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A review by angethology
Severance by Ling Ma
3.0
"But what is the difference between the fevered and us? Because I remember too, I remember perfectly. My memories replay, unprompted, on repeat."
Habits and routines are some of the most important aspects of being human; without them, whether for better or worse, society and infrastructure would collapse. We've seen a huge disruption for example when COVID started — for many it was an extremely trying time, but others see it as almost a break from the monotonous drudgery of capitalism, or at least realize how much society has succumbed to consumerism and making bread. "Severance" explores both of these aspects, where production coordinator Candace Chen learns to live in a new world where the majority suffer from a fungal infection, "Shen fever." The "fevered" are essentially harmless zombies stuck in mechanical routines until their demise.
The book switches between the past and present, showing Candace's present post-apocalyptic life trapped in a strange cult, and before the fever took over — where she was essentially stuck in a "cult" of the corporate overlords at her job with Spectra. Even when death knocks at one's door, Candace is still keen on working her job for an unthinkable amount of money, despite that kind of currency being functionally useless in the new world. As she says, "money is freedom," but what does that freedom entail when your entire worldview shatters with that philosophy's disappearance? Candace funnily becomes "fevered" in her own way, although her creativity does resurface as she becomes the renowned "NYGhost" blogger and photographer, documenting the devastating state of New York. Having no regular 9-5 job means Candace has to find herself again and create a cohesive identity without being entrenched in capitalistic norms.
Yet, her post-apocalyptic life, mirrors her previous one: both involve being stuck in a limbo, waiting for a path to unravel itself to her, sticking to what's convenient until push comes to shove and she finally has to sculpt her own desires concretely. A lot of the events happening around boil down to her own indecisiveness, and I think that's something that resonates with a lot of people because of how society operates today. We're constantly on survival mode, which eats away at our individuality and creativity, and most of all a sense of community. Similar to the plot, the language and writing style is structured in a way that includes a lot of repetition, almost boring and matter-of-fact. I think this is where it sometimes loses my interest — although intentionally written in a way that shows her stoicism, some parts felt too rambly and just like Candace, the readers do a lot of "waiting around" for something more meaningful. I had a big urge to DNF, but fortunately things do pick up halfway through.
The last part is reminiscent of the film "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), where it takes place in a mall, and besides it symbolizing the ultimate, nostalgic setting of American consumerism, it figuratively and literally traps people under the disguise of being a safe haven. That connection probably made it more interesting for me, but overall I had higher expectations for this book.
Habits and routines are some of the most important aspects of being human; without them, whether for better or worse, society and infrastructure would collapse. We've seen a huge disruption for example when COVID started — for many it was an extremely trying time, but others see it as almost a break from the monotonous drudgery of capitalism, or at least realize how much society has succumbed to consumerism and making bread. "Severance" explores both of these aspects, where production coordinator Candace Chen learns to live in a new world where the majority suffer from a fungal infection, "Shen fever." The "fevered" are essentially harmless zombies stuck in mechanical routines until their demise.
The book switches between the past and present, showing Candace's present post-apocalyptic life trapped in a strange cult, and before the fever took over — where she was essentially stuck in a "cult" of the corporate overlords at her job with Spectra. Even when death knocks at one's door, Candace is still keen on working her job for an unthinkable amount of money, despite that kind of currency being functionally useless in the new world. As she says, "money is freedom," but what does that freedom entail when your entire worldview shatters with that philosophy's disappearance? Candace funnily becomes "fevered" in her own way, although her creativity does resurface as she becomes the renowned "NYGhost" blogger and photographer, documenting the devastating state of New York. Having no regular 9-5 job means Candace has to find herself again and create a cohesive identity without being entrenched in capitalistic norms.
Yet, her post-apocalyptic life, mirrors her previous one: both involve being stuck in a limbo, waiting for a path to unravel itself to her, sticking to what's convenient until push comes to shove and she finally has to sculpt her own desires concretely. A lot of the events happening around boil down to her own indecisiveness, and I think that's something that resonates with a lot of people because of how society operates today. We're constantly on survival mode, which eats away at our individuality and creativity, and most of all a sense of community. Similar to the plot, the language and writing style is structured in a way that includes a lot of repetition, almost boring and matter-of-fact. I think this is where it sometimes loses my interest — although intentionally written in a way that shows her stoicism, some parts felt too rambly and just like Candace, the readers do a lot of "waiting around" for something more meaningful. I had a big urge to DNF, but fortunately things do pick up halfway through.
The last part is reminiscent of the film "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), where it takes place in a mall, and besides it symbolizing the ultimate, nostalgic setting of American consumerism, it figuratively and literally traps people under the disguise of being a safe haven. That connection probably made it more interesting for me, but overall I had higher expectations for this book.