In 2 A.M. in Little America by Ken Kalfus, readers are introduced to Ron Patterson, an American living as a repairman in a foreign city alongside other refugees. He forms a close bond with Marlise, a fellow migrant who bears a resemblance to someone from his past. However, their relationship is cut short due to anti-migrant sentiments, and Ron eventually finds himself residing in "Little America," a community of migrants in a country that still welcomes them. Here, he starts to rebuild his life, but his newfound stability is threatened by political tensions and a familiar woman who enters his life.

While the premise of 2 A.M. in Little America is intriguing, blending themes of migration, identity, and political unrest, it appears that the execution fell short of expectations. The book seems to struggle in finding its place between being a literary thriller and a work of literary fiction. This lack of clarity may have made it difficult for readers to fully engage with the story. The balance between the thriller elements and the deeper exploration of characters and themes may not have been achieved in a way that resonated with you as a reader.

Overall, it seems that 2 A.M. in Little America had an interesting premise but failed to captivate you fully. The combination of literary and thriller elements may not have blended seamlessly, leaving you wanting either a more intense thriller or a more profound exploration of the themes presented.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Dystopian view of a near-future America set in a vague other country where our American protagonist is one of many who leave the country looking for work and a better life on foreign soil. Engaging social commentary, still not enough to keep me engaged with the story. I enjoyed the vagueness of setting and plot, but it hampered my connection to the story.

A dystopian future in which America has crumbled and people are fleeing as migrants to seek out a life in a foreign country, this story had a very interesting premise. Intentionally vague in nearly every aspect, I appreciated the literary and social commentary, however, it was very challenging for me to completely engage and enjoy the book. Even the characters felt one-dimensional, and I would argue that they were the most important piece of this story of humanity. Overall, this book was a brilliant and timely story, but missed the mark for me slightly, That said, I do believe that there are many readers who would enjoy this style writing and plot/character development - this one just wasn't for me.
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Thank you to the author, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book. I loved the themes and the premise. This is a dystopian future that is not as far-fetched as we would once believe. I found my mind wandering often in this one, though. The times in which the reader had to face their own preconceptions were uncomfortable and too scarce. In between was just a little dull. The voice of the narrator, both literal and in a literary sense, were not compelling enough to keep the tension and interest up.

This book had that Orwellian vibe that I am craving a lot nowadays, and I loved the style and ton! The plot, for me, was a little hard to follow. I just think there was a lot going on, and different people will take away different things from the content of this read. The premise absolutely drew me in - American refugees living in asylums in different countries and trying to survive and retain their humanity. I love a "the tables have turned" moment, and I felt like the potential for this to be a true favorite was real. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me - but not bad by any means!

This book imagines a future in which young people are fleeing the US and have become migrants searching for a country and a place that will allow them residency and jobs.

This is such an interesting concept, but the execution needed to be developed a bit more. The author would not mention anywhere by name, and while I understand the reasons for that, it left me detached from the story, and was pretty distracting.

Thank you HighBridge Audio and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an odd book, and something I want to read again and be able to analyze. It reads very similar to 1984 by George Orwell.
The book is odd and that when you’re reading it it feels the same as looking at a Salvador Dali painting. The different scenes of our main characters life fold into each other using a looking glass-like effect. Everyone in his new life, equals somebody In his old life.

I found this a very hard book to get into or have any interest in. Characters are not fleshed out and the story jumps in parts. The narrator is just ok. The writing itself is varied and interesting, but the storyline is uninteresting.

Bummed to say I didn’t love this book. It felt incomplete to me - and like it didn’t know what it wanted to be or what it wanted to say. It is kind of a dystopia or speculative fiction, in which crises in America have escalated to the point in which American citizens are now put in the place of being refugees around the world, fleeing from their home. At first I was intrigued by this concept, but after I started reading, I asked myself: if this is intended to make you sympathize with refugees more, why do we need to have Americans becoming refugees to do that? Why aren’t real refugees stories sympathetic and moving enough?

Then, that aside, the rest of the setup felt kind of half-assed. The author chooses not to say the name of the country in which the main character is a refugee, not even giving any indication of traditions, languages, etc to give you a hint of where. One thing that bothered me was instead of referring to customs of the country as “local” or “native,” he chose to say “indigenous” - eg, “the indigenous cockroaches” (referring to the insects). Something about that phrasing just seemed awkward and weird to me.

In trying to describe the past events and tensions in America that led to this refugee crisis (the same tensions that now bubble up in the refugee enclave of Little America), the author makes the reader do a lot of inferring and work to get to what he’s trying to say. I just found myself so confused as to the “events” that he alludes to, like I was missing something or couldn’t make the inference he was betting on.

Finally, the main character was unlikeable and kind of skeevy to me (I’m not sure if that was intentional and you’re not supposed to relate to him, or if I just didn’t like him.) The book opens with him doing maintenance on the rooftop of a building and seeing a woman naked in her shower. He stays and watches her for a long, long time. Then, he meets another woman who he thinks is the woman from the bathroom, befriending her and asking her out for that reason. And when it turns out that she’s not that woman, he tells her the story and is offended when she thinks the story is gross and creepy. Why is he offended? Because he says that they’ve done all manner of freaky sexual activities together so he expects her to not take offense to this story - as if engaging in consensual sexual activities means that she’ll accept his disgusting peeping Tom activity. That put a bad taste in my mouth from the start.

Overall, I did not enjoy this book, and despite its short length, I wouldn’t recommend it. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley.

This was excellent -- the plot was a bit mundane, but the concept was very clever.


Review copy provided by publisher.