Halfway through Kurt Andersen’s sprightly new novel, The Breakup, Natalie and Asher, an estranged couple, are about to drop their daughter, Logan, off at an airport in Tennessee. Just before pulling up at the departures curb, Natalie, who is driving the car, asks if Logan is flying with United Airlines. “Yup, United domestic,” Asher replies. Andersen then steps in to clarify Asher’s remark. “Because it’s Nashville nonstop to San Francisco, both in the U.S.”
The story is set in 2045, seven years after a second civil war has pushed the country to the brink of a secession—or, rather, a “Disunion.” Border checkpoints now separate the newly formed right-wing Free American Republic from the smaller United States, but the actual demarcation of territory is still a work in progress. Multiple cities in the South—Nashville, for instance—have voted to stay with the U.S. in a referendum despite being geographically located in the new republic, which is why Asher feels the need to clarify that Logan is indeed boarding a domestic flight.
