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A review by gothhotel
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
4.0
I went in knowing the bare minimum, just the tidbit on the back of the book. I didn't read any reviews or anything so I truly had no idea what Melanie was or what the story was about, and I think that's the best way to experience this story. Carey often drags up the image of Pandora's box throughout the narrative, and that's a bit how this felt. On the whole the prose is very good, though there are some odd details and turns of phrase along the way. But this story is really about the characters, which it absolutely nails. While maybe the people Carey tells us about are suspiciously eloquent, their beats basically land and I can imagine them as real people. He especially excels at writing Melanie, keeping her a child even though she is a genius and all that, and the way Justineau relates to her. (I actually thought Justineau's first perspective chapter wasn't great, but it picks up quickly.)
Pace dragged a bit in the middle, when it felt like I was reading someone play "The Last of Us" (though this book was likely written before TLOU came out, so I'm not knocking its originality). But things were overall pretty tight and well worth the weaker patches. Ultimately "The Girl With All the Gifts" is defined by a respect for the intangible, philosophical and in fact the radical. I adored the fact it did not shy from its inevitable conclusion, and Carey never compromised the humanity of his protagonist, ever, even if she wasn't really human. It's a timely message, too. The damaged children of the post-apocalypse are still its best hope for going forward, no matter what adults may feel about them. We can't save the world by trying to make it something it's not - we can only adapt to what it has become.
Pace dragged a bit in the middle, when it felt like I was reading someone play "The Last of Us" (though this book was likely written before TLOU came out, so I'm not knocking its originality). But things were overall pretty tight and well worth the weaker patches. Ultimately "The Girl With All the Gifts" is defined by a respect for the intangible, philosophical and in fact the radical. I adored the fact it did not shy from its inevitable conclusion, and Carey never compromised the humanity of his protagonist, ever, even if she wasn't really human. It's a timely message, too. The damaged children of the post-apocalypse are still its best hope for going forward, no matter what adults may feel about them. We can't save the world by trying to make it something it's not - we can only adapt to what it has become.