"World Made By Hand" by James Howard Kunstler

World Made By Hand takes place in our country's near future, but you won't recognize it. The United States has fallen apart. The electricity comes on sporadically, but the only person on television is a ranting preacher. There may or may not be a president in Minnesota, but no one remembers voting for him. For Robert, a software executive turned carpenter, the world is the small town of Union Grove; everything beyond its borders is built from speculation. Those who survived flu epidemics and other disasters have learned to be self-sufficient and must now grow their own food. This new world looks very much like 19th century America, and the daily routines reminded me of Little House on the Prairie.

There is the looming threat of violence from a gang of “former motorheads, greasers, bikers, and quasi-criminals.” While the novel is most noticeably post-apocalyptic, the plot feels very much like a western, in that the town must be protected from a gang of thugs in a lawless territory.

With the economy down, two wars, and seemingly endless debate over climate change and divisive moral issues, books that depict a world where our worst fears are realized have a strong emotional hook. A loss of oil is the culprit in this novel, or at least the final tipping point. When reading post-apocalyptic fiction, I always want to know: what doesn't survive? Besides our modern conveniences, what cherished ideals also become unaffordable luxuries?

While still containing death and loss, World Made By Hand is an easier, less bleak read than The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which I thought of several times while reading. The writing may not be as strong, but there is ultimately a sense of hope that these characters will not only survive, but actually build a new life in this world.

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Reviewed by David Hill