Grade: C

At this point, September 11th stories have practically become their own genre. We have Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery, Appalachaian Lesbian, and 9/11 stories. The idea, I suppose, is that those attacks will conjure up enough emotional memory in the audience that the impact of the story will be that much greater. It’s a pretty cheap tactic, one that I can’t think of a single instance where it felt honest and not manipulative. Matt Ruff uses this new genre, along with the tried and tested Sci-Fi branch off The Alternate Universe, in his novel The Mirage.

In this novel, the alternate reality is that on November 9th (get it? 11/9?) a group of Christian extremists from the third world region of America hijack some planes and fly them into the twin towers of the United Arab States. Basically, the same thing happens, in reverse though, as happened in real life. The United Arab States declares a war on terror and bombs the shit out of America and frees them from their vicious tyrant, though all their efforts don’t really seem to stop the terrorist attacks, or make the war-torn region any safer. There are three main characters: Mustafa, the morally conflicted one who senses something is amiss about his world, Samir, the closeted homosexual, and Amal, the tough woman playing in a man’s world. Sound familiar? That’s because those are character tropes used in nearly every spy thriller ever written.

Anyway, those characters aren’t important. The ones the reader will flock to are Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, an unnamed but very clearly Dick Cheney, and a bunch of other people from our reality. What could have been fun about this world would be to make well known villains, like those listed above, into something heroic, or at least a conflicted source of good. Unfortunately Ruff is not interested in that. “A wicked prince in one world is a wicked prince in all worlds” is the sentiment used to justify keeping the villains as villains, and to be fair there is a plot reveal that justifies it dramatically as well. Still, I suspect the real reason is that the author, and maybe the publisher, doesn’t think the American public can tolerate Hussein or Bin Laden as anything but monsters. It feels like an opportunity for genuine and clever satire gone completely to waste.

I don’t mean to completely shit on this book though. It’s a perfectly serviceable espionage thriller, with a pretty exciting plot and well-written action. The characters may be a bit incomplete and feel like caricature at times, but that’s pretty true of the genre as a whole. The plot twists and battle scenes are what’s important in these works, not deep character insights. If it didn’t use 9/11 as a cheap way to add meaning to an otherwise perfectly fine, if unremarkable, story, I would probably grade it a bit higher. As it is, I’m not sure what this book has to say about the turmoil the world has been over the past decade-plus that hasn’t already been said. It doesn’t bring anything new to the conversation, it just makes us go “Oh, that’s George Bush they’re talking about!” Or “Holy shit, is that really Timothy McVeigh?” Merely employing the existence of these characters isn’t enough to tell a impactful story with them.

Please don’t read anything political into this review, or this book for that matter. This novel is neither Liberal propaganda, nor Conservative. Ruff is equally critical of both sides and never loses his sense of hope for a possible future. This story ends ambiguously, but optimistic in its way. Those looking for political, cultural, or philosophical insights will find it lacking. But those looking for some glimmer of hope through the shit cloud of crippling despair fed to us through the media outlets and the politicians we keep electing for some reason, might just find a reason to maintain some shred of hope in humanity.

Buy this book!