Harper Perennial
This Is Not Civilization
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This Is Not Civilization
Author(s): Robert Rosenberg
In the tradition of Prague and White Teeth, This Is Not Civilization is an inspired, sweeping debut novel that hopscotches from Arizona to Central Asia to Istanbul with a well-meaning, if misguided, young Peace Corps volunteer. Jeff Hartig lies at the center of this modern take on the American-abroad tale, which brings together four people from vastly different backgrounds, each struggling with the push and pull of home. A young Apache, Adam Dale, forsakes the reservation for the promise of a world he knows little about. Anarbek Tashtanaliev, of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, operates a cheese factory that no longer produces cheese. Nazira, his daughter, strains against the confines of their village’s age-old traditions.
With captivating insight, realism, and humor, Robert Rosenberg delivers a sensitive story about the cost of trying to do good in the world.
Review(s):
A wonderful work; highly recommended.
Library Journal Starred
An ambitious, bighearted debut...intelligent, earnest, and highly readable.
Kirkus Reviews
[A] Politically astute and surprisingly swift read.
TimeOut New York
The details are bracing and exact...journalistic, humane and heart-wrenching. -- Christopher Buckley The New York Times Book Review
What a generous, big-hearted book this is, perceptive enough to catch the goodness in [its characters].
Christian Science Monitor
[an] ambitious, sincere book...[with] many lovely touches.
Newsday
a well-written, engaging, and promising debut.
Booklist, ALA
a brave adventure into the heart of a new world...sparkling.
Los Angeles Times
Rollicking...pitch perfect...a vibrant mix of the serious and the absurd.
Publishers Weekly
ISBN: 9780618562060
Author(s): Robert Rosenberg
In the tradition of Prague and White Teeth, This Is Not Civilization is an inspired, sweeping debut novel that hopscotches from Arizona to Central Asia to Istanbul with a well-meaning, if misguided, young Peace Corps volunteer. Jeff Hartig lies at the center of this modern take on the American-abroad tale, which brings together four people from vastly different backgrounds, each struggling with the push and pull of home. A young Apache, Adam Dale, forsakes the reservation for the promise of a world he knows little about. Anarbek Tashtanaliev, of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, operates a cheese factory that no longer produces cheese. Nazira, his daughter, strains against the confines of their village’s age-old traditions.
With captivating insight, realism, and humor, Robert Rosenberg delivers a sensitive story about the cost of trying to do good in the world.
Review(s):
A wonderful work; highly recommended.
Library Journal Starred
An ambitious, bighearted debut...intelligent, earnest, and highly readable.
Kirkus Reviews
[A] Politically astute and surprisingly swift read.
TimeOut New York
The details are bracing and exact...journalistic, humane and heart-wrenching. -- Christopher Buckley The New York Times Book Review
What a generous, big-hearted book this is, perceptive enough to catch the goodness in [its characters].
Christian Science Monitor
[an] ambitious, sincere book...[with] many lovely touches.
Newsday
a well-written, engaging, and promising debut.
Booklist, ALA
a brave adventure into the heart of a new world...sparkling.
Los Angeles Times
Rollicking...pitch perfect...a vibrant mix of the serious and the absurd.
Publishers Weekly
ISBN: 9780618562060