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Severance
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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.
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 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
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
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“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
Jun 21, 2019
Monica
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
aoc,
female-author-fic,
pub_2010s,
pub-2018,
scifi-dystopia,
5-star,
audio,
borrowed,
kindle_fiction,
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
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.
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
Utterly fantastic. Somehow Ma managed to take
1. An office job 2. A pandemic that decimates most of the population and 3. A story about immigrants making a life for themselves in America
and make it cohesive and compelling. Candace wasn’t a very sympathetic character, so I could see people disliking her, but I really enjoy reading about people like that because it’s r e a l. This book also makes you think about the time you spend repeating familiar routines day after day, and kind of... shakes yo ...more
1. An office job 2. A pandemic that decimates most of the population and 3. A story about immigrants making a life for themselves in America
and make it cohesive and compelling. Candace wasn’t a very sympathetic character, so I could see people disliking her, but I really enjoy reading about people like that because it’s r e a l. This book also makes you think about the time you spend repeating familiar routines day after day, and kind of... shakes yo ...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
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.
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
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 the present post-apocalyptic America, and the time before the epidemic arrived.
The novel moves at a slow pa ...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 the present post-apocalyptic America, and the time before the epidemic arrived.
The novel moves at a slow pa ...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
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
Sep 19, 2018
Diane S ☔
added it
Dnf at 20%. Probably me, just not feeling this. Lacking the patience or will to continue.
SEVERANCE is a very well-balanced novel, seamlessly blending dry wit, apocalyptic end games, and a unique character study. Following a young woman as she travels by caravan from a deserted New York City to the outskirts of Chicago, this book deftly blends different tones from the dark and dreary, to the heartwarming and hilarious. The humor is certainly not for everyone and tends to bend towards the bone dry, but it perfectly matches the main character of Candace, a young Chinese immigrant who a
...more
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
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
4.5
I can't get enough of these Millennial Malaise novels at the moment. So much so, I really want to host a dinner party with Candace, Janice ( The Ice Shelf) and the unnamed protagonist from My Year of Rest and Relaxation . These are my kind of women.
Candace a child of Chinese immigrants is a disaffected New York millennial, college educated with no career in sight, she spends her days in coffee shops, or wandering directionless, pessimistic about life and considering the impending apocaly ...more
I can't get enough of these Millennial Malaise novels at the moment. So much so, I really want to host a dinner party with Candace, Janice ( The Ice Shelf) and the unnamed protagonist from My Year of Rest and Relaxation . These are my kind of women.
Candace a child of Chinese immigrants is a disaffected New York millennial, college educated with no career in sight, she spends her days in coffee shops, or wandering directionless, pessimistic about life and considering the impending apocaly ...more
I really enjoyed this oddball dystopian novel about a young woman in NYC soldiering on while the world around her succumbs to a deadly plague. “Shen Fever” is a fungal infection originated in China, which is transmitted by breathing in fungal spores. The symptoms initially mimic those of the common cold, but the disease quickly causes its victims (called Fevered) to become blank-faced automons, repeating rote everyday tasks until they eventually waste away from malnourishment, lose consciousness
...more
Severance is what you might call a literary zombie novel, except that the zombies are peaceful. As post-apocalyptic stories go, it's more Station Eleven than I Am Legend. Low on thrills, but wistful, and loaded with smart satire.
The year is 2011, and Candace Chen is a successful project manager for a New York publisher. Her job is only a means to an end. Photography is her real love, but these days it's more of a part-time hobby than an all-consuming passion. Her boyfriend Jonathan plans to leav ...more
The year is 2011, and Candace Chen is a successful project manager for a New York publisher. Her job is only a means to an end. Photography is her real love, but these days it's more of a part-time hobby than an all-consuming passion. Her boyfriend Jonathan plans to leav ...more
It's the zombie apocalypse but the mindless, infected hordes this time aren't craving human brains but are instead locked in an endless loop of familiar and comforting patterns. Setting the table for example, or trying on outfits, over and over and over again.
In that sense, Candace barely differs from the infected. As the city vacates around her and more and more people succumb to the fever, she is stuck in her own routine. She continues to punch a clock, and put in her time at an increasingly e ...more
In that sense, Candace barely differs from the infected. As the city vacates around her and more and more people succumb to the fever, she is stuck in her own routine. She continues to punch a clock, and put in her time at an increasingly e ...more
This one landed like a flat mylar balloon for me. The combination of a detached narrative voice plus the strangely muted descriptions of this particular vision of apocalypse deflated my enthusiasm. I suppose it’s part of the satire that the tiny band of survivors here are all regular joes who lack imagination, but their lack of any real alarm, as civilization collapses all around them, left me feeling uninvolved rather than amused.
For apocalyptic zombie satire, I preferred Zone One by Colson Wh ...more
For apocalyptic zombie satire, I preferred Zone One by Colson Wh ...more
A riveting, thought provoking novel about a millennial woman living and working in New York when an apocalyptic event occurs. This novel defies categorization or simple summaries. Ling Ma taps into the anxieties of our era brilliantly and held me captive for 291 pages.
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
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center for Litera...: Severance by Ling Ma (Part 2) | 5 | 18 | Apr 26, 2020 08:09PM | |
| Center for Litera...: Severance by Ling Ma (Part 1) | 14 | 22 | Apr 19, 2020 07:12PM | |
| Schlafly Global B...: Severance | 22 | 36 | Feb 03, 2020 01:53PM | |
| Books & Boba: August 2019: Severance by Ling Ma | 2 | 46 | Sep 17, 2019 02:48PM |
Readers also enjoyed
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?
Pg 290”
—
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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?
Pg 290”
“Memories beget memories. Shen fever being a disease of remembering, the fevered are trapped indefinitely in their memories. But what is the difference between the fevered and us? Because I remember too, I remember perfectly. My memories replay, unprompted, on repeat. And our days, like theirs, continue in an infinite loop.”
—
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