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A review by literaryjunarin
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
What would it look like if women ruled the world?
In this book, the year is 2025, and a mysterious illness has broken out in Scotland, a lethal virus that only affects men. Husbands, sons, brothers, and grandfathers all started dying, leaving women behind.
The book is structured as a collection of accounts of the women who have been left to deal with the virus's consequences. From the doctor who first discovered the virus, a social historian, a scientist, an intelligence security analyst, their stories gave the reader a view of how the world has changed with the absence of men.
Gosh, this book is sad. The accounts of the mothers who have their husbands and sons killed broke me. Some women have daughters but some only have sons. They were left alone. Suddenly, all pregnant women during the Male Plague wished to have daughters. After giving birth to a son, they started grieving immediately because what if the baby is not immune to the virus?
The world was in chaos because there's not enough manpower to control the panicking people. Police, army, security services, paramedics, fire services, these professions consist of mostly men and they died one by one.
I liked how the book included stories about the death of loving husbands but also about those abusive husbands, husbands who got so scared he left his family only to find out he's immune, husbands who were trapped on a ship because they can't land to avoid the plague. The strategies made by the women leaders were interesting as well. Evacuating the teenage boys to a hotel, newly born baby boys quarantined immediately, training women to military, etc.
I just wished that the stories of transwomen and gay men were expanded more. They only have 2 pages.
In this book, the year is 2025, and a mysterious illness has broken out in Scotland, a lethal virus that only affects men. Husbands, sons, brothers, and grandfathers all started dying, leaving women behind.
The book is structured as a collection of accounts of the women who have been left to deal with the virus's consequences. From the doctor who first discovered the virus, a social historian, a scientist, an intelligence security analyst, their stories gave the reader a view of how the world has changed with the absence of men.
Gosh, this book is sad. The accounts of the mothers who have their husbands and sons killed broke me. Some women have daughters but some only have sons. They were left alone. Suddenly, all pregnant women during the Male Plague wished to have daughters. After giving birth to a son, they started grieving immediately because what if the baby is not immune to the virus?
The world was in chaos because there's not enough manpower to control the panicking people. Police, army, security services, paramedics, fire services, these professions consist of mostly men and they died one by one.
I liked how the book included stories about the death of loving husbands but also about those abusive husbands, husbands who got so scared he left his family only to find out he's immune, husbands who were trapped on a ship because they can't land to avoid the plague. The strategies made by the women leaders were interesting as well. Evacuating the teenage boys to a hotel, newly born baby boys quarantined immediately, training women to military, etc.
I just wished that the stories of transwomen and gay men were expanded more. They only have 2 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death