Emily St. John Mandel
Fiction
Ah yes. Yet another book club book. I have been eager to read this book for awhile, hence I pulled the "I'm the leader so I choose" card for the second month in a row and picked this book.
And the result is...meh?
The writing is very pretty, I'll give Mandel that. However, I couldn't figure out what kind of book this was. Post-apocalyptic survival novel? Shakespearean tropes? Six degrees of separation? Katniss meets the Walking Dead meets LOST meets creepy-ass preacher man?
While the goal was probably to utilize all of these themes, it didn't blend well.
Pros: The best narration involved the citizens of the airport and Jeevan who was trapped in the apartment with his brother. The idea of watching the world crumble outside your window is terrifying and was executed brilliantly. Miranda was the best character. As I said before, the writing was poetic and beautiful.
Con: What am I supposed to get from this book? That there will always be hope? How to survive 101? How one man is connected to so many people? The book jumped around, which is fine, but I never felt like any of it was justified. If there's movie, which I'm sure there will be, I hope it's executed a bit better.
Next up, Wild!
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