Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
There has been some kind of pandemic affecting only males (young and old they develop a fatal type of prostate cancer), with only a few surviving. One of them is 12 old Miles, who is on the run with his mother Cole, disguised as a girl. We learn there has been an altercation with Cole's sister Billie, and they are running from those who would lock Miles up for his "safety". A good premise, but the book is pretty plodding at times. It is told in the voice of Cole, Miles and Billie, and though I believe the author wants us to find redeeming qualities in Billie, I found her pretty intolerable, making the book even harder to get through.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Original review at The Dust Lounge: https://thedustlounge.com/2020/08/27/on-reading-afterland-by-lauren-beukes/
The gist: I love Lauren Beukes’ writing and really that’s all there is to it, you should all go and get all of her books and read them right now.
Seriously.
And it’s been a while since Beukes’ last novel, and my expectations were high and I’m always so excited to get my teeth into one of her novels, and well let’s just say that Afterland was absolutely no let down.
Beukes’ writing is jagged, sharp, edgy, and somehow tender while she pulls you along on an escape across America, barely letting you catch your breath. Afterland has a sense of underlying terror, grief and unease that will not let you go, as the characters navigate a world that maybe isn’t so far removed from this one in some ways. Each character is alive on the pages, you feel the gut emotions churning as family ties and survival rub uneasily against each other. You feel the panic, the helplessness, the desperation and the fire.
Afterland has everything you could ask for – from gangsters to sex clubs to cults (hell, I know what my tick-list looks like) – with dark wit running through it, while at the same time leaving room for quiet moments that pull on your heart. Honestly, I’ve gotta say I kinda wouldn’t mind a beer or two with Billie, and that’s even after, well, you’ll see.
And in some ways this is one of the most beautiful things about how Beukes’ writes. Her characters are so real, so relatable, and so imperfect. Despite the darkness and the fear, there’s space for hope and redemption.
Take a breath, wash your hands, and settle in for a white knuckle ride across a post-pandemic landscape.
Favourite line: “tragedy can be small too, personal”
Read if: You want a masterclass in pacing, in a taut race across America with characters you’re going to want to hang out with, go for beers with, cry with.
Read with: No other plans because this is the sort of book that won’t let you take a break. Bring snacks.
ARC gratefully received from Netgalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph
The gist: I love Lauren Beukes’ writing and really that’s all there is to it, you should all go and get all of her books and read them right now.
Seriously.
And it’s been a while since Beukes’ last novel, and my expectations were high and I’m always so excited to get my teeth into one of her novels, and well let’s just say that Afterland was absolutely no let down.
Beukes’ writing is jagged, sharp, edgy, and somehow tender while she pulls you along on an escape across America, barely letting you catch your breath. Afterland has a sense of underlying terror, grief and unease that will not let you go, as the characters navigate a world that maybe isn’t so far removed from this one in some ways. Each character is alive on the pages, you feel the gut emotions churning as family ties and survival rub uneasily against each other. You feel the panic, the helplessness, the desperation and the fire.
Afterland has everything you could ask for – from gangsters to sex clubs to cults (hell, I know what my tick-list looks like) – with dark wit running through it, while at the same time leaving room for quiet moments that pull on your heart. Honestly, I’ve gotta say I kinda wouldn’t mind a beer or two with Billie, and that’s even after, well, you’ll see.
And in some ways this is one of the most beautiful things about how Beukes’ writes. Her characters are so real, so relatable, and so imperfect. Despite the darkness and the fear, there’s space for hope and redemption.
Take a breath, wash your hands, and settle in for a white knuckle ride across a post-pandemic landscape.
Favourite line: “tragedy can be small too, personal”
Read if: You want a masterclass in pacing, in a taut race across America with characters you’re going to want to hang out with, go for beers with, cry with.
Read with: No other plans because this is the sort of book that won’t let you take a break. Bring snacks.
ARC gratefully received from Netgalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph
I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review. Mulholland Books has also advised me that a positive review requires me to disclose that I received the book for free from them and since I generally mean three stars in a positive way, there we go. Thank you Mulholland Books!
Cole flees across the U.S. with her son Miles in Beukes's apocalypse, which features a highly contagious flu that mutates into prostate cancer and has killed off an estimated 3.2 billion carriers of the XY chromosome. They're on the run from Cole's sister Billie, who's been offered a lot of money for anything and everything one of the few remaining young men in the country can provide to the highest bidder (even those things to which a twelve-year-old cannot consent, ahem). This is a nailbiter right up until the last few pages; during the last third I'd read a chapter, get up and pace around for a few minute to wring my hands, then read another chapter, rinse, repeat. Herein lies a fine case for gender diversification in every industry, and though of course the mass death is terrible, the true horror at the center of this is the mundane process by which children grow up, how they pull away and stop needing their parents, how necessary and good and heart-breaking that is.
Cole flees across the U.S. with her son Miles in Beukes's apocalypse, which features a highly contagious flu that mutates into prostate cancer and has killed off an estimated 3.2 billion carriers of the XY chromosome. They're on the run from Cole's sister Billie, who's been offered a lot of money for anything and everything one of the few remaining young men in the country can provide to the highest bidder (even those things to which a twelve-year-old cannot consent, ahem). This is a nailbiter right up until the last few pages; during the last third I'd read a chapter, get up and pace around for a few minute to wring my hands, then read another chapter, rinse, repeat. Herein lies a fine case for gender diversification in every industry, and though of course the mass death is terrible, the true horror at the center of this is the mundane process by which children grow up, how they pull away and stop needing their parents, how necessary and good and heart-breaking that is.
First of all, Afterland has one of the most beautiful covers I've seen this year!
Afterland was a fascinating read! Basically an illness has caused the majority of mean nd boys to die from prostate cancer and women are left to rule the world. Rad--right? Welll, not exactly because the US government wants to put all remaining men and boys in camps and keep an eye on them and do sketchy stuff like possibly harvest their sperm. Afterland tells the story of a mother and son stuck in the US and trying to get home to South Africa while fleeing a government camp and then a group of women who want that precious boy sperm.
There are lots of skeevy and uncomfortable moments that make the story seem very real.
The chapters each switched narrators which took a little getting used to at first and were confusing for parts of the story, but I enjoyed learning about how the patriarchy was taking over from different points of view.
I enjoyed the pop culture references and the Mad Max vibes. I did want a little more information about everything, but that's just how I am. The ending also seemed to be tacked on and didn't fully fit the feel of the rest of the story, but I can't think of how else it could have ended.
4 out 5 stars for this thrilling read.
Afterland was a fascinating read! Basically an illness has caused the majority of mean nd boys to die from prostate cancer and women are left to rule the world. Rad--right? Welll, not exactly because the US government wants to put all remaining men and boys in camps and keep an eye on them and do sketchy stuff like possibly harvest their sperm. Afterland tells the story of a mother and son stuck in the US and trying to get home to South Africa while fleeing a government camp and then a group of women who want that precious boy sperm.
There are lots of skeevy and uncomfortable moments that make the story seem very real.
The chapters each switched narrators which took a little getting used to at first and were confusing for parts of the story, but I enjoyed learning about how the patriarchy was taking over from different points of view.
I enjoyed the pop culture references and the Mad Max vibes. I did want a little more information about everything, but that's just how I am. The ending also seemed to be tacked on and didn't fully fit the feel of the rest of the story, but I can't think of how else it could have ended.
4 out 5 stars for this thrilling read.
The plot and writing felt ploddish. I just couldn't get emotionally invested into it.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
“You can’t imagine how much the world can change in six months. You just can’t.”
A couple months ago I read The Mother Code and I’ve got The Gunslinger and Severance on my current TBR. I’ve loved pandemic and post-apocalyptic fiction for years and I am not shying away from it despite current events. I was especially excited to read Afterland because I loved @laurenbeukes 2013 release, The Shining Girls. I was not let down with Afterland! I loved the characters in this novel. Not just the main characters but all the secondary characters. They were so well written, even the ones that are just a tiny blip on the radar of this story. Beukes also does a wonderful job of keeping the tension palpable while interspersing smaller subplots and flashbacks.
Human Culgoa Virus (HCV), a highly contagious flu which turns into an aggressive prostate cancer in men and boys has lead to a less than 1% survival rate among males. Some countries thrive without the all-male militias, alternative economies emerge, and anarchist groups attempt to bring down banking and eliminate debt and immigration records. In the United States, Quarantined Males (QMs) and their Direct Surviving Relatives (DSRs) are rounded up and sent to government facilities to be studied. During an attempt to leave the country, Cole and her son Miles are discovered and sent to one of these centers. Determined to get her son to safety in Johannesburg, Cole and her sister Billie plan an escape, but Billie has plans of her own.
Also pictured, Sesame Chicken Salad and my new cutting board.
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
“You can’t imagine how much the world can change in six months. You just can’t.”
A couple months ago I read The Mother Code and I’ve got The Gunslinger and Severance on my current TBR. I’ve loved pandemic and post-apocalyptic fiction for years and I am not shying away from it despite current events. I was especially excited to read Afterland because I loved @laurenbeukes 2013 release, The Shining Girls. I was not let down with Afterland! I loved the characters in this novel. Not just the main characters but all the secondary characters. They were so well written, even the ones that are just a tiny blip on the radar of this story. Beukes also does a wonderful job of keeping the tension palpable while interspersing smaller subplots and flashbacks.
Human Culgoa Virus (HCV), a highly contagious flu which turns into an aggressive prostate cancer in men and boys has lead to a less than 1% survival rate among males. Some countries thrive without the all-male militias, alternative economies emerge, and anarchist groups attempt to bring down banking and eliminate debt and immigration records. In the United States, Quarantined Males (QMs) and their Direct Surviving Relatives (DSRs) are rounded up and sent to government facilities to be studied. During an attempt to leave the country, Cole and her son Miles are discovered and sent to one of these centers. Determined to get her son to safety in Johannesburg, Cole and her sister Billie plan an escape, but Billie has plans of her own.
Also pictured, Sesame Chicken Salad and my new cutting board.
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
loved the concept, some beautiful writing, but execution not up to potential sadly
I loved the premise of this and was really excited, but honestly it was such a letdown. From using the r* word when the author could have just not, to lower offenses such as incessant over use of pop culture/meme references that just didn’t quite fit. By the time I was close to the end I couldn’t wait, because then I didn’t have to think about the book anymore.