This Is Not Civilization

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.