Reviews

Severance by Ling Ma

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hlgrant's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5

trin's review against another edition

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4.0

Jury duty book #2 (bought frantically during lunch after I burned through my first book by noon).

INTENSE. Insanely prescient -- I read [b:Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680459872l/20170404._SX50_.jpg|28098716] when it first came out, and therefore, before the pandemic, but not this, and uh...Ma's vision is closer, despite the surreal, magical realist quality to her actual virus. This is chilling and utterly compelling. I'm trying to get rid of more books after I finish them, but I feel like I may need to hang onto this one to reread in a couple of years -- after the next apocalypse.

carlottaione's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book is so fascinating. I wish I was in a place to be able to say more about it, but I'm not in that headspace right now. It drove interesting conversation in our class, especially about Asian racialization within the context of robots, aliens, and clones.

jemimamc's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

4.25

czardumonde's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

stephaniesteen73's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a disturbing book, especially when in a real-life pandemic, but it has stuck with me for weeks now. Perfect description of current culture and how it was difficult to identify the Fevered from the non-fevered, mindlessly going through the motions of their lives.