2 A.M. in Little America
2 A.M. in Little America
"The chastening of America, with civil unrest, expatriates looking on in humiliation, and citizens of other countries savoring the once mighty country’s downfall, is the grim scenario Ken Kalfus envisions in his latest novel, “2 A.M. in Little America.” Whichever side one takes on the issues bedeviling America, readers familiar with his work will probably agree on this point: Kalfus is a perceptive guy. "
— Michael Magras, The Washington Post (Ken Kalfus gives readers an unsettling portrait of a humbled America)
"Kalfus paints a grim picture of where the U.S. is headed that tracks with the fever dreams being spun nightly by our real-world political commentators on both sides of the aisle. What is interesting about this book, however, is that, unlike similar cautionary novels such as The Handmaid’s Tale and The Road, the narrative never sets foot within the borders of the dystopia itself."
— Michael Landweber, The Washington Independent Review of Books (In a near-future dystopia, the refugees are us.)
"Heartbreaking and sobering, the dystopian novel 2 A.M. in Little America has the makings of a modern classic."
— Michelle Schingler, Foreword Reviews (Review)
"Ultimately, Patterson has to come to the same conclusion that “Marlise” realized decades earlier: to gain any semblance of agency in his life, he will have to become someone else entirely and leave his true identity behind. 'I would no longer be a migrant,' he says. 'I would no longer be an American.'"
— Alison Rochford, The Cleveland Review of Books (Disassociation and Diaspora)
"Meister des schelmischen Polit-Thrillers: Ken Kalfus (Master of the Mischievous Political Thriller)"
— Hannes Stein, Die Welt (Ein Szenario zum Ende Amerikas)
"This dissociation from objective reality is both reminiscent of Mersault’s existential detachment in The Stranger, and echoes the foggy, nihilistic path of Kafka’s protagonist in The Castle. There’s also a labyrinthine and dreamlike quality to Kalfus’s prose that recalls the surreal expressionism of movies like Brazil and Delicatessen:"
— Kirk Sever, Colorado Review (Review )
"Another tonally intricate triumph, this one about the bewilderment, alienation, and sheer strangeness of being a refugee.... A strange, highly compelling tale about what happens when American privilege and insulation get turned inside out."
— Kirkus Reviews (Advance review)
"He greeted me in a pronounced Bronx accent and a summer fedora, a can of bug spray in hand."
— Paul Starobin, The Washington Post Magazine (Our new national reality is now a dystopian novel)
"“2 A.M. in Little America” is a highly readable, taut novel. It pulls the reader into its world, and suggests that many interesting human complications await us at the end of the story called the United States of America."
— Héctor Tobar, The New York Times Book Review (A Novel Imagines the Next Wave of Refugees: Americans)
"2 A.M. in Little America belongs among the year’s biggest hits."
— Arianna Rebolini, Vulture (The Best Books of 2022)