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bxcvi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Pregnancy
alisasreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
anti-capitalism and zombies made me want to read this, but i stayed for the way the writer managed to make me feel like i was experiencing it all with candace. very well written and definitely a book i would recommend to people. also pretty odd to read this a year after the pandemic..
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Vomit, and Racism
honey_buns's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
the book transitions between the present and a series of flashbacks as we follow Candace Chen through her decisions. I found that the flashbacks helped me understand Candace’s decisions and thought process. Without giving anything away I will say that it approached some dark subject matter in a light-hearted and humorous way that made this book difficult to put down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, and Misogyny
amandaformby's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, and Drug use
Pandemicmlthomas234's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Original, funny, perfect mix of satire and genuine existential horror. Something you’ll want to read multiple times to unpack the details.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Murder and Vomit
bluebrooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
this book is gonna stick with me for a long time. i've never related to a character more than candace, and i feel like i really understand her. the only critical things i have to say about the ending are that it felt rushed and i wish ling ma would have developed candace's character just a bit more. there were definitely a few loose ends with this book and the ending is pretty open - ma makes allusions to passages from the beginning of the novel in the final pages, which helps brain everything full circle. still, i was left wanting more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Abortion, Vomit, and Alcohol
cheye13's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a very interesting premise that I really wanted to love.
And I did love Candance and her voice, and how real and rounded she felt as a character. I appreciated the nuances and commentaries on her job and her life "before" and the plot of "after" and how the two intercepted.
I think the dual timeline hurt the narrative a little, but I also think it's the only way the story could be told. I was extremely bored by the "before" timeline, which I assume was kind of the point, but it read so much like general millennial ennui fiction that I just hate. I didn't hate it here, and maybe that was because it was intermittent or just because of how complex Candance's character felt. Meanwhile, the "after" timeline felt incongruous to the book's intent, and also like the only plot we're given.
I think I personally would have preferred a book that was just the "after" timeline with some flashbacks, but I did really appreciate where the timelines aligned at the end of the book and the point that was made.
And I did love Candance and her voice, and how real and rounded she felt as a character. I appreciated the nuances and commentaries on her job and her life "before" and the plot of "after" and how the two intercepted.
I think the dual timeline hurt the narrative a little, but I also think it's the only way the story could be told. I was extremely bored by the "before" timeline, which I assume was kind of the point, but it read so much like general millennial ennui fiction that I just hate. I didn't hate it here, and maybe that was because it was intermittent or just because of how complex Candance's character felt. Meanwhile, the "after" timeline felt incongruous to the book's intent, and also like the only plot we're given.
I think I personally would have preferred a book that was just the "after" timeline with some flashbacks, but I did really appreciate where the timelines aligned at the end of the book and the point that was made.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Body horror, and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, and Religious bigotry
There is an off-page implied drug overdose.helliepad's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I actually read this book because I thought this was connected to the TV show Severance but it's not the same thing lol. However, this story also deals with the workplace and the immigrant story of alienation and being other. I like that the main character Candace keeps to herself most of the time because introspection and reflection is something that is rarely explored in stories set during a zombie apocalypse, especially one set in a metropolitan city such as New York.
There's a connection between Candace and the Latin blue collar workers, Manny from reception and Eddie from the cab, that she chose at first to be closer to the rich WASP Art Girls than Manny who asks about her day and is worried about her health; and then at the end when the world left her to find friendship in Eddie only whenNY ended up being a shithole and she had to get out pronto .
The title was mentioned during Candace's memory of her father and it talks about seperating themselves from their pasts (severing from the homeland and roots like cutting an umbilical cord, that messy painful love that all overseas workers have a word for), but it could also work as severance pay, especially when what kickstarted Candace on her journey toget out of New York was seeing the severance pay in her bank account, a few months after the outbreak.
How much appeal does the American dream have to this day? To have the luxury but to live in emptiness? To go home and be with family but due to the nature of going after that dream be prevented from being able to do so? To surrender yourself to the work and routines of a city and a job until death, and even then? Is a person wrong for working? Is a city wrong for demanding of its citizens? What does it mean to be rootless and homeless yet having a home before you even go there?
There's a connection between Candace and the Latin blue collar workers, Manny from reception and Eddie from the cab, that she chose at first to be closer to the rich WASP Art Girls than Manny who asks about her day and is worried about her health; and then at the end when the world left her to find friendship in Eddie only when
The title was mentioned during Candace's memory of her father and it talks about seperating themselves from their pasts (severing from the homeland and roots like cutting an umbilical cord, that messy painful love that all overseas workers have a word for), but it could also work as severance pay, especially when what kickstarted Candace on her journey to
How much appeal does the American dream have to this day? To have the luxury but to live in emptiness? To go home and be with family but due to the nature of going after that dream be prevented from being able to do so? To surrender yourself to the work and routines of a city and a job until death, and even then? Is a person wrong for working? Is a city wrong for demanding of its citizens? What does it mean to be rootless and homeless yet having a home before you even go there?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy and Blood
Minor: Suicide
maartabarrales's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Death
The description of the beginning of the pandemic that wipes out civilization in the book bears striking resemblance to the beginning of Covid-19eemilycolleen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
5.0
BLEAK and horrifying and so smart. loved the workplace satire stuff, loved the wandering through the city documenting things fall apart, loved the central through-line of the fevered caught in nostalgic cycles forever. loved the ending. also like - more poignant than i expected! some touching mother/daughter shit here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Death, and Pregnancy