What do you think?
Rate this book
The Emergency: A Novel
George Packer’s gripping fable of imperial collapse illuminates the crises of our times.
George Packer’s bestselling nonfiction work exploring American life has won many prizes, including the National Book Award. With The Emergency, he turns to fiction, bringing us a visionary novel that goes to the nerve center of what it means to live in a time of fracture and upheaval.
An empire has collapsed from boredom and loss of faith in itself. In the Emergency that follows, youth rebellions of urban Burghers and rural Yeomen embrace radical new ideas of humanity. Dr. Hugo Rustin, chief surgeon at the Imperial College Hospital, is increasingly estranged from his city and his family—from his wife, Annabelle, who finds fulfillment in their changed community; and especially from his teenage daughter, Selva, who has turned against her father’s values. When an incident at the hospital leads to Rustin’s disgrace, he seeks redemption in a quixotic and dangerous journey into the countryside, with Selva as his companion, just as the conflict between Burghers and Yeomen is reaching a crisis.
The Emergency is a novel of ideas and a taut page-turner. It asks what we owe one another across divided generations and classes—what common human bonds remain when a society falls apart. In creating a vividly imagined world, Packer takes us deep into the heart of our troubled moment.
George Packer’s bestselling nonfiction work exploring American life has won many prizes, including the National Book Award. With The Emergency, he turns to fiction, bringing us a visionary novel that goes to the nerve center of what it means to live in a time of fracture and upheaval.
An empire has collapsed from boredom and loss of faith in itself. In the Emergency that follows, youth rebellions of urban Burghers and rural Yeomen embrace radical new ideas of humanity. Dr. Hugo Rustin, chief surgeon at the Imperial College Hospital, is increasingly estranged from his city and his family—from his wife, Annabelle, who finds fulfillment in their changed community; and especially from his teenage daughter, Selva, who has turned against her father’s values. When an incident at the hospital leads to Rustin’s disgrace, he seeks redemption in a quixotic and dangerous journey into the countryside, with Selva as his companion, just as the conflict between Burghers and Yeomen is reaching a crisis.
The Emergency is a novel of ideas and a taut page-turner. It asks what we owe one another across divided generations and classes—what common human bonds remain when a society falls apart. In creating a vividly imagined world, Packer takes us deep into the heart of our troubled moment.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2025
265 people are currently reading
1990 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 7, 2025
The Emergency is a very smart, thoughtful, poignant, biting, and well crafted story about how people respond to collapse of social order. It asks: Can you ever be prepared for upheaval? What remains afterward? Will you see the best in humanity? Will you see the worst? The writing is proficient, and the character work is strong, effectively portraying how diverse people might respond differently to chaos and catastrophe. They rarely find unifying principles to bring everyone together, and George Packer resists offering easy answers to tough questions. As a result, there’s a perpetual sense of unsteadiness and alienation that should resonate with most people in the world at the moment.
At first, I saw similarities to Animal Farm and 1984. Those comparisons would normally be high praise, but the more I think about it, I realize The Emergency rubbed me the wrong way. When a book portrays a series of movements focused on making the world safer and fairer, I expect their attempts at building a utopia to not be laughably flawed, whereas Packer seems more interested in exposing how juvenile, narrow minded, undercooked, and lazily cobbled together their ideologies are. No utopia is easy to build or maintain, so I understand if a novel can’t be set in a cozy hopepunk anarchist cooperative or a fully automated luxury communist solarpunk society, but I wish efforts at reform and revolution in The Emergency had been taken seriously. While dystopian fiction should be bleak, the bleakness here comes without being earned. There are missed opportunities to say something inspiring as the narrative shies away from urgency, always retreating into platitudes about the value of dialogue. I don’t mean to minimize how important dialogue is, but I wanted The Emergency to be more ambitious. It has the trappings of ambition, but lacks the necessary vision.
There’s also something incurious about the book. Various interdependent interest groups are introduced as automatic enemies without ever interrogating why upbringing alone might cause them to be drawn to diametrically opposed worldviews. It relies heavily on mapping these groups onto real world counterparts. The thing is that the world of The Emergency is different from reality. The real world has power hungry demagogues, profit motives, and things like religious dogma to reinforce division. In the book, however, there aren’t as many clear motives for why people are drawn to specific national narratives, why false and inflammatory versions get propagated, why outsiders always end up othered as a result, and why no one can find common ground. The novel just assumes that humans have the unalterable character flaw of being fundamentally vulnerable to brainwashing, which feels defeatist and unimaginative. It’s not the type of speculative fiction novel that needs worldbuilding, but without even hinting at explanations, the book is blind to the systems that perpetuate social divisions.
To be as politically insightful as this book thinks it is, it truthfully needed some sort of equivalent for talk radio, cable news, social media, and other platforms used for spreading information and misinformation. (There is arguably a social media equivalent, but it isn't used for algorithmically spreading content. It's just used to numb people to reality.) It also perhaps needed a slightly clearer sense of whether anyone benefits from misinformation or from the resulting fear of others. It's possible to address these issues without worldbuilding (like in I Cheerfully Refuse by Lief Enger). It would be fine to keep things vague, but what The Emergency is doing goes beyond vagueness. It not only fails to answer whether anything or anyone is behind these divisions, but also neglects to even make the question feel relevant. The result is a story that is likely to capture a lot of what Americans already feel about politics without articulating something useful, new, or profound about those feelings.
I still don’t want to turn fans of literary dystopia away. I think it’s important to read about these more skeptical approaches to change and chaos, and I legitimately enjoyed the challenge of figuring out what exactly about this book didn’t work for me. I also think The Emergency does shed its skepticism at times. It might not have faith in humanity as a whole, but individuals in the story do grow, learn, and change for the better. If you like character driven books that feel relevant to what’s happening in real life, this one might work for you, regardless of how you feel about the skepticism.
~Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the Digital ARC. All opinions are my own.~
At first, I saw similarities to Animal Farm and 1984. Those comparisons would normally be high praise, but the more I think about it, I realize The Emergency rubbed me the wrong way. When a book portrays a series of movements focused on making the world safer and fairer, I expect their attempts at building a utopia to not be laughably flawed, whereas Packer seems more interested in exposing how juvenile, narrow minded, undercooked, and lazily cobbled together their ideologies are. No utopia is easy to build or maintain, so I understand if a novel can’t be set in a cozy hopepunk anarchist cooperative or a fully automated luxury communist solarpunk society, but I wish efforts at reform and revolution in The Emergency had been taken seriously. While dystopian fiction should be bleak, the bleakness here comes without being earned. There are missed opportunities to say something inspiring as the narrative shies away from urgency, always retreating into platitudes about the value of dialogue. I don’t mean to minimize how important dialogue is, but I wanted The Emergency to be more ambitious. It has the trappings of ambition, but lacks the necessary vision.
There’s also something incurious about the book. Various interdependent interest groups are introduced as automatic enemies without ever interrogating why upbringing alone might cause them to be drawn to diametrically opposed worldviews. It relies heavily on mapping these groups onto real world counterparts. The thing is that the world of The Emergency is different from reality. The real world has power hungry demagogues, profit motives, and things like religious dogma to reinforce division. In the book, however, there aren’t as many clear motives for why people are drawn to specific national narratives, why false and inflammatory versions get propagated, why outsiders always end up othered as a result, and why no one can find common ground. The novel just assumes that humans have the unalterable character flaw of being fundamentally vulnerable to brainwashing, which feels defeatist and unimaginative. It’s not the type of speculative fiction novel that needs worldbuilding, but without even hinting at explanations, the book is blind to the systems that perpetuate social divisions.
To be as politically insightful as this book thinks it is, it truthfully needed some sort of equivalent for talk radio, cable news, social media, and other platforms used for spreading information and misinformation. (There is arguably a social media equivalent, but it isn't used for algorithmically spreading content. It's just used to numb people to reality.) It also perhaps needed a slightly clearer sense of whether anyone benefits from misinformation or from the resulting fear of others. It's possible to address these issues without worldbuilding (like in I Cheerfully Refuse by Lief Enger). It would be fine to keep things vague, but what The Emergency is doing goes beyond vagueness. It not only fails to answer whether anything or anyone is behind these divisions, but also neglects to even make the question feel relevant. The result is a story that is likely to capture a lot of what Americans already feel about politics without articulating something useful, new, or profound about those feelings.
I still don’t want to turn fans of literary dystopia away. I think it’s important to read about these more skeptical approaches to change and chaos, and I legitimately enjoyed the challenge of figuring out what exactly about this book didn’t work for me. I also think The Emergency does shed its skepticism at times. It might not have faith in humanity as a whole, but individuals in the story do grow, learn, and change for the better. If you like character driven books that feel relevant to what’s happening in real life, this one might work for you, regardless of how you feel about the skepticism.
~Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the Digital ARC. All opinions are my own.~
October 17, 2025
A compelling and creative spin on dystopian fiction, The Emergency is a prescient fable chronicling the collapse and reformation of a nameless city-state.
The novel works best in its opening section, depicting societal collapse through the eyes of one family within this contained “city by the river.” It is especially timely, with clear parallels to our present moment as characters grapple with conspiracy theories, backlash against wokeness, debates over immigration, cancel culture, and tribalism.
Once the protagonists venture into the countryside and encounter the more feral responses to the titular “Emergency,” the story grows unwieldy and less narratively satisfying, with shifting alliances and more thinly drawn characters. A bit more focus and less sprawl might have made these undercooked elements feel richer.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky
The novel works best in its opening section, depicting societal collapse through the eyes of one family within this contained “city by the river.” It is especially timely, with clear parallels to our present moment as characters grapple with conspiracy theories, backlash against wokeness, debates over immigration, cancel culture, and tribalism.
Once the protagonists venture into the countryside and encounter the more feral responses to the titular “Emergency,” the story grows unwieldy and less narratively satisfying, with shifting alliances and more thinly drawn characters. A bit more focus and less sprawl might have made these undercooked elements feel richer.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky
November 23, 2025
I have been reading a lot of apocalyptic fiction this year, so when I saw this title was appearing – and from George Packer, a writer whose work I have known for many years through his fine contributions in the New Yorker – I was excited to read it. I found, however, that his new novel was not very successful, nor an especially rewarding read.
Packer is seeking, or so I read the book, to create an allegory of the modern American condition. The imagined world of The Emergency is one of simplifications – a reduction to lowest terms. The physical world of the novel is simplified to city and countryside, with an unknown distant region serving as a boundary. Packer imposes a simplified socio-economic structure onto this essentialist geography, consisting of three basic social categories: Burghers (city), Yoeman (countryside) and Outsiders (refugees or poor immigrants, described as semi-nomadic plains people). This creates a controlled environment in the novel to allow Packer to explore what might transpire when a normative order, that is the generally agreed-upon rules that allow the dominant structure to retain its integrity and to cohere, dissolves.
The Emergency (itself an event never explained or really even described) precipitates the unravelling of the social equilibrium of the old order (the Empire), an implicit nod to the modern liberal-democratic state, which operates under the rubric of "Good Development." That good development, however, has been good for some, but not for others – most perhaps; when the Emergency arrives, dismantling the existing state order, the different groups resolve their social identity into starkly different forms that reflect their resistance to the old hegemony.
In the city, the traditional Burghers (aka the bourgeoisie) find themselves cast aside for a new youth-led social movement which rallies together under the banner of "Together" – spontaneous, decentralized and self-organised (recalling "Occupy Wall Street" perhaps), embracing an unapologetic, tradition-busting progressivism. In case we weren't quite following the allegorical undertones, we learn that the militants of "Together" are called the "wide-awake," whose job it is to patrol the city and "wake it up." Thus does the formerly prosperous urban-bourgeoisie, exemplified by the main character Rustin, fall victim to the untrammelled wokeness of their progeny, dissatisfied with the stultifying norms of the "Good Development" imperium.
In the country, we have the yeomanry, who, under the hegemony of the old order have been the producing class, living in rural underdevelopment, illiteracy, and semi-poverty. Untethered from the old system, the peasants, too, find themselves in sway to a new thinking advanced by their youth, who adduce the "lost," true philosophy of the land "Dirt Thought": "Words lye [sic], Dirt is true," is one of the saws of the movement.
The yeomanry of the country have longstanding grievances with the burghers of the city, and the novel itself is set in the context of ever rising tensions betweenDemocrats and Republicans, sorry Burghers and Yeomen, with the Strangers (the downtrodden immigrant) putting a stress on both – greeted with a quickly-exasperated goodwill by the former, and open hostility (as thieves and marauders) by the latter.
Packer exploits his allegorical set-up in various ways that offer a correspondence with the malaise of modern America. As one instance: misinformation. Information flows under the imperial system have broken down, the one (there's more simplification for you) newspaper ("Verity") has ceased publication. Previously, the country had "always the same as the news they had in the city." But now, if the Burgher "said a story was false," the Yoeman "would know it must be true— the wilder the story, the firmer his belief." There's also a nod to AI in the book, in the form of "Better Humans," robotic avatars who are perfect replicas of their original human, but with knobs and made up of copper wire. And so on.
It's all rather foursquare and inartful. The actual story, presumably meant to operate upon this allegorical setting to extract some insights into the quagmire of our modern society and its politics, was, for me, curiously inconsequential and underwhelming. In the end – no spoilers here – it is clear that Packer is not especially optimistic about our abilities to resolve the deep structural problems. It is, quite literally, a shitshow. And we're left with a not-especially subtle echo of the old Voltairean wisdom in the face of a world full of problems, il faut cultiver notre jardin. It's a tepid conclusion to an often listless story.
Packer is seeking, or so I read the book, to create an allegory of the modern American condition. The imagined world of The Emergency is one of simplifications – a reduction to lowest terms. The physical world of the novel is simplified to city and countryside, with an unknown distant region serving as a boundary. Packer imposes a simplified socio-economic structure onto this essentialist geography, consisting of three basic social categories: Burghers (city), Yoeman (countryside) and Outsiders (refugees or poor immigrants, described as semi-nomadic plains people). This creates a controlled environment in the novel to allow Packer to explore what might transpire when a normative order, that is the generally agreed-upon rules that allow the dominant structure to retain its integrity and to cohere, dissolves.
The Emergency (itself an event never explained or really even described) precipitates the unravelling of the social equilibrium of the old order (the Empire), an implicit nod to the modern liberal-democratic state, which operates under the rubric of "Good Development." That good development, however, has been good for some, but not for others – most perhaps; when the Emergency arrives, dismantling the existing state order, the different groups resolve their social identity into starkly different forms that reflect their resistance to the old hegemony.
In the city, the traditional Burghers (aka the bourgeoisie) find themselves cast aside for a new youth-led social movement which rallies together under the banner of "Together" – spontaneous, decentralized and self-organised (recalling "Occupy Wall Street" perhaps), embracing an unapologetic, tradition-busting progressivism. In case we weren't quite following the allegorical undertones, we learn that the militants of "Together" are called the "wide-awake," whose job it is to patrol the city and "wake it up." Thus does the formerly prosperous urban-bourgeoisie, exemplified by the main character Rustin, fall victim to the untrammelled wokeness of their progeny, dissatisfied with the stultifying norms of the "Good Development" imperium.
In the country, we have the yeomanry, who, under the hegemony of the old order have been the producing class, living in rural underdevelopment, illiteracy, and semi-poverty. Untethered from the old system, the peasants, too, find themselves in sway to a new thinking advanced by their youth, who adduce the "lost," true philosophy of the land "Dirt Thought": "Words lye [sic], Dirt is true," is one of the saws of the movement.
The yeomanry of the country have longstanding grievances with the burghers of the city, and the novel itself is set in the context of ever rising tensions between
Packer exploits his allegorical set-up in various ways that offer a correspondence with the malaise of modern America. As one instance: misinformation. Information flows under the imperial system have broken down, the one (there's more simplification for you) newspaper ("Verity") has ceased publication. Previously, the country had "always the same as the news they had in the city." But now, if the Burgher "said a story was false," the Yoeman "would know it must be true— the wilder the story, the firmer his belief." There's also a nod to AI in the book, in the form of "Better Humans," robotic avatars who are perfect replicas of their original human, but with knobs and made up of copper wire. And so on.
It's all rather foursquare and inartful. The actual story, presumably meant to operate upon this allegorical setting to extract some insights into the quagmire of our modern society and its politics, was, for me, curiously inconsequential and underwhelming. In the end – no spoilers here – it is clear that Packer is not especially optimistic about our abilities to resolve the deep structural problems. It is, quite literally, a shitshow. And we're left with a not-especially subtle echo of the old Voltairean wisdom in the face of a world full of problems, il faut cultiver notre jardin. It's a tepid conclusion to an often listless story.
July 26, 2025
The Emergency, as an event, was nothing short of a societal and systemic upheaval of cataclysmic proportions. Overnight, the enforcers of the Empire fled, leaving once-beholden individuals, spanning three different cultural groups - the Burghers of the city, the Yeoman in the farmland, and the nomadic and triangulated outliers called Strangers - immediately empowered to immediately redefine their present and future, shedding all that failed to serve them.
What was promised — communality in place of archaic hierarchies, group decision making instead of singular ruling, an uplifting of the young to shape the world they inherit — quickly descends into a fascist, fear-driven state with a new-but-same-as-the-old hierarchy of power, class and “The Other.”
There’s a throughline of how attempts at reinvention, of “doing things better” and “getting it right this time,” leads not to a revolution but to repeating the patterns, behaviors and failures of past empires.
I can’t say the book gave me faith in our ability (at scale, and in my lifetime) to join together and affect radical change that shifts the scales of power, eliminates fascism and oppression, and improves the lives of everyone on earth.
But it did affirm that we can be better at a community level (perhaps even beyond that!) - but only if we’re willing to relinquish our ties to the way things have always been, to our position in social and economic hierarchies, to the ways we “other” those with less privilege, and to the blind faith placed in those in power.
4.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher - Farrar, Straus and Giroux - and Netgalley for access to an advanced copy of this novel.
(As an aside, there were multiple moments in this book where I was reminded of The Other Valley - fans of that novel will certainly appreciate this one. I’m sure this novel will also resonate with Americans - well, half the country, at least.)
“Yes, that was it — to be better! It was what everyone in all times wanted, even if the wish lay buried for years under layers of quotidian debris. But the effort needed was immense, the human stuff so flawed — indifference, indolence, fear.”
What was promised — communality in place of archaic hierarchies, group decision making instead of singular ruling, an uplifting of the young to shape the world they inherit — quickly descends into a fascist, fear-driven state with a new-but-same-as-the-old hierarchy of power, class and “The Other.”
There’s a throughline of how attempts at reinvention, of “doing things better” and “getting it right this time,” leads not to a revolution but to repeating the patterns, behaviors and failures of past empires.
I can’t say the book gave me faith in our ability (at scale, and in my lifetime) to join together and affect radical change that shifts the scales of power, eliminates fascism and oppression, and improves the lives of everyone on earth.
But it did affirm that we can be better at a community level (perhaps even beyond that!) - but only if we’re willing to relinquish our ties to the way things have always been, to our position in social and economic hierarchies, to the ways we “other” those with less privilege, and to the blind faith placed in those in power.
4.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher - Farrar, Straus and Giroux - and Netgalley for access to an advanced copy of this novel.
(As an aside, there were multiple moments in this book where I was reminded of The Other Valley - fans of that novel will certainly appreciate this one. I’m sure this novel will also resonate with Americans - well, half the country, at least.)
January 25, 2026
What’s one antidote to living in our current dystopia? Reading about a fictional dystopia that may or may not be worse than ours. I read an excerpt from this one in a recent issue of the Atlantic and was immediately drawn in. I found myself truly caring about the protagonist who is a physician of conservative but empathic temperament trying to do the right thing but finding himself mostly overpowered by the forces of tribalism and emerging groupthink. He differs ideologically from his idealistic teenage daughter, but his love and openness to her is never in doubt. I devoured it in one weekend, and I hope you do too. Can’t wait for my daughters to read it, so we can discuss. This one ranks up there with the dystopias of George Orwell and Octavia Butler.
January 26, 2026
At the end of the day this was just not that good.
I appreciate people trying to write warnings of the times in which we live and I even recognize the power of the fable as a method. But this all got bogged down in too much plot. The fable: burghers and yeomen who live in some sort of land of the past are divided by space and class. Then an event occurs that changes all of that. The new world of Together and the way in which the youth rise up was interesting up to a point. But, again, way too long. And! If your plot depends on people wearing animal heads that seem to be taken from the actual animals then do not include the heron whose head is too small to pull onto a human head!
I appreciate people trying to write warnings of the times in which we live and I even recognize the power of the fable as a method. But this all got bogged down in too much plot. The fable: burghers and yeomen who live in some sort of land of the past are divided by space and class. Then an event occurs that changes all of that. The new world of Together and the way in which the youth rise up was interesting up to a point. But, again, way too long. And! If your plot depends on people wearing animal heads that seem to be taken from the actual animals then do not include the heron whose head is too small to pull onto a human head!
November 23, 2025
i really enjoyed this book as a portrayal of how fragile our grip on the world is. how everything we know to be true can be upended, how easy violence becomes when you dehumanize people, and what really matters in the end. there were some obvious flaws in only telling the story from one side and uncertainty about what exactly the novel was trying to be, but it was still an interesting portrait of people with beautiful writing.
November 14, 2025
Everything was fine—until it wasn’t.
What the book calls The Emergency seems to erupt out of nowhere. Three distinct classes of people, once coexisting and supporting one another—the Burghers with their hospitals and elite schooling, the Yeomen with their farms and working-class ethic, and the Strangers, roving outsiders on society’s margins—suddenly find themselves cut off, suspicious of each other’s intentions, and fueling the fires of fear about what each group might be plotting.
In the midst of this upheaval, young adults seize the disruption to dismantle the existing government and implement a new system they call Togetherness. At first, it sounds like an ideal utopia: a mindful, humanitarian society where no one person rules and everyone has a voice in shaping the rules. But the experiment quickly unravels, breeding further division between city folk and country folk, until everything collapses into one tumbling ball of chaos.
While I appreciated the ideas in theory, the execution often felt like a slog. The book could have been more thought-provoking and engaging at half the length, trimming away much of the extraneous detail.
More than once, I was tempted to DNF—it was hard to connect, and I struggled to care about the characters. Still, I’m glad I stuck with it, because the story does improve as it goes along.
This novel will resonate with fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Earth Abides, 1984, and Lark Ascending—stories where you either fall in line with the new regime or fall at its hands.
What the book calls The Emergency seems to erupt out of nowhere. Three distinct classes of people, once coexisting and supporting one another—the Burghers with their hospitals and elite schooling, the Yeomen with their farms and working-class ethic, and the Strangers, roving outsiders on society’s margins—suddenly find themselves cut off, suspicious of each other’s intentions, and fueling the fires of fear about what each group might be plotting.
In the midst of this upheaval, young adults seize the disruption to dismantle the existing government and implement a new system they call Togetherness. At first, it sounds like an ideal utopia: a mindful, humanitarian society where no one person rules and everyone has a voice in shaping the rules. But the experiment quickly unravels, breeding further division between city folk and country folk, until everything collapses into one tumbling ball of chaos.
While I appreciated the ideas in theory, the execution often felt like a slog. The book could have been more thought-provoking and engaging at half the length, trimming away much of the extraneous detail.
More than once, I was tempted to DNF—it was hard to connect, and I struggled to care about the characters. Still, I’m glad I stuck with it, because the story does improve as it goes along.
This novel will resonate with fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Earth Abides, 1984, and Lark Ascending—stories where you either fall in line with the new regime or fall at its hands.
February 13, 2026
I chose to read this novel based on George Packer’s non-fiction writing. I read and greatly enjoyed his Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal (2012). And he’s written numerous s articles for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and other periodicals.His books includeThe Assasin’s Gate: America in Iraq (2005), The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America (2013), winner of the National Book Award for Non-fiction, and Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century (2019). And, although we aren’t often reminded of this, he published several novels early in his career. But his novels drew nowhere near the amount of attention and acclaim that his later non-fiction pieces garnered.
This novel should redeem his reputation for fiction.
When I first began reading this book, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Per my usual practice, I didn’t look deeply into its background, and I relied primarily upon Packer’s non-fiction reputation and the general topic to justify my choice to read this particular book. (So many strong candidates, so little time.) And very soon after I began the book, I began to see an allegory of times past in familiar circumstances, although no such identifiers were included in the text. “This is Vienna after the First World War and the fall of the Habsburg Empire.” Or, a bit further into the narrative, I thought, “Maybe this is closer to Budapest, or Munich, or Berlin.” Further on, “perhaps this is Moscow immediately after the Bolshevik Revolution and the fall of the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty”. Later still, “perhaps this is China after the Cultural Revolution.” Of course, it finally dawned on me that this was based on all of the above and none of the above.
And early on, before I dropped my search for a particular template, I thought the story would prove an extended allegory, perhaps even a fable, although, to be clear, there are no talking animals, but . . .). But as I delved deeper into the story, I realized that thoughts of a “mere” allegory, let alone a fable, were not appropriate. It qualifies as a novel. And while the characters carry archetypal associations, they are rounded out sufficiently to give the story the depth and poignancy that merit not only the designation of a “novel,” but also rates as an outstanding novel.
The plot centers around a surgeon, his teenage daughter, his wife, his son, and their encounters with others in a rapidly changing world. The change in the world stems from the collapse of “the Empire” and the disorienting shifts in society and individual lives that this collapse entails. And in this world, the significant groups are “the burghers,” the educated and professional middle-classes; “excess Burghers,” the young who fail to advance in the meritocracy; “the yeoman,” (manual laborers and rural folks); and “strangers,” (migrants). As with the individuals—and there are many characters of note beyond the surgeon and his family—these groups are shaken and mixed in the new social and political realities. Without giving too much away, I can say that the surgeon, his daughter, and their relationship provide the most poignant and telling scenes in the novel.
Before closing, let me circle back briefly to my comments about allegory. As I hope I made clear, this is a novel of sufficient complexity and depth to avoid the label of an allegory, and certainly it’s beyond a fable. However, I would be remiss not to note that the characters and events revealed here are disturbingly relevant to our world today, the United States. (“Relevant?” Yes, I came of age in the 60s.) Our “empire” hasn’t fallen, and the barbarians aren’t at the gates—they’re inside. And lest you conclude that this is a novel of partisan polemic, let me state unequivocally that it is not. No groups described in the novel, nor any contemporary groups in our world, are exempt from Packer’s discerning eye. And by implication, to the extent you see Packer’s groups in our world, the discernment carries through as well. Packer exhibits a level of sophistication, largeness of mind, and sympathy that I admire most in contemporary writers. Partisan hacks come a dime a dozen. But what I want—what I believe we all need—are those who can take us into the worlds of others who are most unlike us and help us to understand them, perhaps even sympathize with them. And sometimes that other might be our own selves.
Highly recommended.
This novel should redeem his reputation for fiction.
When I first began reading this book, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Per my usual practice, I didn’t look deeply into its background, and I relied primarily upon Packer’s non-fiction reputation and the general topic to justify my choice to read this particular book. (So many strong candidates, so little time.) And very soon after I began the book, I began to see an allegory of times past in familiar circumstances, although no such identifiers were included in the text. “This is Vienna after the First World War and the fall of the Habsburg Empire.” Or, a bit further into the narrative, I thought, “Maybe this is closer to Budapest, or Munich, or Berlin.” Further on, “perhaps this is Moscow immediately after the Bolshevik Revolution and the fall of the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty”. Later still, “perhaps this is China after the Cultural Revolution.” Of course, it finally dawned on me that this was based on all of the above and none of the above.
And early on, before I dropped my search for a particular template, I thought the story would prove an extended allegory, perhaps even a fable, although, to be clear, there are no talking animals, but . . .). But as I delved deeper into the story, I realized that thoughts of a “mere” allegory, let alone a fable, were not appropriate. It qualifies as a novel. And while the characters carry archetypal associations, they are rounded out sufficiently to give the story the depth and poignancy that merit not only the designation of a “novel,” but also rates as an outstanding novel.
The plot centers around a surgeon, his teenage daughter, his wife, his son, and their encounters with others in a rapidly changing world. The change in the world stems from the collapse of “the Empire” and the disorienting shifts in society and individual lives that this collapse entails. And in this world, the significant groups are “the burghers,” the educated and professional middle-classes; “excess Burghers,” the young who fail to advance in the meritocracy; “the yeoman,” (manual laborers and rural folks); and “strangers,” (migrants). As with the individuals—and there are many characters of note beyond the surgeon and his family—these groups are shaken and mixed in the new social and political realities. Without giving too much away, I can say that the surgeon, his daughter, and their relationship provide the most poignant and telling scenes in the novel.
Before closing, let me circle back briefly to my comments about allegory. As I hope I made clear, this is a novel of sufficient complexity and depth to avoid the label of an allegory, and certainly it’s beyond a fable. However, I would be remiss not to note that the characters and events revealed here are disturbingly relevant to our world today, the United States. (“Relevant?” Yes, I came of age in the 60s.) Our “empire” hasn’t fallen, and the barbarians aren’t at the gates—they’re inside. And lest you conclude that this is a novel of partisan polemic, let me state unequivocally that it is not. No groups described in the novel, nor any contemporary groups in our world, are exempt from Packer’s discerning eye. And by implication, to the extent you see Packer’s groups in our world, the discernment carries through as well. Packer exhibits a level of sophistication, largeness of mind, and sympathy that I admire most in contemporary writers. Partisan hacks come a dime a dozen. But what I want—what I believe we all need—are those who can take us into the worlds of others who are most unlike us and help us to understand them, perhaps even sympathize with them. And sometimes that other might be our own selves.
Highly recommended.
Read
November 7, 2025Y’all I cannot give this the usual review treatment because this was not an Abigail book so it’s not even fair of me to say another word!! That’s never stopped me before though so here goes:
*ahem* I am the wrong audience for this book. The plot is SO INTRIGUING - a society collapses in what is eventually referred to as “The Emergency,” and what follows is the portrait of a society trying to move forward when previous rules, systems, and norms no longer apply. We follow a doctor and his family as they react and respond to the new world.
I said SIGN ME UP but maybe I shouldn’t have as I am simply not intelligent enough to appreciate a book such as this?! I do appreciate MacMillan Audio for providing the ALC in exchange for my honest review and do hope they accept my promise to stay in my lane next time. I also do believe this book might be good (the narration was!), it was just beyond me. This one is out Nov 11 if anyone wants to read it then explain it to me like I’m five!
Anyone else read a book they were just reeeeally the wrong audience for recently? I’ll respond after my reread of something more my speed - perhaps Goodnight Moon? 🤭
#MacAudio2025
*ahem* I am the wrong audience for this book. The plot is SO INTRIGUING - a society collapses in what is eventually referred to as “The Emergency,” and what follows is the portrait of a society trying to move forward when previous rules, systems, and norms no longer apply. We follow a doctor and his family as they react and respond to the new world.
I said SIGN ME UP but maybe I shouldn’t have as I am simply not intelligent enough to appreciate a book such as this?! I do appreciate MacMillan Audio for providing the ALC in exchange for my honest review and do hope they accept my promise to stay in my lane next time. I also do believe this book might be good (the narration was!), it was just beyond me. This one is out Nov 11 if anyone wants to read it then explain it to me like I’m five!
Anyone else read a book they were just reeeeally the wrong audience for recently? I’ll respond after my reread of something more my speed - perhaps Goodnight Moon? 🤭
#MacAudio2025
June 8, 2025
2.75 ⭐️ The Emergency drastically changed the Empire and the lives of Burghers and Yeomen. From now on, the young are in power and they introduced a new order that follows the principles of Together: “Everyone belongs”, “Listen to the young”, “I am no better and neither are you”, and “You shall be as gods”.
We mainly follow the surgeon Hugo Rustin who disapproves of this new order, even though his wife and children are advocates of Together. Especially his daughter Selva seeks comfort and a community in Together. Hugo’s relationship with Selva becomes more complicated. When the two go on a journey, they get a chance apart from any outside influence to reconnect.
The author’s writing style is great and I liked the concept of a fallen Empire and two rebellious groups that take over the city and countryside.
However, I had a hard time getting through this book. I wish the conflict between Burghers and Yeomen had been explained in more detail. Even after finishing this book, I didn’t have the feeling that I understood these two groups—but maybe that was the point?
In addition to that, the new principles of Together didn’t have a shocking effect on me as I usually expect from other dystopian novels when a new order is introduced.
Overall, the story just didn’t hook me, and the main character felt a little flat.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC!
We mainly follow the surgeon Hugo Rustin who disapproves of this new order, even though his wife and children are advocates of Together. Especially his daughter Selva seeks comfort and a community in Together. Hugo’s relationship with Selva becomes more complicated. When the two go on a journey, they get a chance apart from any outside influence to reconnect.
The author’s writing style is great and I liked the concept of a fallen Empire and two rebellious groups that take over the city and countryside.
However, I had a hard time getting through this book. I wish the conflict between Burghers and Yeomen had been explained in more detail. Even after finishing this book, I didn’t have the feeling that I understood these two groups—but maybe that was the point?
In addition to that, the new principles of Together didn’t have a shocking effect on me as I usually expect from other dystopian novels when a new order is introduced.
Overall, the story just didn’t hook me, and the main character felt a little flat.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC!
June 13, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for letting me review an uncorrected digital copy of this book.
Wow I loved it! I don't want to do any spoilers, but the world building was fantastic, the character building as well. It was beautiful and horrifying, but never grotesque. That's difficult to do with this genre. I found myself stopping and really thinking about what was going on many times. It's that kind of book.
If you liked The Dog Stars, Oryx and Crake, The Parable of the Sower...I think this will be up your alley.
Wow I loved it! I don't want to do any spoilers, but the world building was fantastic, the character building as well. It was beautiful and horrifying, but never grotesque. That's difficult to do with this genre. I found myself stopping and really thinking about what was going on many times. It's that kind of book.
If you liked The Dog Stars, Oryx and Crake, The Parable of the Sower...I think this will be up your alley.
January 14, 2026
First book of 2026! This review will be finished after book club meeting 1/27.
I think I take some value in what Packer tries to deliver here as far as allegory to modern politics, but I’m not sure I can justify the way he plotted this story out. There seemed to be a lot going on and he really seems to wrap up multiple ideas over one roof, which feels lazy. The ending seems fitting, but he sets things up just to not really make them matter later, specifically his wife. It’s like he tried to write her to be complex and she still ended up as this caregiver archetype which is soooooooooooo blaahhhhhh.
I thought Rustin was insufferable until about the last five pages of the book, I think the dog was the only character I didn’t have beef with how they acted or how they were depicted by Packer.
Also this was really setting itself up as something interesting to me in the first part, then kinda took this whole other direction and threw the point I thought he was trying to make to the side.
Finally, there was something lacking in the commentary itself. It kinda seemed like Rustin was gonna have a cool arc and go one way, but this diluted story kinda ends up at “we’re all humans and we should help each other!!!” and while that is what we should do I think the story and the author are thinking they’re doing more than they actually are.
Stylistically nothing stood out about his writing to me either. Even his attempts at being profound feel ill timed and fall flat because the world he created doesn’t feel fitting for it.
Anyways, there’s better stuff out there. Read Ursula Le Guin instead. MUCH more bang for your buck.
I think I take some value in what Packer tries to deliver here as far as allegory to modern politics, but I’m not sure I can justify the way he plotted this story out. There seemed to be a lot going on and he really seems to wrap up multiple ideas over one roof, which feels lazy. The ending seems fitting, but he sets things up just to not really make them matter later, specifically his wife. It’s like he tried to write her to be complex and she still ended up as this caregiver archetype which is soooooooooooo blaahhhhhh.
I thought Rustin was insufferable until about the last five pages of the book, I think the dog was the only character I didn’t have beef with how they acted or how they were depicted by Packer.
Also this was really setting itself up as something interesting to me in the first part, then kinda took this whole other direction and threw the point I thought he was trying to make to the side.
Finally, there was something lacking in the commentary itself. It kinda seemed like Rustin was gonna have a cool arc and go one way, but this diluted story kinda ends up at “we’re all humans and we should help each other!!!” and while that is what we should do I think the story and the author are thinking they’re doing more than they actually are.
Stylistically nothing stood out about his writing to me either. Even his attempts at being profound feel ill timed and fall flat because the world he created doesn’t feel fitting for it.
Anyways, there’s better stuff out there. Read Ursula Le Guin instead. MUCH more bang for your buck.
December 18, 2025
Despite some excellent scenes (Rustin’s work interrogation, the teen gallows), something doesn’t work. Part of it is that the main character is participating a dystopia from an elite’s perspective— he’s very white collar, indifferent, and naive. He loses his job, but there isn’t any material loss. The yeoman and burghers are also completely bipolar and seem like a coastal liberal’s stilly stand-in’s for urban and rural America. Here totally homogenous but there is no caste protocols which doesn’t add up. Then there is the dystopian plot which isn’t that terrifying.
I wouldn’t call this book prescient and fill a little annoyed by how much I expected from the novel after reading an excerpt in the Atlantic. Packer sort of seems inspired by real social disruptions like the French Revolution or collapse of the USSR, which isn’t a compliment because it’s like neoliberalism and globalization and the internet never happened. Does anyone seriously think that the collapse of American institutions wouldn’t be filled by some power? Would the DSA and proud boys really be the ones to take over? That’s what The Emergency suggests.
I wouldn’t call this book prescient and fill a little annoyed by how much I expected from the novel after reading an excerpt in the Atlantic. Packer sort of seems inspired by real social disruptions like the French Revolution or collapse of the USSR, which isn’t a compliment because it’s like neoliberalism and globalization and the internet never happened. Does anyone seriously think that the collapse of American institutions wouldn’t be filled by some power? Would the DSA and proud boys really be the ones to take over? That’s what The Emergency suggests.
December 16, 2025
I like George Packer’s long form pieces for The Atlantic, which are generally sociological analyses of the state of America, which as we know ain’t great. This book is more like a fable about a governmental collapse in a “city by the river” in an unspecified time and place. (They have cars but not cell phones, the narrator of the audiobook has a British accent. These clues don’t mean much.) The novel follows the story of a doctor in the post-fall period and the interactions of the three different tribes. It’s easy to see the allegorical comparisons to factions of America and to imagine how society might reorganize after such a collapse. Considering it’s both commentary and fiction, I thought it was pretty good on both levels.
February 13, 2026
It's cohesion turned out to consist of nothing more than names of streets, rooms in a museum, good manners, thoughtless habits- nothing as strong and deep as common feeling, or truth. As if all along there had been something shoddily made, flimsy and fake, about a whole way of life.
April 15, 2025
Thank you to Net Galley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for letting me read this advance copy!
Reading any dystopia and being truly swept away in 2025 is difficult: current affairs have been too influential on our perception of reality. This novel feels dangerously of the moment, and therefore quickly dated, at the start: it seems clear that this world is an echo of current fears of fascism in America and the not yet vanished language of the pandemic. Throughout, there is an Orwellian distrust of group-think and a focus on how tradition, hierarchy, and individualism are necessary parts of a functional society.
The protagonist, a self-professed ‘humanist’ and firmly established member of the ‘elite’ or ‘bourgeoisie’ depending on your preferred period of social upheaval, is unwilling to accept the new social order that has taken over his society:
"'This is unprecedented,' he kept repeating, as if the insight might solve their problem."
His daughter, on the other end of the spectrum, embraces the new order with some naivety, but also desperation. It becomes clear as the novel progresses that she is actually extremely intelligent, but is being wilfully naive as she is searching for some form of meaning or hope that she can be part of to create a world that is better and more just than her father’s. She is searching for moral meaning in the future; he found his purpose in the past and is deeply hurt by her rejection of his identity. As a depiction of generational conflict, their relationship is believable and sweet — both have the power to hurt each other, and do, but are also trying to communicate across the divide.
The plot is very readable; Packer has not forgotten to entertain. The allegorical, storyteller’s tone is reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin — science fiction by the way of reality. At the start, it is so close to reality, it threatens to push the reader out of enjoying the imaginary world, although the plot swiftly picks up pace and draws us into the unique conflicts of this universe.
The conflicts in 'The Emergency' (generational divide, societal malaise, virtue signalling, refugees, class and immigration, xenophobia, the control of social media over the young, the cruelty of meritocracy, the danger of mob rule) are ripped from our headlines, and therefore it would be easy for us to draw parallels between our own beliefs and the events of the novel, casting moral judgements on the author’s choices.
However, this also feels like a fruitless exercise. As one example, the Yeoman, who repeatedly refer to themselves as ‘native’ and are legitimately a colonised people with an uneasy relationship with the ‘City’, are shown to be practical and stereotypically connected to nature. However, their young people also appear to be mini-fascists, or violent thugs, corrupting old myths to suit their own ends. This is not dissimilar to their peers in the city, who are also discovering violence, albeit in a different way. A colonialist reading would be easy — Packer refers to the old regime as an empire to make it even easier — but it is also more complex and human than that. It’s about lack of communication, and fear, and how divide is easily sown between people. Perhaps it is also about how the young can be both dangerous and innocent because of their naivety and desire to make a mark on the world.
Packer deftly weaves together different themes of upheaval and identity, but avoids taking a side. Ultimately, this novel is about what it means to be human in a time of generational change. Meaning, in ‘The Emergency’, is found through making connections and trying to communicate even if you don’t understand: this is what all the characters we are rooting for try to do in their own way, to make the world better.
Reading any dystopia and being truly swept away in 2025 is difficult: current affairs have been too influential on our perception of reality. This novel feels dangerously of the moment, and therefore quickly dated, at the start: it seems clear that this world is an echo of current fears of fascism in America and the not yet vanished language of the pandemic. Throughout, there is an Orwellian distrust of group-think and a focus on how tradition, hierarchy, and individualism are necessary parts of a functional society.
The protagonist, a self-professed ‘humanist’ and firmly established member of the ‘elite’ or ‘bourgeoisie’ depending on your preferred period of social upheaval, is unwilling to accept the new social order that has taken over his society:
"'This is unprecedented,' he kept repeating, as if the insight might solve their problem."
His daughter, on the other end of the spectrum, embraces the new order with some naivety, but also desperation. It becomes clear as the novel progresses that she is actually extremely intelligent, but is being wilfully naive as she is searching for some form of meaning or hope that she can be part of to create a world that is better and more just than her father’s. She is searching for moral meaning in the future; he found his purpose in the past and is deeply hurt by her rejection of his identity. As a depiction of generational conflict, their relationship is believable and sweet — both have the power to hurt each other, and do, but are also trying to communicate across the divide.
The plot is very readable; Packer has not forgotten to entertain. The allegorical, storyteller’s tone is reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin — science fiction by the way of reality. At the start, it is so close to reality, it threatens to push the reader out of enjoying the imaginary world, although the plot swiftly picks up pace and draws us into the unique conflicts of this universe.
The conflicts in 'The Emergency' (generational divide, societal malaise, virtue signalling, refugees, class and immigration, xenophobia, the control of social media over the young, the cruelty of meritocracy, the danger of mob rule) are ripped from our headlines, and therefore it would be easy for us to draw parallels between our own beliefs and the events of the novel, casting moral judgements on the author’s choices.
However, this also feels like a fruitless exercise. As one example, the Yeoman, who repeatedly refer to themselves as ‘native’ and are legitimately a colonised people with an uneasy relationship with the ‘City’, are shown to be practical and stereotypically connected to nature. However, their young people also appear to be mini-fascists, or violent thugs, corrupting old myths to suit their own ends. This is not dissimilar to their peers in the city, who are also discovering violence, albeit in a different way. A colonialist reading would be easy — Packer refers to the old regime as an empire to make it even easier — but it is also more complex and human than that. It’s about lack of communication, and fear, and how divide is easily sown between people. Perhaps it is also about how the young can be both dangerous and innocent because of their naivety and desire to make a mark on the world.
Packer deftly weaves together different themes of upheaval and identity, but avoids taking a side. Ultimately, this novel is about what it means to be human in a time of generational change. Meaning, in ‘The Emergency’, is found through making connections and trying to communicate even if you don’t understand: this is what all the characters we are rooting for try to do in their own way, to make the world better.
July 28, 2025
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*.
The Emergency follows an Empire that has collapsed. This leads to an Emergency and urban Burghers and rural Yeomen are on opposite sides with different ideologies. The novel follows Doctor Hugo Rustin who is chief surgeon at the Imperial College Hospital and is struggling to connect with society after the Emergency. His wife, Annabelle finds fulfilment in the community and Together. Their daughter, Selva has turned against her father’s values and is pulling away from him. Rustin decides to go on a humanitarian mission with his daughter Selva just as the conflict between the Burghers and Yeomen is reaching a crisis.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 after reading Packer’s nonfiction work, Last Best Hope and this lived up to all my expectations. This novel reminded me of George Orwell and I think this perfectly reflects what Packer has discussed in his nonfiction. This is such a unique novel and I honestly don’t think I’ve read anything like this before. Learning about the society in this was so interesting and I particularly liked the Yeomen. I think there is a lot to take away from this regarding politics, society and ideology. I don’t think this will be for everyone but I do think everyone should read it because it’s truly fantastic and definitely one of my favourite reads of the year. This is a book that sticks with you and I have not stopped thinking about it since I read it. The writing is so good. I loved this so much and I had such a great reading experience.
Favourite quote (subject to change upon publication) - “But the thought of her husband coming home gave her an image of him at the dinner table, in his weekend flannel shirt (was there ever a greater creature of habit?), after a "project day" of weeding the garden or repairing closet drawers. He would go around the table and have each of them in turn-first Pan, then Selva, then Annabelle-report highlights from their week, unaware that his face was glowing, not at anything they said but at the pleasure of their company. This image was utterly ordinary, and therefore sacred. It didn't matter to anyone else. Compared to the future of the city it was trivial. The four of them were trivial. One by one they would all disappear, while Together would continue indefinitely.”
The Emergency follows an Empire that has collapsed. This leads to an Emergency and urban Burghers and rural Yeomen are on opposite sides with different ideologies. The novel follows Doctor Hugo Rustin who is chief surgeon at the Imperial College Hospital and is struggling to connect with society after the Emergency. His wife, Annabelle finds fulfilment in the community and Together. Their daughter, Selva has turned against her father’s values and is pulling away from him. Rustin decides to go on a humanitarian mission with his daughter Selva just as the conflict between the Burghers and Yeomen is reaching a crisis.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 after reading Packer’s nonfiction work, Last Best Hope and this lived up to all my expectations. This novel reminded me of George Orwell and I think this perfectly reflects what Packer has discussed in his nonfiction. This is such a unique novel and I honestly don’t think I’ve read anything like this before. Learning about the society in this was so interesting and I particularly liked the Yeomen. I think there is a lot to take away from this regarding politics, society and ideology. I don’t think this will be for everyone but I do think everyone should read it because it’s truly fantastic and definitely one of my favourite reads of the year. This is a book that sticks with you and I have not stopped thinking about it since I read it. The writing is so good. I loved this so much and I had such a great reading experience.
Favourite quote (subject to change upon publication) - “But the thought of her husband coming home gave her an image of him at the dinner table, in his weekend flannel shirt (was there ever a greater creature of habit?), after a "project day" of weeding the garden or repairing closet drawers. He would go around the table and have each of them in turn-first Pan, then Selva, then Annabelle-report highlights from their week, unaware that his face was glowing, not at anything they said but at the pleasure of their company. This image was utterly ordinary, and therefore sacred. It didn't matter to anyone else. Compared to the future of the city it was trivial. The four of them were trivial. One by one they would all disappear, while Together would continue indefinitely.”
January 7, 2026
A thought provoking social commentary of our times - eerily accurate
October 17, 2025
(ARC via NetGalley and the publisher.)
All art is political, but is it necessarily relevant?
Observing the reception of Pynchon's Shadow Ticket has been bemusing. Reviews ask, Why doesn't it tell us (whoever "us" is, but apparently liberal US citizens) what to do, how to make sense of and move through the second Trump term? Or perhaps it does provide insights, and thus prove its value?
These are all weird questions to ask of a book. As Lyta Gold writes in the introduction to Dangerous Fictions: "So much went wrong when it was decided that everything had to pay its way". This is nowhere more true than in art, particularly literature.
I don't know if Shadow Ticket does, or does not, have something "of value" to offer the reader with reference to current events. Pynchon has never struck me as an author too concerned with that kind of immediate relevancy.
By contrast, George Packer, in The Emergency, has A LOT to say about the present moment. To do so, he presents what is, on the surface, an extremely-abstracted and -simplified allegory.
There's an Empire that has fallen, a city by the river, and different populations of people moving through the city and its outlying territories. These various populations are called Burghers, Yeomen, and Strangers: that is, urbanites, countryfolk, and refugees. In the wake of the Empire's fall, the Emergency takes hold, and with it, remarkable social changes. In the city, young people and those without status enact Together, which might be best described as a naive horizontalism. Meanwhile, out in the country, young men are developing a sickening, bestial ideology out of misunderstood trash.
Both sets of young people further seek to abandon what being human is (or might mean, or something). In the city, they allow robot versions of themselves, called Better Humans, to be built based in part by probing psychological-market research, while in the country, young men don animal heads and train for brutal physical engagement. (They call themselves, and I am very sorry to have to type this out, "Manimals".)
The range of possibilities for how rebellion and building a new world can happen is disappointingly, if unsurprisingly, narrow. The city's experiment with Together slides into Red-Guards-like paranoid militarism, called Wide Awake, while the Burgers' bestial rule is terrifying from the get-go. (The implication that our world's "woke" is this world's violent sousveillance project is, to put it mildly, deeply disturbing.) That the only way society can change is towards overt violence feels like a failure of Packer's liberal imagination. One could be generous and say that it is a failure instead of the protagonist's liberal imagination. Either way, the lack of any viable alternative is pretty depressing. Not, that is, in terms of proposed social policy (though there is that), but in terms of imaginative, narrative ambition.
The book is set somewhere that could be anywhere in the developed world, in that there are trams and automobiles. The setting in time is even vaguer. Women wear hats in public, but there is no mention of any kind of contemporary mass communication: no radio, no phones, certainly not any TV or internet. There are, however, extremely powerful VR goggles and, later, robots whose technology is highly retro-futuristic, like wax cylinders and coils of copper wires.
I struggle with evaluating the choices in made in this book. The biggest flaws, I think, are the limited range of possibilities for change and the absence of mass communication. Any story remotely interested in mass social change, whether set in the speculative present or, really, any time in the 20th century, needs to wrestle with the influence of mass comm, whether newspapers or radio and TV or the internet. Omitting all such platforms from the world of The Emergency certainly makes an easier story to tell, but also a less insightful one.
I usually bounce off modern allegories, but Packer does a lot of interesting character work that complicates the apparent/surface simplicity. There is real craft in the way details are elaborated and reexamined and it is the book's greatest strength to be willing to deepen the allegorical simplicity. The superficiality of the groups' labels is somewhat developed over the course of the novel into a critique of social classification (and our emotional investment in/identification with it).
On the other hand, I wonder if the whole book was trying too much, too consciously, to be relevant. Packer certainly loves his four-part social schemata; his most recent non-fiction book, Last Best Hope, is structured according to Four Americas which are competing narratives of the past and visions of the future.
In the end, I think, despite moments of insight and striking visual imagery, the allegory structuring this book cannot hold up and, unfortunately, the result is fairly incoherent, if not fairly pat.
All art is political, but is it necessarily relevant?
Observing the reception of Pynchon's Shadow Ticket has been bemusing. Reviews ask, Why doesn't it tell us (whoever "us" is, but apparently liberal US citizens) what to do, how to make sense of and move through the second Trump term? Or perhaps it does provide insights, and thus prove its value?
These are all weird questions to ask of a book. As Lyta Gold writes in the introduction to Dangerous Fictions: "So much went wrong when it was decided that everything had to pay its way". This is nowhere more true than in art, particularly literature.
I don't know if Shadow Ticket does, or does not, have something "of value" to offer the reader with reference to current events. Pynchon has never struck me as an author too concerned with that kind of immediate relevancy.
By contrast, George Packer, in The Emergency, has A LOT to say about the present moment. To do so, he presents what is, on the surface, an extremely-abstracted and -simplified allegory.
There's an Empire that has fallen, a city by the river, and different populations of people moving through the city and its outlying territories. These various populations are called Burghers, Yeomen, and Strangers: that is, urbanites, countryfolk, and refugees. In the wake of the Empire's fall, the Emergency takes hold, and with it, remarkable social changes. In the city, young people and those without status enact Together, which might be best described as a naive horizontalism. Meanwhile, out in the country, young men are developing a sickening, bestial ideology out of misunderstood trash.
Both sets of young people further seek to abandon what being human is (or might mean, or something). In the city, they allow robot versions of themselves, called Better Humans, to be built based in part by probing psychological-market research, while in the country, young men don animal heads and train for brutal physical engagement. (They call themselves, and I am very sorry to have to type this out, "Manimals".)
The range of possibilities for how rebellion and building a new world can happen is disappointingly, if unsurprisingly, narrow. The city's experiment with Together slides into Red-Guards-like paranoid militarism, called Wide Awake, while the Burgers' bestial rule is terrifying from the get-go. (The implication that our world's "woke" is this world's violent sousveillance project is, to put it mildly, deeply disturbing.) That the only way society can change is towards overt violence feels like a failure of Packer's liberal imagination. One could be generous and say that it is a failure instead of the protagonist's liberal imagination. Either way, the lack of any viable alternative is pretty depressing. Not, that is, in terms of proposed social policy (though there is that), but in terms of imaginative, narrative ambition.
The book is set somewhere that could be anywhere in the developed world, in that there are trams and automobiles. The setting in time is even vaguer. Women wear hats in public, but there is no mention of any kind of contemporary mass communication: no radio, no phones, certainly not any TV or internet. There are, however, extremely powerful VR goggles and, later, robots whose technology is highly retro-futuristic, like wax cylinders and coils of copper wires.
I struggle with evaluating the choices in made in this book. The biggest flaws, I think, are the limited range of possibilities for change and the absence of mass communication. Any story remotely interested in mass social change, whether set in the speculative present or, really, any time in the 20th century, needs to wrestle with the influence of mass comm, whether newspapers or radio and TV or the internet. Omitting all such platforms from the world of The Emergency certainly makes an easier story to tell, but also a less insightful one.
I usually bounce off modern allegories, but Packer does a lot of interesting character work that complicates the apparent/surface simplicity. There is real craft in the way details are elaborated and reexamined and it is the book's greatest strength to be willing to deepen the allegorical simplicity. The superficiality of the groups' labels is somewhat developed over the course of the novel into a critique of social classification (and our emotional investment in/identification with it).
On the other hand, I wonder if the whole book was trying too much, too consciously, to be relevant. Packer certainly loves his four-part social schemata; his most recent non-fiction book, Last Best Hope, is structured according to Four Americas which are competing narratives of the past and visions of the future.
In the end, I think, despite moments of insight and striking visual imagery, the allegory structuring this book cannot hold up and, unfortunately, the result is fairly incoherent, if not fairly pat.
February 4, 2026
George Packer is one of my favorite political writers, primarily owing to his ability to incisively critique both the right and left of American politics while also pointing out the futility of having any political opinion at all.
Knowing that essayists typically make poor novelists, I had low hopes for this book. I found its quality exceeded expectations, but only slightly. Curiously, it was the novelistic elements of the book that were quite strong, where I felt some of the allegorical elements failed to land.
The Emergency is set in a dystopian city-state where the Burghers (Democrats) and Yeomen (Republicans) have become so polarized over time that they have effectively self-segregated to the point of borderline evolutionary speciation. The main characters are a caricatured family of Burghers: a cosmopolitan, successful, harried doctor, his stay-at-home wife, their model child daughter, and their neglected son. When the Burghers decide to close off their city for the cause of "Together" (wokeness) the titular "Emergency" begins.
This is, of course, an allegory for the Trump era, and there is seemingly not a political issue in here that Packer does not touch. Packer is a notable Orwellian, but he lacks the restraint of his idol. He takes aim at social media, artificial intelligence, immigration, healthcare, political polarization, fake news, cultism, etc. It is a little too much, and ends up being unbalanced. Packer starts the book with a gleeful and hilarious sequence of diatribes against the far left. This leaves one waiting for what he'll say about the right, because Packer despises them as much as anyone. But when we see them, it is as a sad bunch of disorganized, cultist teenage furries led by a fifth-rate analogue of Mao Zedong.
It is precisely this discussion of generations and politics where the book both excels and struggles. Packer's insight into the struggles and lethargy of older generations in adapting to modern, digital politics is exacting and effective. The storyline about Selva, raised to be a model child, but eventually facing pressures and temptations that are impossible to overcome, is a narrative about young women in America that is not told enough in the news. But his take on the oft-discussed story of young men falling into misinformation, extremism, and unemployment completely falls flat. For a political writer of his caliber, I would have expected better.
This is a fun read that I would recommend to all who like Packer's sort of political writing, but like a middling comedy show, be prepared for some things to work, and some things to flop.
Knowing that essayists typically make poor novelists, I had low hopes for this book. I found its quality exceeded expectations, but only slightly. Curiously, it was the novelistic elements of the book that were quite strong, where I felt some of the allegorical elements failed to land.
The Emergency is set in a dystopian city-state where the Burghers (Democrats) and Yeomen (Republicans) have become so polarized over time that they have effectively self-segregated to the point of borderline evolutionary speciation. The main characters are a caricatured family of Burghers: a cosmopolitan, successful, harried doctor, his stay-at-home wife, their model child daughter, and their neglected son. When the Burghers decide to close off their city for the cause of "Together" (wokeness) the titular "Emergency" begins.
This is, of course, an allegory for the Trump era, and there is seemingly not a political issue in here that Packer does not touch. Packer is a notable Orwellian, but he lacks the restraint of his idol. He takes aim at social media, artificial intelligence, immigration, healthcare, political polarization, fake news, cultism, etc. It is a little too much, and ends up being unbalanced. Packer starts the book with a gleeful and hilarious sequence of diatribes against the far left. This leaves one waiting for what he'll say about the right, because Packer despises them as much as anyone. But when we see them, it is as a sad bunch of disorganized, cultist teenage furries led by a fifth-rate analogue of Mao Zedong.
It is precisely this discussion of generations and politics where the book both excels and struggles. Packer's insight into the struggles and lethargy of older generations in adapting to modern, digital politics is exacting and effective. The storyline about Selva, raised to be a model child, but eventually facing pressures and temptations that are impossible to overcome, is a narrative about young women in America that is not told enough in the news. But his take on the oft-discussed story of young men falling into misinformation, extremism, and unemployment completely falls flat. For a political writer of his caliber, I would have expected better.
This is a fun read that I would recommend to all who like Packer's sort of political writing, but like a middling comedy show, be prepared for some things to work, and some things to flop.
November 9, 2025
Empires fall slowly, and then suddently. The city state that is depicted in this dystopian novel makes no exception.
A well-oiled society with deep-running issues, large scale organized exams and "excess" citizens has reached the point of no return when a critical percentage of the population wants to burn the old ways to the ground.
A chief surgeon, leading a comfortable life with his wife and two children, ends up swiped by the events. As the old ways are thrown away during the "emergency", another name for a revolution, he tries to find his place in a changing world.
The former losers are becoming leaders, the former interns are becoming directors. George Packer explores skillfully the reshuffling of responsibilities that happens during a revolution. The former figures of authority, who were associated the establishment, are destituted... It leaves a void that has to be filled. Ambitious young people can rise and reinvent new ways of leading. Drunk on utopia, the partisans of the revolution try to find ways of becoming better humans. In the meantime, the ennemies of the city go through their own revolution - one that looks like the rise of fascism. Both systems cannot coexist peacefully.
Nobody is better than the other! The relents of Jante Law, with another name, are the cry of the revolution that agitates the citizens of the Empire. I am quite the supporter of Jante Law actually (as typical in Scandinavia). It was interesting to see the worst fears of the people who dislike this type of society depicted in the novel.
I had trouble going through the Part 1 of The Emergency but really enjoyed it from Part 2 onwards. On top of the revolution, there is an interesting exploration of the relationships between parent and teenage child in this novel. A father and his daughter try to repair their relationship through unprecendented events - and how can you guide your child through the transition to adulthood when the world you knew is collapsing?
Young people may want to burn the old ways to the ground, like the daughter in The Emergency. But what happens when the time comes to breathe through the ashes?
Thank you NetGalley, George Packer and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
I enjoyed reading through this Orwell-meets-Frankenstein novel. Part 1 was weaker in my opinion, and I had to push through - otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.
A well-oiled society with deep-running issues, large scale organized exams and "excess" citizens has reached the point of no return when a critical percentage of the population wants to burn the old ways to the ground.
A chief surgeon, leading a comfortable life with his wife and two children, ends up swiped by the events. As the old ways are thrown away during the "emergency", another name for a revolution, he tries to find his place in a changing world.
The former losers are becoming leaders, the former interns are becoming directors. George Packer explores skillfully the reshuffling of responsibilities that happens during a revolution. The former figures of authority, who were associated the establishment, are destituted... It leaves a void that has to be filled. Ambitious young people can rise and reinvent new ways of leading. Drunk on utopia, the partisans of the revolution try to find ways of becoming better humans. In the meantime, the ennemies of the city go through their own revolution - one that looks like the rise of fascism. Both systems cannot coexist peacefully.
Nobody is better than the other! The relents of Jante Law, with another name, are the cry of the revolution that agitates the citizens of the Empire. I am quite the supporter of Jante Law actually (as typical in Scandinavia). It was interesting to see the worst fears of the people who dislike this type of society depicted in the novel.
I had trouble going through the Part 1 of The Emergency but really enjoyed it from Part 2 onwards. On top of the revolution, there is an interesting exploration of the relationships between parent and teenage child in this novel. A father and his daughter try to repair their relationship through unprecendented events - and how can you guide your child through the transition to adulthood when the world you knew is collapsing?
Young people may want to burn the old ways to the ground, like the daughter in The Emergency. But what happens when the time comes to breathe through the ashes?
Thank you NetGalley, George Packer and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
I enjoyed reading through this Orwell-meets-Frankenstein novel. Part 1 was weaker in my opinion, and I had to push through - otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.
January 1, 2026
Correspondences with the current political scene – the claim, for instance, that an opposing faction eats dogs – make particularly timely George Packer’s dystopian parable, “The Emergency,” in which an old, traditional order has fallen to a new, supposedly more humane order whose governing sentiments are “Togetherness” and the belief that no one is better than anyone else.
In the way of all such would-be Utopias, though, the reality is some distance from the ideal, both externally, where the world is divided into two antagonistic camps, one inside a “city by the river” where professionalism is celebrated, and the other outside the city, where more artisanal pursuits are the reality; and internally, where the supposed egalitarian sentiments have made for a climate where deviation from governing orthodoxy isn’t abided and where “nothing was private anymore.”
Still, not a totally bad situation for the novel’s protagonist, Dr. Rustin, as the book opens, even with the “petty new irritations” the new order makes for him, until, in a stark wake-up call for him of just how intolerant the guiding sentiments have become, he ends up being temporarily relieved of his duties at his hospital for having been insufficiently considerate toward a nurse for having shown what he regards as unprofessional behavior during an operation.
Still not the end of the world for him, his dismissal, with the opportunity it affords him, along with his daughter, Selva, to check on the condition of a boy outside the city limits whose father, a refugee from the outside, says has been seriously injured.
And indeed in such severe straits do they find the boy that Selva, over her father’s objection, leaves him to minister to the boy while she sets off across the “Walking Dead”-like landscape to acquire needed medical supplies, a trek which will bring about a horrific outcome for her as the novel rushes to its sobering conclusion.
Disturbingly dystopian, as I say, the book, with distinct parallels to our own time, though not as absorbing for me, with my not being a big fan of dystopian fiction in general, as it might be for those more taken with the genre.
In the way of all such would-be Utopias, though, the reality is some distance from the ideal, both externally, where the world is divided into two antagonistic camps, one inside a “city by the river” where professionalism is celebrated, and the other outside the city, where more artisanal pursuits are the reality; and internally, where the supposed egalitarian sentiments have made for a climate where deviation from governing orthodoxy isn’t abided and where “nothing was private anymore.”
Still, not a totally bad situation for the novel’s protagonist, Dr. Rustin, as the book opens, even with the “petty new irritations” the new order makes for him, until, in a stark wake-up call for him of just how intolerant the guiding sentiments have become, he ends up being temporarily relieved of his duties at his hospital for having been insufficiently considerate toward a nurse for having shown what he regards as unprofessional behavior during an operation.
Still not the end of the world for him, his dismissal, with the opportunity it affords him, along with his daughter, Selva, to check on the condition of a boy outside the city limits whose father, a refugee from the outside, says has been seriously injured.
And indeed in such severe straits do they find the boy that Selva, over her father’s objection, leaves him to minister to the boy while she sets off across the “Walking Dead”-like landscape to acquire needed medical supplies, a trek which will bring about a horrific outcome for her as the novel rushes to its sobering conclusion.
Disturbingly dystopian, as I say, the book, with distinct parallels to our own time, though not as absorbing for me, with my not being a big fan of dystopian fiction in general, as it might be for those more taken with the genre.
July 18, 2025
The Emergency comes on an ordinary late spring day and changes everything for the City-based Burghers and their rural/agricultural counterparts, the Yeomen. What was once a cooperative existence has turned into a violent conflict. The young have taken over in a movement called Together with rousing slogans such as “Listen to the young”, “Everyone belongs” and “You shall be as gods”.
The story mostly follows Dr. Hugo Rustin, who is trying to get his bearings in the rapidly-changing world. As he struggles to find his place in the new order, Dr. Rustin faces challenges within his own household; his teenage daughter Selva has enthusiastically joined Together with a vision toward improving society beyond that of her father’s generation. When Dr. Rustin hears of an injured Yeoman boy who is lost in the countryside, he leaves his familiar environment to find him. His daughter joins him on his journey and thus begins the heart of the novel, which examines the relationship between the two and their encounters with the forces that strive to lead in the new order.
I enjoyed the world-building of this book and followed the narrative closely as it grew more and more intense. However, I would have liked to have known more about the Burghers and the Yeomen (and the Strangers), maybe with a chapter or two up front about society before the Emergency (the little-mentioned Empire). I also struggled a little to understand the Yeoman movement, especially the faction led by Little Cronk. I understand, though, that it may have been the goal of the author to show that there would be no little degree of chaos in the face of vast changes in society. This book would appeal to those who like messy, violent dystopian narratives like Octavia Butler’s Parable books.
The story mostly follows Dr. Hugo Rustin, who is trying to get his bearings in the rapidly-changing world. As he struggles to find his place in the new order, Dr. Rustin faces challenges within his own household; his teenage daughter Selva has enthusiastically joined Together with a vision toward improving society beyond that of her father’s generation. When Dr. Rustin hears of an injured Yeoman boy who is lost in the countryside, he leaves his familiar environment to find him. His daughter joins him on his journey and thus begins the heart of the novel, which examines the relationship between the two and their encounters with the forces that strive to lead in the new order.
I enjoyed the world-building of this book and followed the narrative closely as it grew more and more intense. However, I would have liked to have known more about the Burghers and the Yeomen (and the Strangers), maybe with a chapter or two up front about society before the Emergency (the little-mentioned Empire). I also struggled a little to understand the Yeoman movement, especially the faction led by Little Cronk. I understand, though, that it may have been the goal of the author to show that there would be no little degree of chaos in the face of vast changes in society. This book would appeal to those who like messy, violent dystopian narratives like Octavia Butler’s Parable books.
Review of advance copy
A modern, dystopian tale for our times, even if slightly over-the-top and heavy-handed in its telling.
I wanted to love this book given the subject matter. I'm a sucker for a gritty, dystopian futurist story like "1984" or "Brave New World." But while Packer certainly makes attempts to draw those comparisons, he falls slightly short in developing a setting and characters to fully and convincingly draw me into the world.
The Burghers and the Yeomens, two very culturally different groups of people from the same society are torn apart and drawn into conflict by a mysterious natural disaster. They are at ever increasing odds with each other. A civil war of sorts is brewing. The parallels to our modern reality are obvious and apparent. References to the "Emergency" and the "Conspiracy" by the opposing groups immediately pull the reader into the insanity of U.S. society in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID pandemic, civil unrest, and cultural upheaval.
The deeper, thoughtful, and philosophical moments of the book landed better than the general story itself. Packer's insight into humanity and civil society (or the breakdown thereof) are his forte, having written numerous non-fiction books on the subject. Character development, plot points, and dialogue, not so much.
I get what he was trying to do here: Put up a mirror to the reader to effectively say, "Beware of your own righteousness and contempt for your neighbor. It can always get worse." It's a story about generational change - rapid change; and how an older generation struggles to understand it, while the younger generation asserts itself with dangerous, blind, and untested confidence.
Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator reflects, "It was strange how easily people stopped doing what they'd done for years and replaced it with something new that only yesterday would have been unthinkable - as if a world that had always seemed carved from marble turned out to be made of wax."
Take a moment to look around at your fellow citizens on any given day, with their attention buried and consumed in their own selves reflected back at them in their hands. This is something new, and strange, and altering. It's a social experiment that we have as yet no clue where it will lead.
I wanted to love this book given the subject matter. I'm a sucker for a gritty, dystopian futurist story like "1984" or "Brave New World." But while Packer certainly makes attempts to draw those comparisons, he falls slightly short in developing a setting and characters to fully and convincingly draw me into the world.
The Burghers and the Yeomens, two very culturally different groups of people from the same society are torn apart and drawn into conflict by a mysterious natural disaster. They are at ever increasing odds with each other. A civil war of sorts is brewing. The parallels to our modern reality are obvious and apparent. References to the "Emergency" and the "Conspiracy" by the opposing groups immediately pull the reader into the insanity of U.S. society in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID pandemic, civil unrest, and cultural upheaval.
The deeper, thoughtful, and philosophical moments of the book landed better than the general story itself. Packer's insight into humanity and civil society (or the breakdown thereof) are his forte, having written numerous non-fiction books on the subject. Character development, plot points, and dialogue, not so much.
I get what he was trying to do here: Put up a mirror to the reader to effectively say, "Beware of your own righteousness and contempt for your neighbor. It can always get worse." It's a story about generational change - rapid change; and how an older generation struggles to understand it, while the younger generation asserts itself with dangerous, blind, and untested confidence.
Towards the beginning of the book, the narrator reflects, "It was strange how easily people stopped doing what they'd done for years and replaced it with something new that only yesterday would have been unthinkable - as if a world that had always seemed carved from marble turned out to be made of wax."
Take a moment to look around at your fellow citizens on any given day, with their attention buried and consumed in their own selves reflected back at them in their hands. This is something new, and strange, and altering. It's a social experiment that we have as yet no clue where it will lead.
February 22, 2026
I picked up a beautiful hardcover edition of The Emergency after listening to George Packer interviewed on Sam Harris’s podcast. Packer is, without question, a highly skilled and incisive chronicler of our political moment. Few writers capture the anxieties, fractures, and moral confusion of the western world with his level of intelligence and seriousness.
This novel feels like an attempt to exorcise the demons of what Packer perceives as a growing generational and political unraveling. The undertones of political commentary are unmistakable, and the postapocalyptic setting serves as a clear metaphor for a society pushed beyond its breaking point.
That said, the book never fully pulled me in. While the characters are clearly well conceived on an intellectual level, several of them retained a degree of implausibility that prevented me from truly inhabiting their inner lives. Some aesthetic choices also felt strained. In particular, the depiction of the military machinery unleashed against the affluent city toward the end struck me as contrived and somewhat underdeveloped.
Ultimately, The Emergency did not fully capture my imagination, and I never quite fell into its world. It is entirely possible that the discomfort I felt reflects a form of psychological resistance, especially given the unsettling possibility that the landscape Packer portrays may edge closer to reality in the years ahead.
Or, it may simply be that this novel was not my kind of book.
Either way, it is a serious and thoughtful work that will likely resonate more deeply with readers who are drawn to speculative fiction rooted firmly in contemporary political dread.
This novel feels like an attempt to exorcise the demons of what Packer perceives as a growing generational and political unraveling. The undertones of political commentary are unmistakable, and the postapocalyptic setting serves as a clear metaphor for a society pushed beyond its breaking point.
That said, the book never fully pulled me in. While the characters are clearly well conceived on an intellectual level, several of them retained a degree of implausibility that prevented me from truly inhabiting their inner lives. Some aesthetic choices also felt strained. In particular, the depiction of the military machinery unleashed against the affluent city toward the end struck me as contrived and somewhat underdeveloped.
Ultimately, The Emergency did not fully capture my imagination, and I never quite fell into its world. It is entirely possible that the discomfort I felt reflects a form of psychological resistance, especially given the unsettling possibility that the landscape Packer portrays may edge closer to reality in the years ahead.
Or, it may simply be that this novel was not my kind of book.
Either way, it is a serious and thoughtful work that will likely resonate more deeply with readers who are drawn to speculative fiction rooted firmly in contemporary political dread.
November 10, 2025
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy of this dystopian novel.
I could not stop listening to this one. It really hits the ground running and never stops. This is definitely a work that I will reread in the future.
This political allegory really sheds light on how easily people can become complacent with wrong doing in times of political turmoil by just trying to get through each individual day. You see how easily someone can be indoctrinated into a belief system just to save their way of life through the lense of our charcters. The story is extremely relevant to the current situation in the United States, drawing many parallels.
In the beginning, this reads like an anti-socialism manifesto, but stick with it. The author does an excellent job of showing the wrongs of all the political factions throughout the story, leaving no stones unturned. He does such a good job, that by the end you are left with a feeling of hopelessness for the future. Despite these feelings of despair, I immediately wanted to read this again after finishing.
I definitely recommend this insightful and well written dystopian novel and can't wait to see more work in this genre from this author.
I could not stop listening to this one. It really hits the ground running and never stops. This is definitely a work that I will reread in the future.
This political allegory really sheds light on how easily people can become complacent with wrong doing in times of political turmoil by just trying to get through each individual day. You see how easily someone can be indoctrinated into a belief system just to save their way of life through the lense of our charcters. The story is extremely relevant to the current situation in the United States, drawing many parallels.
In the beginning, this reads like an anti-socialism manifesto, but stick with it. The author does an excellent job of showing the wrongs of all the political factions throughout the story, leaving no stones unturned. He does such a good job, that by the end you are left with a feeling of hopelessness for the future. Despite these feelings of despair, I immediately wanted to read this again after finishing.
I definitely recommend this insightful and well written dystopian novel and can't wait to see more work in this genre from this author.
November 28, 2025
In the end this book hits a bit closer to home… I saw so many things that are in a way taking place in our world today. But let me dive into what the story was, we mostly follow 3 people on the book Rustin, his wife and his daughter, but mostly Rustin, and he is a man that saw his world change from day to night very quickly and almost without realizing, and how those changes also transformed his world and even his own relationship with himself and others…
I really like dystopian stories where the main character feels wronged and tries to work his way around what is happening with him and the others around him, so that is a plus in my review, Russel had a true journey in what the emergency meant for him and for society around him. My main critic is that the book ends in a very open note, because anything can happen. And I can appreciate more the cover, after finishing the book and to understand what I mean you need to grab a copy and read for yourself.
Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
not related with Netgalley, i also listened to the audiobook, and i must say that the person reading it did a great job, and that made the experience even more worthwhile for me.
I really like dystopian stories where the main character feels wronged and tries to work his way around what is happening with him and the others around him, so that is a plus in my review, Russel had a true journey in what the emergency meant for him and for society around him. My main critic is that the book ends in a very open note, because anything can happen. And I can appreciate more the cover, after finishing the book and to understand what I mean you need to grab a copy and read for yourself.
Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
not related with Netgalley, i also listened to the audiobook, and i must say that the person reading it did a great job, and that made the experience even more worthwhile for me.
November 29, 2025
The Emergency was an interesting exercise in speculative fiction. The question? What happens when an empire falls? George Packer’s answer… well, that’s kind of a trip.
The main premise: The society wakes up one day to a government that just gives up. Yup, that’s it. No crazy revolution or anything, they were bored.
The ride this novel took me on was at times turbulent, tense and even amusing. This piece is dripping in satire & allegory. Sometimes even to the point where it seems Packer isn’t even trying that hard to give symbols. Some of these circumstances straight up made me grin (not a bad thing.). It creatively examines the divides between class, culture and generations. And further dissects what each “should” do for each other.
The meat of the book takes place on a journey shared by father and teenage daughter, who are of course not seeing eye-to-eye. There was never a prediction as to what would happen next, and that helped make this one a dystopian page turner.
Read this if…
You're a fan of the classic dystopian/speculative works like 1984 and the Handmaid’s Tale.
You want to read a tale about a society crash out, that in many ways mirrors the modern United States.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced ecopy.
The main premise: The society wakes up one day to a government that just gives up. Yup, that’s it. No crazy revolution or anything, they were bored.
The ride this novel took me on was at times turbulent, tense and even amusing. This piece is dripping in satire & allegory. Sometimes even to the point where it seems Packer isn’t even trying that hard to give symbols. Some of these circumstances straight up made me grin (not a bad thing.). It creatively examines the divides between class, culture and generations. And further dissects what each “should” do for each other.
The meat of the book takes place on a journey shared by father and teenage daughter, who are of course not seeing eye-to-eye. There was never a prediction as to what would happen next, and that helped make this one a dystopian page turner.
Read this if…
You're a fan of the classic dystopian/speculative works like 1984 and the Handmaid’s Tale.
You want to read a tale about a society crash out, that in many ways mirrors the modern United States.
Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced ecopy.
December 23, 2025
Known more for his non-fiction work, George Packer starts off a little shaky in his novel. "The Emergency." His depiction of the collapse of civilization and separation into three distinct foes -- the Burghers, Yeoman, and Strangers -- feels too on the nose, leaving little room for subtlety.
However, the satirical parable finds its footing in the relationship between Dr. Hugo Rustin and his 14-year-old daughter, Selva. As they set out on a humanitarian mission to contested territory, Huge wrestles with his irrelevance in a society that no longer honors titles and distinction. Selva tries to find a new identity after academics have been rendered obsolete, struggling to interpret the principles of Together, the new society's loosely defined collection of beliefs and principles.
As the novel progresses, the writing becomes less heavy-handed, though there are some significant plot holes. "The Emergency" adopts a better pace in the final chapters, upping the tension and more deftly depicting the class and intergenerational conflicts.
Packer is at his best when he is obliquely commenting on the ripple effects of AI and the dissolution of government, and this work is a worthy entry to the canon of dystopian fiction that reflects our current moment.
However, the satirical parable finds its footing in the relationship between Dr. Hugo Rustin and his 14-year-old daughter, Selva. As they set out on a humanitarian mission to contested territory, Huge wrestles with his irrelevance in a society that no longer honors titles and distinction. Selva tries to find a new identity after academics have been rendered obsolete, struggling to interpret the principles of Together, the new society's loosely defined collection of beliefs and principles.
As the novel progresses, the writing becomes less heavy-handed, though there are some significant plot holes. "The Emergency" adopts a better pace in the final chapters, upping the tension and more deftly depicting the class and intergenerational conflicts.
Packer is at his best when he is obliquely commenting on the ripple effects of AI and the dissolution of government, and this work is a worthy entry to the canon of dystopian fiction that reflects our current moment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews