A review by taratearex
Severance by Ling Ma

dark funny reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

 I was very skeptical about whether I would like this book based on some reviews I've seen, but I think going in knowing this isn't a typical "zombie apocalypse" book helps. I think the audiobook really enhanced my experience, but honestly I think it was just the perfect book at the moment for me and I loved it. I thought everything worked so well, I loved the critiques of capitalism, especially in the face of a pandemic- the fact that this was written in 2018 and gets so much right is so disturbing and depressing. I loved the focus on the mundane routines as the world slowly falls apart, I wanted to scream "why are you working right now?!?!" but then I look around at where we're currently at, sigh. I've seen a number of reviews say they didn't like the ending and personally it totally worked for me, honestly everything just totally worked for me. It was all a little too close to home, but somehow comforting in a really fucked up way.

I highly recommend the audiobook read by Nancy Wu, I already looked up books she narrates as I just think she was so amazing and got the character vibe and the satirical mood so perfectly. 
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