∎ Descargar Gratis How to Be Safe A Novel Tom McAllister 9781631494130 Books

How to Be Safe A Novel Tom McAllister 9781631494130 Books

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How to Be Safe A Novel Tom McAllister 9781631494130 Books

This sharp, dry satire about the aftermath of a school shooting says so much about contemporary America—from our disturbing gun culture to toxic masculinity to the increasing reality of never feeling safe. It’s not happy, optimistic or redemptive, but neither is our current reality. It’ll resonate with anyone who is fed up with gun violence and the meaningless thoughts and prayers that follow.

The plot centers around Anna, a teacher at the school, who is briefly suspected of the shooting. It follows her, and the quiet rural town in which she lives, through the year following the tragedy.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was written by a man—a testament to McAllister’s success writing a female character and creating a novel with such prominent feminist undertones. (Mass shootings are, after all, a uniquely male problem, so the perspective of this female character is a smart choice.)

Anna is such a fascinating narrator. She’s wry and darkly funny, understandably disaffected by the absurdity of her life. Following the shooting, the town turns to increasingly preposterous solutions to the tragedy: increased surveillance, students signing pledges vowing to defend their peers against attackers, an armed task force called (hilariously) “the War on Violence.” Anything, anything, but addressing the root of the problems: guns. Anna is blasé as this all happens around her, as if it were inevitable.

There’s a subtlety surreal and dystopian vibe to this book, almost like The Leftovers, yet it feels firmly rooted in our current reality. It’s not easy to write a book about something so solemn and topical as school shootings, but McAllister does so with such a unique voice and deft critique that it feels meaningful—not in spite of its cynicism and nihilism, but because of it.


Tags : How to Be Safe: A Novel [Tom McAllister] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong>A <em>Washington Post</em> Notable Book of the Year<br /> A <em>Kirkus Reviews</em> Best Book of the Year<br /></strong> <strong>“Explosive” –<em>Entertainment Weekly</em></strong> <strong>“Scalding” –<em>The New Yorker</em></strong> <strong>“One of the most highly acclaimed novels of the year thus far.” –<em>Bustle</em></strong> <em>FORMER TEACHER HAD MOTIVE.</em> Recently suspended for a so-called outburst,Tom McAllister,How to Be Safe: A Novel,Liveright,1631494139,Literary,Small Town & Rural,Black humor,City and town life,City and town life;Fiction.,Life change events,Life change events;Fiction.,Satirical literature,School shootings,Sexism,Women teachers,Women teachers;Fiction.,FICTION Literary,FICTION Small Town & Rural,Fiction,Fiction-Literary,FictionSmall Town & Rural,GENERAL,General Adult,United States,Women's Studies

How to Be Safe A Novel Tom McAllister 9781631494130 Books Reviews

A poignant feminist howl of rage over gun violence and contemporary culture's indifference to human suffering.
In an America which is rapidly becoming a parody of itself, especially with respect to mass shootings, reading this satirical novel as though it is a memoir is perhaps the only thing that makes sense.
Sharp, witty, and dripping with sarcasm, How to Be Safe is perhaps one of the most important contemporary novels we have. Tom McAllister's story about a young woman coping with the aftermath of a school shooting in a small town-- interwoven between information about the victims of the shooting and general advice about how to be safe in today's world--doesn't pull any punches as the novel unhesitatingly condemns the madness into which our society seems to have descended. In a time where school shootings are much more real than anyone would like to believe, McAllister writes with keen insight about a terrifying topic that, unfortunately, has become a new sort of normal. Read this book because you want to be more aware. Read this book because you want an insight into the aftermath of such a traumatic event. Read this book because you aren't sure how you feel about the topic. Whatever your reasons, the bottom line is this read this book!
Compelling, heartbreaking, furious, funny, wise and poetic--this account of the aftermath of a school shooting and its effect on survivors is required reading for our times--and should be for our legislators too.
This was so well-written that I feel anxious even writing this review, because anything I say about the book will not adequately express my feelings about it. It was impossible to put it down until I was done. The main character was believable, neurotic and sympathetic. Well done.
Nice product. The story itself is really going to be a matter of taste. As a middle school teacher, I didn't really buy into it. (such as when you are fired you don't really get to go back into the school...)
It wasn’t for me. I think the writing was good, but the protagonist was so dislikable. It was sad.
This sharp, dry satire about the aftermath of a school shooting says so much about contemporary America—from our disturbing gun culture to toxic masculinity to the increasing reality of never feeling safe. It’s not happy, optimistic or redemptive, but neither is our current reality. It’ll resonate with anyone who is fed up with gun violence and the meaningless thoughts and prayers that follow.

The plot centers around Anna, a teacher at the school, who is briefly suspected of the shooting. It follows her, and the quiet rural town in which she lives, through the year following the tragedy.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was written by a man—a testament to McAllister’s success writing a female character and creating a novel with such prominent feminist undertones. (Mass shootings are, after all, a uniquely male problem, so the perspective of this female character is a smart choice.)

Anna is such a fascinating narrator. She’s wry and darkly funny, understandably disaffected by the absurdity of her life. Following the shooting, the town turns to increasingly preposterous solutions to the tragedy increased surveillance, students signing pledges vowing to defend their peers against attackers, an armed task force called (hilariously) “the War on Violence.” Anything, anything, but addressing the root of the problems guns. Anna is blasé as this all happens around her, as if it were inevitable.

There’s a subtlety surreal and dystopian vibe to this book, almost like The Leftovers, yet it feels firmly rooted in our current reality. It’s not easy to write a book about something so solemn and topical as school shootings, but McAllister does so with such a unique voice and deft critique that it feels meaningful—not in spite of its cynicism and nihilism, but because of it.