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A review by explikator
Severance by Ling Ma
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Well written and cleverly constructed 'Severance' never was boring or flat. It has lost some of its impact AFTER the peak of the Covid pandemic and in fact I'm a little tired of dystopic 'I Am Legend' stories.
But 'Severance' is much more than that. It's an immigration story, one about families and how they are built and a story about working in a globalized world. The fungus from China changes its victims into braindead corpses repeating their routines again and again.
These parts work so well that they are worth the read alone.
Then there's the part of the story where Candace finally flees New York and joins a strange Christian cult. This is interwoven chapterwise and I really was dissappointed every time the action turned to those uninteresting characters raiding houses or just being frightening jerks.
I understand the implications of the setting or at least I guess I do so. Bob dominating his group with his pseudo religious devotion to God, but being sick himself - and the group which just can't stop consuming goods and each other's company. Candace has to flee this kind of America to grow really independent. Fine. But I didn't care. To me this whole part was just not real enough. The characters of Bob and the gang did not interest me at all.
So, the New York part would be 4.5 stars, but the Bob part is only 1.5. That does come to around 3.5, doesn't it?
But 'Severance' is much more than that. It's an immigration story, one about families and how they are built and a story about working in a globalized world. The fungus from China changes its victims into braindead corpses repeating their routines again and again.
These parts work so well that they are worth the read alone.
I understand the implications of the setting or at least I guess I do so. Bob dominating his group with his pseudo religious devotion to God, but being sick himself - and the group which just can't stop consuming goods and each other's company. Candace has to flee this kind of America to grow really independent. Fine. But I didn't care. To me this whole part was just not real enough. The characters of Bob and the gang did not interest me at all.
So, the New York part would be 4.5 stars, but the Bob part is only 1.5. That does come to around 3.5, doesn't it?