I read through this book pretty quickly, on the recommendation of a friend. I've also since read two other books, back to back following this one, so my memory isn't as detailed or fresh as I'd like it to be to write a fair take on what I thought of this story. The general plot is as follows: it's the end of the world (as we know it, (sorry)), a flu strain has wiped out 95%+ of the world's population. Without going into spoiler territory, the tale follows a handful of characters with different origins/story lines, and their path of/to survival. Warding off predators, the illness itself, and the difficulties that exist in dystopia without the modern comforts or electricity, running water, shelter, etc. There are some underlying themes of modern technology and what they must be doing to our society as a whole, but I was too tired to really think about them.
I've read a lot of books about the end of the world. I've read some with more of a surreal take (along the lines of Neil Gaiman, Haruki Murakami, etc.), and some more gritty/realistic ones (The Road - Cormack McCarthy). This is more like the latter. The book is an easy read, but I'll admit I heaved a big sigh of 'oh, this again,' once I figured out what the story was about. (Apocalypse, etc.).
The opening segment of the novel is what hooked me in, and I'm not disappointed I kept going. There are interesting elements, in how the separate journeys interweave throughout the book, and the novel's gotten a lot of positive praise and attention, as well as the piece being well written. So it is a worthy read in that sense. But if you're looking for something new, this isn't really it, sadly, (as much as I wanted it to be). In my humble opinion, you read one end of the world story, (or 5-8, such as my case), you've read them all. Bleak, sad, BEWARE READER - IF YOU AND YOUR FELLOW EARTHLINGS DON'T WISEN UP AND TAKE HEED OF YOUR CARELESS WAYS, THIS TOO, COULD BE YOU, SOONER THAN YOU THINK. JUST WAIT. ok, yeah, i get it. But I'm still going to probably use plastic bags at the grocery store, and my husband is still going to leave the water on as he brushes his teeth, and we'll probably run our air conditioners with our bedroom inadvertently cracked open. And we probably will never learn to properly recycle every electronic device we own. It's a generation thing, the yeah, yeah, I know, take care of our natural resources, but we're not going to live forever so we'll still pretty much take everything for granted, generation. I'm not proud of it, but at least I'm self aware, right? And guess what, reading this story didn't change my stance on any of that.
I'd still recommend this book to a pal looking for an easy read, with the caveat of 'it's another end of the world story.' My rating? 7-7/10. Because I liked some of the characters and the writer hooked me into almost giving a shit for their shot at happiness.
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