It's 2 a.m. Someplace, but Where?

Title: 2 A.M. in Little America

Author: Ken Kalfus

From the publisher (our own Milkweed Editions):

"From “an important writer in every sense” (David Foster Wallace), a novel that imagines a future in which sweeping civil conflict has forced America’s young people to flee its borders, into an unwelcoming world.

One such American is Ron Patterson, who finds himself on distant shores, working as a repairman and sharing a room with other refugees. In an unnamed city wedged between ocean and lush mountainous forest, Ron can almost imagine a stable life for himself. Especially when he makes the first friend he has had in years—a mysterious migrant named Marlise, who bears a striking resemblance to a onetime classmate.

 

Brimming with mystery, suspense, and Kalfus’s distinctive comic irony, 2 A.M. in Little America poses several questions vital to the current moment: What happens when privilege is reversed? Who is watching and why? How do tribalized politics disrupt our ability to distinguish what is true and what is not? This is a story for our time—gripping, unsettling, prescient—by one of our most acclaimed novelists."

This book has garnered a wealth of accolades, including:

An Esquire “Best Book of Spring 2022”
A Publishers Weekly “Best Book of Summer 2022”
A Kirkus “Best Book of May 2022”
A San Francisco Chronicle “Most Anticipated Novel of 2022”
A Literary Hub “Most Anticipated Book of 2022”

Insight and Opinions

So who are we to disagree with all of those accolades? Although we must admit, we do like to argue and quibble whenever a good book is in the hot seat.

+ Kalfus is disturbingly successful at capturing the prevailing disquietude of our times, posing the question "how do tribalized politics disrupt our ability to distinguish what is true and what is not? (Milkweed)." To Lois, reading this book while also watching the Congressional hearings about the January 6 insurrection made her question "where am I now?" This book, in combination with the hearings, was more than she could take.

+ As a group, our initial, energetic "blurting" focused on our confusion -- the way the book refuses to name places or provide anything as an actual event or fact that doesn't shift. Who are these people? Where are we? Is that woman the same as that woman? Who is that detective?

+ But to Jocey and Linda, that's the genius of the book. The confusion is purposeful. It's exactly how we are feeling right now in our world. We don't know what's true or not true. Everyone is confused.

+ The main character's memories of his science teacher explaining the workings of the camera obscura is crucial to understanding what Kalfus is about. Everyone sees something different. The way the camera obscura works is the same way this book works as well as the experiences of the people in it.

+ Kalfus has turned the tables on us, sending Americans out into the world as unwanted immigrants. His imagining of how this feels, how disturbing and rootless and fear-inducing it is, is masterful. To Linda, what he has done here is entirely present while also being prescient.

+ Steve vacillated between fascination and frustration, asking "how far should you push a concept novel?" While reading, what he wanted more than anything was a proper noun someplace in the narrative, any place.

+ All agreed that, while reading, they grew more and more anxious. Liz stated her appreciation for what Kalfus is about and his deft hand at doing it, but ultimately succumbed to overwhelming anxiety. "This is not why I read."

Upcoming

We will not be meeting in August as people are busy doing their various fancy things. So, we will group up again in September, when our read will be The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Margy assures us that this is a weighty saga with a beginning, middle, and end and plenty of proper nouns to go around.