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Strange Labour

Robert Penner (Goodreads Author)

4.16 · Rating details · 75 ratings · 22 reviews

Strange Labour is a powerful meditation on the meaning of humanity in a universe that is indifferent to our extinction, and a provocative re-imagining of many of the tropes and clichés that have shaped the post-apocalyptic novel. Most people have deserted the cities and towns to work themselves to death in the construction of monumental earthworks. The only adults unaffect ...more

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Paperback, 192 pages

Published October 15th 2020 by RADIANT Press

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Sep 21, 2020 Gabrielo rated it really liked it

“Not your grandfather’s post-apocalyptic road trip” is probably the best way to describe Robert Penner’s book, Strange Labour. Set in the very near future, it tells the story of Miranda, one of the few survivors of a globe-spanning catastrophe that has completely wiped out civilization as we know it. Despite recognizing the almost-certain futility of it, Miranda is travelling across the USA to her childhood home in Minnesota to find her parents. Along the way, she meets other survivors – “regula “Not your grandfather’s post-apocalyptic road trip” is probably the best way to describe Robert Penner’s book, Strange Labour. Set in the very near future, it tells the story of Miranda, one of the few survivors of a globe-spanning catastrophe that has completely wiped out civilization as we know it. Despite recognizing the almost-certain futility of it, Miranda is travelling across the USA to her childhood home in Minnesota to find her parents. Along the way, she meets other survivors – “regulars” they call themselves, for reasons I won’t explain – including Esther, who runs a seniors’ home, Tonya, who teaches sex education to orphans, and Dave, a seizure-prone, weed-smoking philosopher, who collects stories and provides non-stop social commentary.

Dave is on his way to Chicago, and most of the book follows him and Miranda as they journey from Pennsylvania, through Toledo, to Minnesota and finally into the Great Plains and the mountains of Montana, where they both finally find what they’re looking for.

Penner is an excellent writer. His prose is deft and clever; his descriptions sparkle and his dialogue sings. This guy knows how to string a sentence together and from that perspective alone this was a joy to read. There were a couple spots where I thought some of the descriptive passages were overlong, but that’s a quibble not a critique. Also – a bit of advice, here: you must pay attention. The clues to the riddles this story poses are just as likely to be stuck in the middle of Miranda’s internal dialogue or sandwiched between two of Dave’s endless stories, as they are to be out in plain sight.

One thing I loved about this is how it starts in the middle and takes off running, leaving the reader to catch up as best they can. As the story begins, it very quickly becomes apparent that something terrible has happened. It also becomes apparent that Penner is in no hurry to explain what it is, and so we’re forced to pick up the clues he drops and try to cobble them together for ourselves as the mystery of what happened and why deepens.

The story itself is—different. It takes the elements of the post-apocalypse genre we’ve come to expect and does some very strange things to them. For a book immersed in the consequences of a global catastrophe, it’s surprisingly low key. Which isn’t to say there isn’t tension. As the story unfolds – two stories, really, since much of it takes place inside Miranda’s head as she picks over the memories of her childhood and growing up years – I felt like there was a horror-movie soundtrack playing, low-pitched and foreboding, just at the edge of conscious awareness. It was like reading the short-story “The Lottery”—where things appear to be one way on the surface but you just know there’s something else going on, and that when you finally figure out what it is, you’re not going to like it. This is surely deliberate – Penner playing with the conventions of the genre to keep us on edge. But it’s definitely true that compared to other works in this genre, Strange Labour is strangely tame. I can’t say necessarily that this is a weakness, but if you’re someone who absolutely requires that heads be blown off and that blood spurt from severed arteries, this is not the book for you.

But if you want a thoughtful, thought-provoking, sometimes heart-breaking read, one that forces you to peel off successive layers of meaning – about society, about life and work and what it means to be normal – one that will stay in your mind long after you’re finished, then I recommend it.
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Oct 30, 2020 Grady rated it it was amazing

Stepping into the heart of darkness: a post-apocalyptic view into a possible tomorrow

Canadian author Robert G Penner, now living in Pennsylvania, is the founder and editor of Big Echo, a free online journal of critical science fiction (‘science fiction that provides the interested reader with a considered assessment of the social and cultural circumstances in which it was produced’): in that role he uses his pseudonym William Squirrell. And that note of background most assuredly applies to the c Stepping into the heart of darkness: a post-apocalyptic view into a possible tomorrow

Canadian author Robert G Penner, now living in Pennsylvania, is the founder and editor of Big Echo, a free online journal of critical science fiction (‘science fiction that provides the interested reader with a considered assessment of the social and cultural circumstances in which it was produced’): in that role he uses his pseudonym William Squirrell. And that note of background most assuredly applies to the content of this book. His many stories (as William Squirrell) appear in anthologies and the novel LET THE BASTARDS BURN. STRANGE LABOUR is his debut novel under the name Robert G Penner.

STRANGE LABOUR is a novel, yes, a story, yes, an introspective experience – hopefully for every reader. In a completely unique manner of composing a dystopian tale, Penner has managed to make his characters and plot so contemporary that we enter his strange world, somehow familiar with it – the bizarre manner in which we humans decide what is important and what is unimportant. Pretenses, prejudices, proclivities, predilections – and antipathies. In composing his compelling story, Penner holds the proverbial mirror up to his readers: it is up to the individual to discover the relevance.

As one observer from Booklist describes the plot, ‘Miranda is working as a New York City accountant when all the world's neurotypical adults are mysteriously compelled to abandon their lives and devote themselves to the creation of massive labyrinthine earthworks called "the diggings." Only the neurodivergent are immune to the impulse, Miranda among them. Now traveling to Minnesota to find her parents, Miranda and ex-union organizer Dave, who has epilepsy, traverse a dystopian landscape marked not with violence, but with frayed human relationships and abandoned children. Along the way, they encounter dementia nurses and educators struggling to adjust to the new world; an affluent, heartless Toledo commune; and the silent diggers themselves.’

Or as the book cover distills the plot, ‘Strange Labour is a powerful meditation on the meaning of humanity in a universe that is indifferent to our extinction, and a provocative re-imagining of many of the tropes and clichés that have shaped the post-apocalyptic novel. Most people have deserted the cities and towns to work themselves to death in the construction of monumental earthworks. The only adults unaffected by this mysterious obsession are a dwindling population that live in the margins of a new society they cannot understand. Isolated, in an increasingly deserted landscape, living off the material remnants of the old order, trapped in antiquated habits and assumptions, they struggle to construct a meaningful life for themselves. Miranda, a young woman who travels across what had once been the West, meets Dave, who has peculiar theories about the apocalypse.’

Both involving and immensely entertaining, this novel captures our current status like a motion sensor we place at our front doors. Paranoia,? no, but anxiously curious, possibly, the way this story seeps into us. Brilliant debut novel; gifted artist! Bravo! ...more

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Sep 21, 2020 Andrew rated it it was amazing

In Robert Penner's illuminating debut novel, we follow Miranda, who, along with the few other remaining neuroatypical adults and pre-adolescent children, is somehow untouched by an affliction that has otherwise devastated society as we know it. Most have become drones, compelled to take part in massive earthen excavations that reach as far as the horizon. What is the purpose of all of this labor? In a book such as this, there's no easy answer. Nor should there be. The thrust of this work is the ...more

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Mar 16, 2021 Tim Hicks rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

How much you like this will depend on how you approach it. As a regular reader of SF, I like my puzzles explained, and Penner has decided not to do that. Fine, that's his call, and since there isn't enough data for us to even guess what has happened, we are forced to stay with Miranda as she, well, carries on. Also lacking data, she reasonably enough lives mostly one day at a time.

The one thing that still niggles at me is (view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 12, 2020 Dawn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

I have questions, so many questions... but still, I am oddly satisfied with this book. Post-apocalyptic novels are numerous, but this one stands out from the crowd. The characters feel like they are kept at arm's length, which is something I usually don't get on with, but it really works with this story because you don't want them to get too close. The plot is relatively simple with few explanations. More from Mr. Penner, please!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Spencer rated it liked it

This is an interesting debut. While I didn't thoroughly enjoy Penner's novel, it was certainly thought-provoking. "Strange Labour" follows Miranda as she travels West across the U.S. in the wake of a bizarre and mysterious apocalyptic event. While acknowledging many tropes of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre, the author manages to circumnavigate most of them in a way, approaching or referencing them from a subtly different angle. It's not that Penner has created something entirely new or different This is an interesting debut. While I didn't thoroughly enjoy Penner's novel, it was certainly thought-provoking. "Strange Labour" follows Miranda as she travels West across the U.S. in the wake of a bizarre and mysterious apocalyptic event. While acknowledging many tropes of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre, the author manages to circumnavigate most of them in a way, approaching or referencing them from a subtly different angle. It's not that Penner has created something entirely new or different with this short novel (though he does get points for a unique apocalypse), but he has chosen a different conversation than that which is typically found in this type of story. His prose is long, meditative, even stream-of-consciousness at times, full of simile, symbolism, and metaphor, whether it be dialogue, thought, or exposition.

There is a slow, steady pulse to it all, which gives a sense of cohesiveness across both character and narrative development, and colors the entire feel of the novel. That feel is slow, reflective, and subdued. The development is slow in part because Penner does a nice job of "showing, not telling," letting the reader put together the world and events preceding the story piece by piece. It is also slow by virtue of the fact that the novel is fairly character driven, and indeed, there is not a whole lot "happening" in the story. Even the minimal "action" in the story itself feels ponderous and a bit removed, as if the reader is meant to reflect on the events, more than experience them. Indeed, though I mentioned that I didn't particularly enjoy the book, I don't think I was necessarily meant to enjoy it. Rather, it feels as though the story is merely a medium to facilitate individual introspection and sociocultural extrospection. In that sense, it is a success. However, it's worth cautioning readers that the novel seems quite bleak, cynical, at times even nihilistic. It is open-ended, without much in the way of "answers" or "statements." Its characters may be hard to invest in or identify with. Again, it is slow, and bleak. This may be frustrating to some, and certainly takes the right mood to appreciate. If that mood is yours, "Strange Labour" is well done and worth a try. ...more

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Aug 23, 2020 Paul rated it liked it

Not bad. I enjoyed the premise and parts of it. But is often slow paced and a little uneven, and because of this it won't be for everyone, It doesn't have the polish of more experienced authors, but story is OK overall. It has an interesting take on dystopia.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review! ...more

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Sep 13, 2021 Matt Casas rated it really liked it

This is another post-apocalyptic story. It is incredibly unique and nothing you have ever thought about before. Unfortunately, the mystery is never explained and the solution is never hinted at. It's a good thing that the author knows how to write! The main characters are believable (if not a little bit crazy). The world is alive in a dead sort of way. I was surprisingly happy with how this story ended.

Robert Penner, if you are reading this, when is your next book coming out? ...more

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Oct 17, 2020 Christine B. rated it it was amazing

Fascinating and eerie. I couldn’t put it down.

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Aug 14, 2020 Nick rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, reviewed, pre-release

Please find my review for, Strange Labour here. ...more

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Apr 08, 2021 Ştefan Tiron rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aesthetics, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, scavanger-cosmology, postnature, poetry, politics, realism, reviewed-books

Strange Labour by Robert Penner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A terrific debut. I have read a free sample of the book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. It is important for me to place Strange Labour within the vague contours of Eastern Europe for some reason. Eastern Europe, if such a thing exists, feels post-apocalyptic precisely in the sense that it does not fit with various standard post-apocalyptic tropes of existing SF. It feels like all the imaginings, fabulations, extrapolation of pos Strange Labour by Robert Penner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A terrific debut. I have read a free sample of the book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. It is important for me to place Strange Labour within the vague contours of Eastern Europe for some reason. Eastern Europe, if such a thing exists, feels post-apocalyptic precisely in the sense that it does not fit with various standard post-apocalyptic tropes of existing SF. It feels like all the imaginings, fabulations, extrapolation of post-apocalypticism did not prepare us for this. Maybe in the same way that Laurie Penny wrote about the inability of 'catastrophe porn' or post-apocalyptic entertainment to prepare us for the new reality we are living at this moment.

The world-building - and this is not a building (but a world to be built?), is a work of Strange Labour that exposes us to the effects of abandonment, to the shadows of massive labyrinthine earthworks that suddenly ungrounded everything. I am maybe wrong but I feel there is a deep affinity with the outcome of rapid de-industrialisation, privatization, the dismantlement of welfare systems and abandonment of everything that happened after 1989 in Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland etc
And I say this trying to avoid here the entire charge of Tarkovsky's "The Zone". The Zone appears as something immutable and thus zoned-off behind the specifics of a certain time and place, or even cordoned off by a particular historical chain-of-events. In a sense, Penner introduces us to something else, the dispersed drop-offs, the neurodivergent that cannot join the immense Stahanovist Çevengur voluntarism not since seen, that has suddenly pushed the majority of humanity into a febrile and inescapable activity.
Strange Labour has some affinity to most of what the best recent new weird (I am thinking about the works of VanderMeer - Borne, The Strange Bird: A Borne Story) tells us - that definitely, something major happened, that it affected everything that came after, we just do not know exactly what. It does that without appealing to a biotechnologically-enabled posthuman frame, but at the same time, all the epileptics and the dementia nurses already inhabit that strange space.
In a way, if we try and inhabit the world of Robert Penner it will not save us from disaster, it will maybe spurn us to appreciate its inchoate beauty and scavenge our own cosmology out of its shipwreck entrails. Such a world is not the wasteland of cannibals, murderous mutants and exotic dangers that most of post-apocalypticism abounds, but of care-work to be done, of temporary respite and mutual associations that do not settle into predictable patterns.

Somehow it makes us perceive the strangeness of that absent work. There is something else besides all the brutalist petroglyphs, cosmist mountain top sublime. Yes, the impossible monuments of Communist heyday - hold an almost intangible (for now) finality. At the same time, as a good friend wrote about The Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party on Buzludzha Peak such remains became very quickly quite alien, almost unintelligible, its purpose unknowable or aims completely and increasingly irrecoverable.
These are just the most scenic ruins apt for majestic ruin porn tourism - but what about this labyrinthine goings-on? What about the various lives, the experiences of people who live amongst such ruins, en route towards something else? What about that something that is being slowly digested and is digesting these natural-industrial habitats. Environments and habitats are indissociable from an entirety that is not larger than its parts. Many have made a home there, masses of people that once called it a place of work, are now rambling, searching, almost shambling but there is incredible wayside beauty. It is enough there is an after - but this after - has fused so seamlessly with what came all of a sudden as to be unrecognizable.

View all my reviews ...more

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Dec 07, 2021 Jamie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

When you fail to spend your life toiling away to live a mediocre life that barely keeps you fed and leaves no time for family doing a task that ultimately has no purpose society will say there is something wrong with you, that your not quite right in the head. But one might argue there is more to life, there is religion, community, and art. Perhaps those are the things that truly matter. Those are the things we should dedicate our lives to the pursuit of. But absolutely under no circumstances sh ...more

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Dec 10, 2020 Ali Kerr rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, audio

(AUDIO) Narrator was interesting choice, at times a bit too monotone, but it works somehow with the story, as the character is also very monotone in personality (if not a bit dazed). I really enjoyed this. I LOVE post-apocalyptic tales and I appreciate this unique story. Writing - very well done, an easy read. I could vividly visualize where she was, what was going on and all people she interacts with. Please write more!!!

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Apr 16, 2021 Kathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: realistic, sci-fi-fantasy

4.5 Dystopian.
In the future, virtually all adults have abandoned populated areas and have become "diggers." They mindlessly work themselves to death creating huge earthworks that have no apparent meaning. A few people who have not been affected wander the country searching for meaning, understanding and place in a world insensitive to their suffering. Each stop along the way illuminates a thread of the culture that was lost. ...more

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Oct 22, 2020 Lynn rated it it was amazing

Penner created a world that has stayed with me, a world that has many complexities, and a world that leaves the reader much to ponder about our current society and the relationships found within it. No spoilers here!

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Oct 31, 2021 Rebecca L rated it it was amazing

Character driven post apocalyptic fiction was something I didn’t know I needed. Really well written. Not too frightening or graphic (rare for apocalyptic novels) but definitely heartbreaking sometimes. Slow and steady, with no easy answers.

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Jan 14, 2021 Luisa rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 11, 2022 Rich Field rated it liked it

I enjoyed it, but I found it frustrating that nothing was really explained and book just ended.

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Feb 28, 2021 Laura Medicus rated it it was amazing

Beautiful book. Absolutely loved it.

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Sep 29, 2020 Murray Christensen rated it it was amazing

Excellent book.

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Dec 16, 2020 Tan rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, dystopia

An interesting addition to literature that explores what follows our collapse.

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Jan 18, 2021 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

This novel is a post-apocalyptic road trip narrative, but quite different from any I’ve read before. It gives a lot to think on, and in particular, the utterly unique image of the “digger” camps/terraces is evocative and haunting. After looking over my reading notes, I can’t help but wish that for all its ambition, this novel had even a little bit more cohesion. I don’t mind a meandering plot or experimental writing, but there were so many thematic threads here that I had a hard time pulling any ...more

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