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Book Reviews of And the Ass Saw the Angel

And the Ass Saw the Angel
And the Ass Saw the Angel
Author: Nick Cave
ISBN-13: 9780948238031
ISBN-10: 0948238038
Publication Date: 8/24/1989
Pages: 272
Rating:
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0 stars, based on 0 rating
Publisher: Black Spring Press Ltd
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

2 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

venusmist avatar reviewed And the Ass Saw the Angel on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is one messed up book!! If you want to read something really crazy, and different... here you go..........
reviewed And the Ass Saw the Angel on + 24 more book reviews
As a basically morbid and paranoid person, I quite enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction. I'm happy to report that Alas, Babylon, one of the first books in the genre, did not disappoint.

The book centers around Fort Repose, a Florida community that manages to survive after a nuclear attack wipes out much of the United States. Specifically it centers on Randy Bragg and his family and neighbors as they try to live and thrive against all odds. I enjoyed reading about the problems and solutions they faced -- Are armadillos edible? How to get more salt? What do we trade when money is worthless? -- and would have welcomed even more details.

I see moments inspired by Alas, Babylon in many modern-day dystopian and post-apocalyptic works, from the reboot of Battlestar Galactica to S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire and beyond.

I notice many negative reviews of this book center around its supposed racism and sexism. Perhaps those reviewers overlooked the fact that this book was originally published in 1959, and for its time, seemed to be remarkably progressive. White characters and black characters work side-by-side, as equals. A female cabinet member becomes Chief Executive of what's left of the USA. If women seem to swoon more than realistically plausable and the N-word is bandied about quite frequently... well, 1959 was still 1959.