Severence

Ma, Ling. Severence New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2018. Print.

First Sentences:

After the End came the Beginning.

And in the Beginning, there were eight of us, then nine -- that was me -- a number that would only decrease.

Description:

Here's an interesting premise. In Ling Ma's novel Severence , a worldwide flu known as Shen Fever has spread internationally with its fascinating symptoms. Those who are "fevered" become forever stuck performing an endless loop of an ordinary behavior. One family continually sets plates and silverware out on their dining room table, sits down, and eats as if there is food on the plates, then puts all utensils and plates back into the cupboards and drawers, only to immediately take them out and repeat the process over and over and over. A woman is seen endlessly taking keys out of her purse, unlocking a door, opening it, closing it, replacing her keys, and repeating.  

But there are also a very few unfevered people. One roving band of eight discovers the novel's narrator, Candace Chen, in a New York City taxi far outside the city limits. Candace was a former Bible designer for a major publisher, working diligently in the office building until all her suppliers, customers, staff and bosses became fevered and stopped coming in or responding to messages. So she jumps into an endlessly circling cab, pushes the staring driver out, and motors far away from New York until she runs out of gas.

She joins this tiny group of what appears to be the only unfevered people in the world. The small group "stalks" houses and stores, taking for themselves canned food, generators, toys ... anything they might need in this new world. They are led by Bob who is taking them to the "Facility," a mysterious building where they will settle somewhere outside of Chicago. But with no GPS or maps, dodging abandoned cars along every road, the trip is slow. And along the way, personalities, goals, and frustrations begin to emerge, not all of them pretty to see.

But author Ling Ma brings us much more than merely a post-apocalyptic journey. She weaves in alternate chapters detailing Candace's former life in New York, her ambitions, and her lucrative contract with the publishing company that kept her in the City long after the flu hit. The decisions Candace faces her pre-flu life, as well as when the flu rises up ("The End"), and then during her post-flu life ("The Beginning"), are fascinating accounts of conflicting interactions with family, lovers, strangers, and environmental challenges thrust upon her.

And boy, can Ling Ma paint mysterious, compelling pictures with her writing style:

When she peeks into the bedroom, [her father] is in his usual stance: his back to the door, kneeling in front of the nightstand, clutching the beige phone receiver in one hand as he speaks to someone he declines, has declined over and over again, to identify, this person for whom his voice unfurls slow, drowsy murmurings, like a comb through wet hair.

I was riveted throughout this book, unable to anticipate what would happen from one page to the next. A very clever, challenging, plot full of unpredictable characters and situations. Highly recommended.

The End begins before you are ever aware of it.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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