This Is Not Civilization - by Robert Rosenberg (Paperback)

About the Book

In the tradition of Prague and White Teeth, This Is Not Civilization is an inspired, sweeping debut novel that hopscotches from Arizona to Central Asia to Istanbul with a well-meaning, if misguided, young Peace Corps volunteer. Jeff Hartig lies at the center of this modern take on the American-abroad tale, which brings together four people from vastly different backgrounds, each struggling with the push and pull of home. A young Apache, Adam Dale, forsakes the reservation for the promise of a world he knows little about. Anarbek Tashtanaliev, of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, operates a cheese factory that no longer produces cheese. Nazira, his daughter, strains against the confines of their village's age-old traditions.
With captivating insight, realism, and humor, Robert Rosenberg delivers a sensitive story about the cost of trying to do good in the world.

Book Synopsis

In the tradition of Prague and White Teeth, This Is Not Civilization is an inspired, sweeping debut novel that hopscotches from Arizona to Central Asia to Istanbul with a well-meaning, if misguided, young Peace Corps volunteer. Jeff Hartig lies at the center of this modern take on the American-abroad tale, which brings together four people from vastly different backgrounds, each struggling with the push and pull of home. A young Apache, Adam Dale, forsakes the reservation for the promise of a world he knows little about. Anarbek Tashtanaliev, of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, operates a cheese factory that no longer produces cheese. Nazira, his daughter, strains against the confines of their village's age-old traditions.
With captivating insight, realism, and humor, Robert Rosenberg delivers a sensitive story about the cost of trying to do good in the world.

Review Quotes

A wonderful work; highly recommended.

Library Journal Starred

An ambitious, bighearted debut...intelligent, earnest, and highly readable.

Kirkus Reviews

[A] Politically astute and surprisingly swift read.

TimeOut New York

The details are bracing and exact...journalistic, humane and heart-wrenching. -- Christopher Buckley The New York Times Book Review

What a generous, big-hearted book this is, perceptive enough to catch the goodness in [its characters].

Christian Science Monitor

[an] ambitious, sincere book...[with] many lovely touches.

Newsday

a well-written, engaging, and promising debut.

Booklist, ALA

a brave adventure into the heart of a new world...sparkling.

Los Angeles Times

Rollicking...pitch perfect...a vibrant mix of the serious and the absurd.

Publishers Weekly