An ambitious, engaging novel about a world after a pandemic wipes out most of the population. At the moment (July 2020) it feels a bit On The Nose.I have to admit, I heard a lot of hype about this book, and perhaps my expectations were absurdly high. I was surprised by the writing, which felt at times somewhat workmanlike, ordinary. But I was wholly engaged by the range of characters (all well-developed, nuanced, psychologically coherent) and subplots that illustrate our broad range of responses to unimaginable horror. In some cases, human decency is affirmed; elsewhere it is utterly abandoned.
Because the book shifts about in time, moving forward and backward, and focalizes through different characters (3rd person POV throughout), it creates some small mysteries: when we learn about "the prophet," we wonder, which one of the children, at the time of the pandemic, became this depraved man? The narrative voice is deft and trustworthy, so I knew the subplots and the fragmented timelines would connect somehow--and I found myself guessing throughout and pleased by how well the threads tied together, in an ending that is not happily ever after but is still hopeful. I read this in one day and recommend, even for those of us who don't love or usually read dystopian novels.
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