The Lightest Object in the Universe

The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele (2019)

Hooray! A new post-apocalyptic novel! I first heard about this one from Kirkus Reviews, which said this about it:

"...given the current state of our deeply divided, heavily armed nation, it takes a stretch to imagine that, in the event of total international disaster, so much of the population would cheerfully turn to manual labor and generosity. It’s pretty to think that a global economic, political, and technological collapse could be solved by bike co-ops, backyard chickens, and a radio show about a homegrown superhero, plus a little true love, but this novel just doesn’t make it plausible."

My reaction? Sign me up! I'm happy to read a book about the collapse of civilization that has people rebuilding and helping each other rather than tearing each other apart. I've had enough of our deeply divided, heavily armed nation. Bring on the backyard chickens!

There are two primary characters: Carson, a teacher on the East Coast, and Beatrix, an activist and organizer on the West Coast. As things were getting dire, Carson promised Beatrix that if everything collapsed he would make his way to her. Then things collapse, and he set out on the road. Meanwhile, Beatrix had just returned from a stint in Central America and is putting her community organizing skills to work in her own neighborhood. There's this religious leader named Jonathan Blue broadcasting over the airwaves to attract people to the Center, where he promises all sorts of abundance. He's the only thing on the radio and Beatrix wants to counter his rhetoric with helpful information about growing vegetables, fixing things, raising chickens, canning, etc so she sets out to start her own radio station.

I love post-apocalyptic novels of all kinds, and this one felt to me like a cross between The Dog Stars and Station Eleven. That's really saying a lot, and I don't want you think it's necessarily as wonderful as either of those because I don't think it's quite as magical as either of them but it's a pretty solid 4 stars for me. It's not perfect - for instance, there are a lot of homeless people and I don't understand why. A lot of people were killed off by flu and a lot of other people left for elsewhere so surely there are empty houses and apartments? No need to live in your car! It also could have used a proof reader as there were a few noticeable errors. But it was a compelling story about the different ways people handle the collapse of society, and the hope that brings so many of them together to build a better future.

Station Eleven

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)

An actor playing King Lear collapses on a stage in Toronto, while a horrified audience looks on. Almost immediately after, a deadly flu spreads across the globe leaving few survivors. Twenty years later, a troupe of musicians and actors travel the Great Lakes region performing among the small villages that remain in this new civilization. Their motto is taken from Star Trek: Survival is insufficient.

There are many major characters in the book and their lives are intertwined in ways that don't always seem obvious, both before and after the catastrophe. They all relate in some way to Arthur Leander, the actor who dies in the very beginning, just before the flu takes hold. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the way each character is changed by what happens, and how they touch the lives of others, even those they have not met.

When I think about this book, so many images come to mind: Arthur's ex-wife Miranda, on the beach in Malaysia after she has received the news of his death; Jeevan Chaudhary, an entertainment photographer, skulking outside Arthur's house hoping to get the perfect shot; Arthur's best friend Clark, twenty years after the flu, living in the airport where he was stranded when the planes stopped flying. With almost the entire population of the world wiped out, everything has come to a halt - transportation, running water, electricity, the internet. There's a reference to another post-apocalyptic novel, The Passage, when someone hopefully speculates that the catastrophe may just be confined to North America. There's a scene in which Kirsten, who had only been 8 when it happened, has a question about multiple universes that she cannot get answered. She says, "None of the older Symphony members knew much about science, which was frankly maddening given how much time these people had to look things up on the Internet before the world ended."

I love a good apocalyptic novel, and this is a great one. One of the things that frequently frustrates me about post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels is that you never get the part of the story where the big changes occurred. Usually the focus is on the world now and that is totally fine, but just occasionally it would be nice to get that part of the story. Satisfyingly, Station Eleven includes many parts of this catastrophe - before, during, and after - just not in a linear fashion. I think the book it reminds me the most of is The Dog Stars, another post-apocalyptic novel, which shares an atmosphere both bleak and hopeful, and similarly exquisite writing.

Station Eleven has been getting tons of accolades, including nominations for the National Book Award and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. I've been wanting to read it for a while but held off because my book group chose it a few months ago for this month. I'm so glad I was finally able to read it! I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story, but it's essential for readers of post-apocalyptic fiction.

World Made By Hand : a review

World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler (2008)

Sometime in the unspecified future, the people of Union Grove in upstate New York live without law, electricity, oil, news of the outside world, or many other things we all take for granted today. Robert has lost his whole family, as so many others have, but still struggles on trying to create a life of normalcy. He and his peers remember the old days of computers, cars, and corporate jobs but for younger folks this is the only life they have known. When a young man from the town is shot over a misunderstanding, some members of the community decide that the lawlessness has gone on long enough. Their new sense of justice spurs clashes that result in minor tragedies, but Robert and his neighbors are determined to build a society run on order, not fear.

Religion unsurprisingly takes on a larger role in this broken society full of desperate people. One of the major plots involves Brother Jobe and his New Faith followers moving into Union Grove after fleeing the violence of the South. Though many in the town (including Robert) are wary of religion, it becomes clear that the New Faithers want to integrate into the peaceful community and by the end of the book they seem to be forging an alliance.

I didn’t quite understand what had happened to the world, and if it had happened everywhere or just to the US. There was mention of bomb attacks on a few different American cities, and I’m not sure if that’s why the US no longer had oil or if it’s because there was no oil left to be had (see: James Kunstler’s non-fiction work The Long Emergency). Illness was rampant, and had claimed many lives including Robert’s wife and daughter. But I couldn’t quite connect how these events led to the society described in the novel.

This wasn’t the best post-apocalyptic book I’ve read, but it wasn’t terrible. I liked that this future isn’t a dystopia. It’s not an easy life, but many of the characters don’t miss the “old times” much at all. Unfortunately, none of the characters were developed well enough for me to care about them. I think this could have been a much better book than it was, (and the trailer makes it looks appealing) but it fell flat and left me a bit disappointed.

This World We Live In : a review

In the third and final installment in the trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer that began with Life As We Knew It, the characters from the first two books finally meet each other. Narrated again by Miranda from the first book, through the pages of her diary, we hear more about the family’s struggle to survive. Miranda’s older brothers leave for several days on a fishing trip and return with not only lots of fish, but a new “wife” for her older brother. The concern about the extra mouth to feed is soon overshadowed when their father also returns with his wife and their new baby, as well as a new friend Charlie, and Alex and Julie from book two. The family has now grown to 10 people and with the house so crowded, they eventually spread out into the neighbor’s house as well.

This book has little forward momentum, and almost none of what I was hoping for. The first two books got us used to the catastrophe and the new set of circumstances in which everyone is living; I hoped that this book would give us a feeling for what was to come – will humans be doomed, or will they begin rebuilding society? But unfortunately, I have no idea. Those questions weren’t answered, and the book doesn’t feel final at all, though the author says it’s the end of the series. It ended rather abruptly as well, with a weather-related catastrophe, and then it all wrapped up very quickly. It left me unsatisfied and disappointed.