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Book Review: Jess Walter’s ’So Far Gone’ sets a redemption story in fractured, modern America

Jess Walter published his novel So Far Gone on June 10, 2025, set in present-day fractured America and centering on environmental journalist Kinnick's story in the Pacific Northwest.
Kinnick retired in 2015 after a shrinking journalism industry and retreated to the woods, estranged from his family amid rising political and social intolerance.
After seven years of isolation, Kinnick faces a chaotic world of conspiracy theories and militias when his estranged grandchildren arrive, forcing him to confront divided realities and violence.
The book features a climactic act of violence that evokes a “terrifying normalcy” and prompts both conflict and reluctant connection, with readers writing “from all over the country” expressing interest in its fringe groups.
Walter’s novel combines a cynical yet humane humor with timely themes like climate collapse and political division, suggesting no easy cures but highlighting the value of connection in turbulent times.

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Jess Walter’s comic new novel ‘So Far Gone’ chronicles a fractured America

Take one sanctimonious, reclusive former newspaper reporter and add one conspiracy theory-addled son-in-law. Flavor with two cute grandkids, a Christian separatist militia and a handful of other colorful characters. Stir with a fistfight at Thanksgiving dinner, a kidnapping and a frantic road trip. Bake in a politically fractured environment overheated by misinformation. Voila, the recipe for Jess Walter’s compulsively readable, thought-provokin…

5 days ago·Los Angeles, United States

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