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Severance
by
Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. So she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies halt operations. The subways squeak to a halt. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous bl
...more
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Hardcover, 291 pages
Published
August 14th 2018
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Well written post-apocalyptic story that goes back and forth between a woman in the world after an epidemic wipes out most of humanity and everything in her life leading up to it. Very compelling, nuanced protagonist. Maddening ending that could be stronger.
4.5 stars
This book stopped me right in my tracks - literally. I read it in the span of five hours; I could not put it down. In Severance, Ling Ma shares the story of Candace Chen, a self-described millennial worker drone who spends much of her life sequestered in a Manhattan office tower. With both of her parents recently deceased and no other family or close friends, she has little else to do, aside from going to work and watching movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend. Candace thus ...more
This book stopped me right in my tracks - literally. I read it in the span of five hours; I could not put it down. In Severance, Ling Ma shares the story of Candace Chen, a self-described millennial worker drone who spends much of her life sequestered in a Manhattan office tower. With both of her parents recently deceased and no other family or close friends, she has little else to do, aside from going to work and watching movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend. Candace thus ...more
I must be in the minority because this book fell flat for me and the ending was a huge let down.
Mar 08, 2021
emma
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
reviewed,
favorites-2021,
5-stars,
literary-fiction,
owned,
dystopian,
recommend,
sci-fi,
diverse,
non-ya
i am very stupid.
for example, i didn't even give this book five stars when i finished it, and yet it is one of my favorite reads of the year.
find the full list: https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
---------------
Ling Ma served us a whole meal. A feast. A buffet. A week’s worth of Thanksgiving dinners made up of gorgeously subtle metaphor and allegory and motif, if you will.
And I will personally be stuffing myself my dear boy.
This is the kind of book that makes me wish I was still a student a ...more
for example, i didn't even give this book five stars when i finished it, and yet it is one of my favorite reads of the year.
find the full list: https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
---------------
Ling Ma served us a whole meal. A feast. A buffet. A week’s worth of Thanksgiving dinners made up of gorgeously subtle metaphor and allegory and motif, if you will.
And I will personally be stuffing myself my dear boy.
This is the kind of book that makes me wish I was still a student a ...more
I relate a lot to the millenial experience of banality and monotony under capitalism; in fact, I could easily see myself in the same position as the main character, where I still go to work despite the death around me. I like that the zombie apocalypse is different in the sense that it is non-violent, and more so a mindless depiction of people following the same routine over and over again. I also appreciate the additional layer of the immigrant narrative and how the main character's feeling of
...more
Jun 21, 2019
Monica
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
aoc,
female-author-fic,
pub_2010s,
scifi-dystopia,
5-star,
satire,
kindle_fiction,
audio,
borrowed,
aoc-female
Severance is a very clever, dare I say brilliant allegory and/or modern day fable/ meditation on how we (specifically urban but in general all) humans go about living our lives. This was a Millennial novel that hit the spot for this borderline Baby Boomer/Gen Xer (I flex towards Gen X if you are interested). Ma wrote a zombie novel that seems to ask why fear the zombie apocalypse when we are already zombies? Ma takes aim at our extremely fast paced, material driven, internet immersed society and
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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An apocalyptic satire about the global onset of Shen Fever, a plague that turns people into mindless drones, Severance follows Candace Chen as she attempts to navigate a world stripped of choice and feeling. In the main plot, Candace joins a group of survivors trying to reach a safe haven from the fever in Chicago. Along the way, Candace struggles to conceal a secret about her health, while also trying not to quarrel with the group’s self-appointed leader, a self-righteous former IT worker named
...more
I feel like this book was written just for me. It’s a post-apocalyptic anti-capitalist office satire that explores so many of the themes that resonate with millennials like myself.
Candace is one of the few survivors of Shen Fever, an epidemic that turns people into non-violent zombies condemned to repeat rote tasks over and over again until they slip into fatal unconsciousness. (You can sense the metaphor already, I’m sure.)
For a few months, Candace stays on at her office job—one of the few pe ...more
Candace is one of the few survivors of Shen Fever, an epidemic that turns people into non-violent zombies condemned to repeat rote tasks over and over again until they slip into fatal unconsciousness. (You can sense the metaphor already, I’m sure.)
For a few months, Candace stays on at her office job—one of the few pe ...more
“The past is a black hole, cut into the present day like a wound, and if you come too close, you can get sucked in. You have to keep moving.”
Ling Ma's Severance seems ever more relevant. What if we are already losing cultural and familial connection to our world before the zombie apocalypse (or global pandemic)? If that's the case, what would we have to fall back on? Severance is a zombie book with a lot going on just below the surface. In Ma's take, zombies aren't going after humans. Instead, t ...more
Ling Ma's Severance seems ever more relevant. What if we are already losing cultural and familial connection to our world before the zombie apocalypse (or global pandemic)? If that's the case, what would we have to fall back on? Severance is a zombie book with a lot going on just below the surface. In Ma's take, zombies aren't going after humans. Instead, t ...more
Oct 10, 2020
Sanne | Booksandquills
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
apocalyptic-dystopian
Yes, yes and yes. This was exactly what I was looking for. Just enough apocalypse to make this an eerie pandemic read, but also lots of introspection and commentary on the daily grind of office life. Read the second half in one sitting. Would recommend for lovers of Station Eleven.
*This copy was sent to me by the publisher for review.
*This copy was sent to me by the publisher for review.
Not your standard zombie post-apocalypse. I liked the humor and Candace's detail-rich backstory, immigrated as a child from Fujian province to Salt Lake City, most of all. Her trip to Shenzhen for her book publishing job alone was worth the read.
...more
...more
Who knew that a book about a fever outbreak crippling civilization could be SO dull? Ling Ma has talent, but this book was so haphazard and incredibly boring. It was so infuriating reading about Candace's naivety; there were multiple instances where I uttered, "she is so dumb!" while reading about her motives and inner dialogue. All the characters were mere sketches, I honestly couldn't tell you anything more than the role they play in advancing the narrative (the 'survivors' had no distinguishi
...more
So I think this book is a case of the sum being greater than its parts. If you take it apart too much all it is is pieces that have been done before, apocalypse cliches, etc. But somehow the arrangement of the parts and the point of view make it a more enjoyable read for me than I would have expected if someone like Bob had mansplained it to me (ugh his character is so annoying and not even charismatic to pull of leading a group at the end of the world.)
Still I'm not sure it's likely to stick wi ...more
Still I'm not sure it's likely to stick wi ...more
Apr 11, 2021
Elle (ellexamines)
marked it as zzzzz-did-not-finish
Alright so for the first time so far in my English major (yes, I'm surprised too) I will be fully not finishing a book assigned. This is objectively a very good book and I think that it's probably worth reading. However, hear me out: I physically cannot take finishing a novel about a virus that comes from China that everyone initially downplays, and before they can avoid the spread, it has slowly turned the entire planet into living zombies, but really the villain all along was capitalism? I hav
...more
This was a slow burn for me, but once I got to the last 100 pages I couldn't stop. This is the first time I've connected personally with a protagonist in a long time, and whether or not you're a "millennial" this book is more important than the trendy book cover color would lead you to believe.
...more
Severance by Ling Ma is many things. It is the story of a young Asian woman's search for meaning, the story of a deadly pandemic, and surprisingly, a treatise on the importance of work. It is slow moving and meanders between Candace Chen's life in publishing in New York when life was normal and her life during the pandemic, after she's become part of a group moving across the country and scavenging goods.
Candace's parents died and her boyfriend left before the pandemic hit. She has no family in ...more
Candace's parents died and her boyfriend left before the pandemic hit. She has no family in ...more
There are a lot of elements from Severance that we've all seen before - the global pandemic which brings an abrupt halt to civilization as we know it, the few survivors trying to forge ahead in the absence of a structured society, the juxtaposition of before and after narratives. But the similarities to Station Eleven or Bird Box end there, because what Ling Ma does with Severance is fuse the post-apocalyptic survival genre with anti-capitalist satire, and it works almost startlingly well.
Both w ...more
Both w ...more
Think of Severance as a stack of matryoshka dolls—an office satire inside a post-apocalyptic road trip inside an immigrant experience inside a millennial coming-of-age story inside an anti-capitalism tale. And if that sounds complicated – well, it isn’t. It all works together beautifully and the book seems eminently credible, even when it’s pushing the limits of fantasy.
So here are the “bones” of the story: a millennial named Candace Chen has fallen into a monotonous job, coordinating the produc ...more
So here are the “bones” of the story: a millennial named Candace Chen has fallen into a monotonous job, coordinating the produc ...more
This is an introspective, character-driven novel. I was hesitant to pick it up, but I’m glad I did.
The story follows Candace Chen as she navigates life in post-apocalyptic America. The world has succumbed to the “fever” and those who have caught it are called “fevered”
A large part of the story takes place in NYC, where Candace used to work for a publishing company, and it alternates between present post-apocalyptic America and the time before the epidemic arrived.
The novel moves at a slow pace b ...more
The story follows Candace Chen as she navigates life in post-apocalyptic America. The world has succumbed to the “fever” and those who have caught it are called “fevered”
A large part of the story takes place in NYC, where Candace used to work for a publishing company, and it alternates between present post-apocalyptic America and the time before the epidemic arrived.
The novel moves at a slow pace b ...more
This didn’t live up to the hype for me. It was interesting and well written, some observations were sad but beautiful. Each main character was interesting and distinct. However I wasn’t hooked, instead I made my way slowly but surely through about 5% at a time to begin with.
Mar 23, 2021
jenny✨
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
east-asian-rep,
need-to-read,
nyc,
author-of-colour,
audiobook,
2018,
adult-dystopia,
bipoc-rep,
literary-fiction,
pandemic
this was not as good as i hoped, and not as bad as i feared.
candace chen is a millennial living in new york city, the first-generation daughter of chinese immigrants. for 5 years, she's worked at a book production company as the senior product coordinator for... bibles!
severance alternates chapters to describe her life in new york, but also what happens after the world comes to a pandemic-induced standstill—after the city is ravaged by a fungal infection called shen fever.
we follow candace as s ...more
candace chen is a millennial living in new york city, the first-generation daughter of chinese immigrants. for 5 years, she's worked at a book production company as the senior product coordinator for... bibles!
severance alternates chapters to describe her life in new york, but also what happens after the world comes to a pandemic-induced standstill—after the city is ravaged by a fungal infection called shen fever.
we follow candace as s ...more
| | blog | tumblr | letterboxd | |
Severance is an engrossing and, given the current pandemic, timely read. Through the use of a dual timeline Ling Ma’s novel encompasses many genres: we have chapters set in the past, pre-apocalypse, when the Shen Fever is ...more
“To live in a city is to take part in and to propagate its impossible systems. To wake up. To go to work in the morning. It is also to take pleasure in those systems because, otherwise, who could repeat the same routines, year in, year out?”
Severance is an engrossing and, given the current pandemic, timely read. Through the use of a dual timeline Ling Ma’s novel encompasses many genres: we have chapters set in the past, pre-apocalypse, when the Shen Fever is ...more
i have to gather my thoughts but holy shit what a masterpiece.
easy 5 stars
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
there is something deeply unsettling about reading about a pandemic apocalypse during a pandemic. yet, at the same time, there is something oddly comforting about it.
while every other book i’ve read in the last two years serves as escapism, there is poignant familiarity in which candance, the disillusioned twentysometh ...more
easy 5 stars
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
“the end begins before you are ever aware of it. it passes as ordinary.”
rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
there is something deeply unsettling about reading about a pandemic apocalypse during a pandemic. yet, at the same time, there is something oddly comforting about it.
while every other book i’ve read in the last two years serves as escapism, there is poignant familiarity in which candance, the disillusioned twentysometh ...more
Mar 14, 2020
Oriana
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2020,
zeitgeist-y
A couple of weeks ago, just before everything went completely crazy, I was about to fly to Texas for a conference and I had just finished the book I was reading. I grabbed this literally on my way out the door to the airport—it had been recommended by a friend whose tastes I trust, but I knew almost nothing about it. So imagine me, a few minutes after takeoff, having made it to the airport amid churning fears and national uncertainty about a looming global pandemic flu that had originated in Wuh
...more
Boy howdy, I ripped right through this little piece of dystopian apocalyptic romance(?) coming-of-age story. I liked a lot of what was going on here. It took what could have been your basic, run-of-the-mill end of the world story, and it added some depth and layers to it. Well, the author did that. I should say she added those things.
The story bounces around in a nonlinear format so sometimes I found myself in a small band of Walking Dead-like survivors trying to... survive. Sometimes I jumped ...more
The story bounces around in a nonlinear format so sometimes I found myself in a small band of Walking Dead-like survivors trying to... survive. Sometimes I jumped ...more
Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction 2018
Ever wondered about the connection between globalization, your office job and the zombie apocalypse? Well, no worries, Ling Ma figured that out for you. Her debut novel is a mixture between immigrant family story, corporate satire, and a dystopia about a global health crisis - and while the text might not be flawless, it sure is addictive and intriguing.
Twentysomething Candace Chen, who immigrated to the US with her family as a child and is now orphane ...more
Ever wondered about the connection between globalization, your office job and the zombie apocalypse? Well, no worries, Ling Ma figured that out for you. Her debut novel is a mixture between immigrant family story, corporate satire, and a dystopia about a global health crisis - and while the text might not be flawless, it sure is addictive and intriguing.
Twentysomething Candace Chen, who immigrated to the US with her family as a child and is now orphane ...more
🌟 ⭐ 🌟⭐ 🌟⭐ 🌟⭐ 🌟⭐
"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."
In our modern world with antibiotics, anti-viral drugs, anti-fungicides, and vaccines, we sometimes forget that for most of human history, people routinely died of illnesses that today we can easily treat and cure. People used to die all the time from an abscess tooth! However, we now feel quite comfortable that in the event of an epidemic, ...more
"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."
In our modern world with antibiotics, anti-viral drugs, anti-fungicides, and vaccines, we sometimes forget that for most of human history, people routinely died of illnesses that today we can easily treat and cure. People used to die all the time from an abscess tooth! However, we now feel quite comfortable that in the event of an epidemic, ...more
Sep 19, 2018
Diane S ☔
added it
Dnf at 20%. Probably me, just not feeling this. Lacking the patience or will to continue.
Nov 30, 2018
Book of the Month
added it
Why I love it
by Siobhan Jones
Look, I want to be a good book-mom here and say that I love all our selections equally. But the truth is, there are a few reads from this year that I absolutely adored— For Better and Worse and An American Marriage come to mind—above all the others. And the book I loved most of all in 2018, the queen of the stack (if you will), is Severance.
The story has two plotlines, a Before and After. Before: Candace Chen, a twenty-something year old in New York City, toil ...more
by Siobhan Jones
Look, I want to be a good book-mom here and say that I love all our selections equally. But the truth is, there are a few reads from this year that I absolutely adored— For Better and Worse and An American Marriage come to mind—above all the others. And the book I loved most of all in 2018, the queen of the stack (if you will), is Severance.
The story has two plotlines, a Before and After. Before: Candace Chen, a twenty-something year old in New York City, toil ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books on Tap - Lu...: Severance - confession | 3 | 33 | Mar 14, 2021 08:00AM | |
| Apocalypse Whenever: July 2020: "Severance" by Ling Ma | 107 | 106 | Dec 02, 2020 01:56PM |
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Ling Ma is author of the novel Severance, which received the Kirkus Prize. Her work has appeared in Granta, Playboy, Vice, ACM, the Chicago Reader, Ninth Letter, and others.
She was born in Sanming, China and grew up in Utah, Nebraska, and Kansas. She holds an MFA from Cornell University and an AB from the University of Chicago.
She was born in Sanming, China and grew up in Utah, Nebraska, and Kansas. She holds an MFA from Cornell University and an AB from the University of Chicago.
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“To live in a city is to live the life that it was built for, to adapt to its schedule and rhythms, to move within the transit layout made for you during the morning and evening rush, winding through the crowds of fellow commuters. To live in a city is to consume its offerings. To eat at its restaurants. To drink at its bars. To shop at its stores. To pay its sales taxes. To give a dollar to its homeless.
To live in a city is to take part in and to propagate its impossible systems. To wake up. To go to work in the morning. It is also to take pleasure in those systems because, otherwise, who could repeat the same routines, year in, year out?”
—
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To live in a city is to take part in and to propagate its impossible systems. To wake up. To go to work in the morning. It is also to take pleasure in those systems because, otherwise, who could repeat the same routines, year in, year out?”
“A second chance doesn't mean you're in the clear. In many ways, it is the more difficult thing. Because a second chance means that you have to try harder. You must rise to the challenge without the blind optimism of ignorance.”
—
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