A review by mattleesharp
Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru

5.0

Admittedly, this book is not perfect. The ending is neither tidy nor messy in an interesting or thought-provoking way. The story was much less sci-fi/magical realism/mythical than I anticipated. But it was wonderful all the same. Each of the characters feels wholly their own person and rings true. Each of the stories tangle and separate in ways that are interesting and that don't detract from the separate narrative arcs. Jaz, Lisa, and Raj really ground the story and I was glad to get the two parents' perspectives so clearly articulated. The parallel between the extra-terrestrial themes and the notion of what it means to be 'alien' in America is spelled out in bold, but I don't mind when a book this ambitious tethers itself to a political idea.