2 A.M. in Little America

This novel by PEN/Faulkner and National Book Award finalist Kalfus (A Disorder Peculiar to the Country) is set in a future where warring factions in the United States have sent people abroad to seek refugee status. One of thousands of immigrants, Ron Patterson is a computer-equipment repairman in an unnamed country. His job gives him access to many spaces that would not be open to other immigrants, and he strives to be invisible and to refrain from taking sides in any dispute. He meets a woman he thinks he has seen before, and they forge a fledgling relationship before the immigration laws of the country force them both to go elsewhere. In his new country, Ron encounters his lover again. She and her husband, both Americans, are shipping guns and other contraband, hoping to arm another insurrection. Ron accidentally becomes a hero in the eyes of the insurrectionists. Kalfus presents here the confusing life of a not-quite-legal immigrant. His characters change names, occupations, and affiliations on a regular basis. Their uncertain status and precarious living conditions make them both invisible and vulnerable. B. J. Harrison’s narration creates a dreamlike atmostphere.