Anthem

It’s 2009 and a happily married couple listen to their daughter sing at her school pageant, hope and change are on the horizon. Cut to the present day. A pandemic has begun, but not one attributed to an open-air wet market or biolab. The youth of America has begun to kill themselves in droves, the only commonality being “A11” being written on the suicide notes. Many families are crippled with grief, while Simon Oliver’s family puts his sister Claire’s death in the rearview mirror. Simon’s only constant in his anxiety ridden life was his sister, without her he is adrift. His parents send him to the Float Institute for treatment. As the suicides continue, Simon finds a fellow patient who sees the light through the dark insanity. The way is a collision course through the depths of humanity, where salvation involves a heavy body count.

Anthem is an emotionally stark and brilliant work of fiction from the talented mind of Noah Hawley (Before the Fall). Humanity has never seemed so forlorn, but the multi-faceted and resolute characters highlighted throughout the book carry the torch to get the story home. This release is a must-read book for the New Year and years to come.