I'm afraid I had to call it a day 11% in. I found my attention wandering and it just wasn't moving along. I love a good post-apocalyptic book, just not sure this one is going to get attention in the mainstream.

A fast read. LIng Ma does a good job of keeping the novel familiar. It could be recent history, but it isn't - for obvious reasons.

Hummmmm. This is a strange novel that I’m not entirely sure how to categorize or discuss. It is touted as having dry humor, but it fell flat for me and just seemed glib at times. The narrative was a bit hard to follow in parts as well. Overall, it just didn’t work for me.

3.5 Stars. I have conflicting feelings about this book. The beginning was exciting, then the story slowed down during the flashbacks from before the fever epidemic. The action picked up again towards the last third of the book, and the flashbacks were significantly better. The ending was unfulfilling for me, and I was left wanting more resolution.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

This novel is difficult to categorize. I’m still not sure what to label it. I’ll just call it good. Candace Chen is the narrator of this very different, slightly satirical, coming-of-age end-of-days story. A fever has overtaken NYC, indeed it is breaking out worldwide. Candace is an only child and both her mother and father are deceased. She came to the USA from China when she was six years old and eventually settled in NYC. When the Shen fever starts growing, she decides to not leave immediately instead hanging in, until there is no choice and she hooks up with a traveling survival group as they are on their way to the “Facility” to carve out an existence.

“I have always lived in the myth of New York more than in its reality. It is what enabled me to live there for so long, loving the idea of something more than the thing itself.”

You can only imagine the craziness that can be conjured up in such a scenario. And author Ling Ma is at turns funny, serious, taking aim at routine, work, USA, New York, sex, love, friends, and fever. All of this in an offbeat manner but immeasurably readable. Several times, I thought hmmmn with a laugh or smile or raised brow. This is a different kind of novel, circular in its nature and narration. The “end” is the beginning representing the beginning of the End, a sneaky piece of work and the execution is laudable. Book drops on August 14, Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux for an advanced DRC.

So, when I started reading this one, I wasn’t sure. I was getting shades of Station Eleven (a.k.a the book most of the world loved and I did not a.k.a. 2 Pretentious Apocalyptic Fiction). I actually stopped reading it for a bit and almost deleted it. But, I returned to it and I’m glad I did.

There’s an art to this one that takes a bit to kick in. The story is told both pre and post apoc – all from the POV of Candace Chen. She’s a self -described Millennial Drone and she seems to fit every Millennial stereotype to an appalling degree. She’s a slacker poser surrounded by slacker posers. She wants to be rich but seems to have no passion besides a half-hearted attempt at blogging.

But when the Shen Fever begins to decimate the population, Candace must face what’s really important in life…or not. She can also keep doing what she’s always been doing while the world falls apart.

In the pre-apoc sections, Ma lulls the reader into a sort of complacency. Candace’s life is so very mundane. But then (oh, but then!), in the post-apoc sections, the author bludgeons you in the skull with unexpected brutality and the horror of existence. And she does it again and again. And each time she manages to shock you.

The book is violent and hopeless and such a compellingly dismal take on current society.

The ending is a bit ephemeral. While I generally like a more concrete ending, I do like what Ma did here. It’s a statement and it works.

Very, very glad I went back and finished this one.

I didn't make it past the first few pages of this one--the writing style just didn't work for me. It just didn't hold my attention.

Hmmm...I made it halfway through this novel and decided to quit. I learned about book binding, the many routes a bible will take before completion. The advantages of shopping in Hong Kong verses New York.

The apocalypse...well...more of the same lengthy dialogue.

Perhaps I missed something...Will be interested reading other reviews.




My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reader copy