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kather_doc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Drug use, Death, Body horror, and Gaslighting
ohyeah_karyn's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ladylothlorien's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I find it nearly impossible to put down my thoughts on this book. There is something eerie about reading a pre-pandemic book about a pandemic and then to have so much of it ring true made it a difficult read. It was slow and depressing for a long time and then an event happened that added a sense of urgency to the narrative which carried through to the end. It meant the pacing was a little weird but honestly this book is a little weird: at times satirical and at others poetically reflective. Overall I would say I enjoyed it but I think it also brought up COVID feelings that I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with. And the themes surrounding the term “severance” will be rattling around in my head for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Grief, Death, Confinement, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, and Suicide
honeyvoiced's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Pregnancy
devin_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I cannot believe this book was published in 2018, so many of the details and plot points feel incredibly similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. The breakdown of New York City, an illness born out of China, the trade lockdowns causing supply shortages all make this novel seem like a parallel universe. A universe where mankind and science couldn’t beat disease.
Ling Ma writes in a way where time feels circular rather than linear; the past melting into the present and vice versa. The main characters’ life before “the fever” mage just as important as her life after “the end.” We all are different people after having lived through a global pandemic, and I think Ma captures this beautifully.
Leaving the ending open to interpretation seemed like a hopeful choice on behalf of the author. Maybe Candace finds another colony of survivors, maybe she gets reunited with Jonathan, maybe there is a happy ending after all. Or, maybe as the book suggest Candace succumbs to “the fever” and looses herself to a meaningless routine like the others.
Ling Ma writes in a way where time feels circular rather than linear; the past melting into the present and vice versa. The main characters’ life before “the fever” mage just as important as her life after “the end.” We all are different people after having lived through a global pandemic, and I think Ma captures this beautifully.
Leaving the ending open to interpretation seemed like a hopeful choice on behalf of the author. Maybe Candace finds another colony of survivors, maybe she gets reunited with Jonathan, maybe there is a happy ending after all. Or, maybe as the book suggest Candace succumbs to “the fever” and looses herself to a meaningless routine like the others.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Death, Violence, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Gun violence
mosshaunt's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
the final 1/5th of the book is fantastically claustrophobic and isolating, but i felt that everything leading up was disjointed in comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Drug use, and Sexual content
josi1911's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
I normally never read dystopian (if this book can be called that after we all have experienced COVID), but since it was for a book club, I was rather excited. The Beginning until maybe the 17/18 chapter were strong, but then it turned into the typical dystopian story of someone trying to escape their group mixed with cult-esque leadership.
The ending was such a letdown and the themes the book tried to tackle weren't fleshed out enough. How did the Fever transmit? It can't only be fungal, or at least it seemed to have to do with routine, nostalgia and remembering. But I can only say those keywords, because the story lacked fulfillment/tying up the loose ends and like I already said delving deeper into the social criticism it started.
The Author has sometimes beautiful prose with a minimalist but hard hitting tendency and some of the scenes (especially the gruesome ones) felt all too real. So it's sad that that wasn't utilized more to really make strong points regarding the mentioned themes.
The ending was such a letdown and the themes the book tried to tackle weren't fleshed out enough. How did the Fever transmit? It can't only be fungal, or at least it seemed to have to do with routine, nostalgia and remembering. But I can only say those keywords, because the story lacked fulfillment/tying up the loose ends and like I already said delving deeper into the social criticism it started.
The Author has sometimes beautiful prose with a minimalist but hard hitting tendency and some of the scenes (especially the gruesome ones) felt all too real. So it's sad that that wasn't utilized more to really make strong points regarding the mentioned themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Gaslighting, Drug use, Gun violence, Gore, Violence, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide and Vomit
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Candace Chen is a routine-obsessed millennial drone who works alone in a Manhattan office building. She has experienced enough uncertainty after her Chinese immigrants parents recently passed away. She's content to just keep doing what she's doing: going to work, fixing the Gemstone Bible for teens, and watching movies in a basement in Greenpoint with her partner.
So when a scourge of biblical proportions sweeps New York, Candace hardly pays it any attention. Shen Fever then spreads. Families run away. Businesses stop operating. The subways come to a grinding halt. Her employers hire her as a member of a shrinking skeleton team with a significant end-date reward. As the fictitious blogger NY Ghost, she soon finds herself completely alone and unfevered as she captures the creepy, deserted metropolis.
But Candace won't be able to survive by herself indefinitely. Here come the survivors, led by the ferocious IT specialist Bob. They are headed to a location known as the Facility, where Bob assures them that they will have everything they need to rebuild society. But Candace has a secret that she is certain Bob would use against her. Does she need to flee from her rescuers?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Drug use
themeds's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
booknotesbylia's review against another edition
dark
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use and Suicide