (but not the Marine Corp--hoorah) or are protected by quasi-military on islands, ranches or other enclaves. These super rich have hoarded food and other needed items for their survival, but everyone else is truly left to their own devices and mayhem has ensued. People are even resorting to cannibalism (just like in CM's _The Road_.)
The book's commentary on elitism, consumerism, right leaning politics, warfare, and even Canadians is interesting and at times hilarious. However, the depiction of Canadians as drunk, seal smelling, American haters who are willing to kill women and children was a bit over the top, though.
Overall, this was a well-crafted, inventive book. I'll read more of this author's work. I do think that sections of this book would be useful in a political science or history classroom.
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