Hi folks. My long-time work friend and I are trying like hell to remember a book title or author who published a post-apocalyptic novel around 200 (give or take 50) pages. I think it was written between the late 1950’s to 70’s or 80’s by someone of John Christopher’s caliber but almost certainly American. Some plot and story elements: It opens in a large-ish metropolitan town or city in America’s East Coast or somewhere east of the Mississippi. . Protagonist is kind of slimy, self-centered alcoholic character. He’s a National Guard or Army corporal or buck sergeant who seems to be AWOL. He wakes up from a blackout drinking bender in a cheap hotel and is worried about a likely court martial. He goes outside to a boulevard – confused by the lack of people. He encounters a teenage girl (perhaps 19 years old) whom we meet again near the very end of the story. Our protagonist refers to her as “nineteen” She’s sort of shallow and ditzy - looting jewelry from abandoned jewelry stores because she’s smitten by all the glitz. There’s a scene in the first half of the story where the protagonist cautiously and stealthily approached a big river (like the Mississippi) but is afraid of being caught or shot by a mobilized National Guard or militia guarding the bridge.
Cause and symptoms of the apocalypse ??? The bulk of the story revolves around following the protagonist as he journeys westward trying to avoid being caught and killed while desperately looking for food and a safe place to sleep and survive the coming winter. ***SPOILERS BELOW***
In another chapter, he’s ingratiated himself to a family living on an isolated rural farm that offers meager pickings of grown food. He reluctantly agrees to work on their paltry land, fortifying their inadequate defenses (against all realistic hope) in exchange for room and board over the harsh winter. There‘s a scene where he’s looking out across the rugged, desolate landscape surrounding the farm while knowing for a fact there is a man who is stealthily crawling through freezing muck and mire, looking for a way to gain the advantage of a surprise attack on the naïve family, stalking them like a deadly predator. The protagonist is able to repel the first couple attempts but he knows it’s futile seeing that savage raiders will eventually succeed the first opportunity after he moves on. His successes in defense of the farm happen without his bringing the brutality of his methods to the attention of the innocent family. All this snowballs into a crisis of conscience over their inevitable slaughter at the hands of savage roaming raiders once he leaves their farm. He announces his intention to leave at the first sign of spring and the family urges him to stay but he selfishly declines the offer. And he doesn’t have the heart to really make them understand the lethal threat so he leaves them with an illusion of safety. Sure enough, the farm attracts savage raiders from a perceived bounty of food, shelter and people to murder, rape, and pillage.
The very last scene is when, against all odds, he encounters the same girl (from the beginning of the story) after nearly killing her at a remote cabin. He greets her cavalierly, “Hey nineteen”.
My long-time work friend and I are trying like hell to remember a book title or author who published a post-apocalyptic novel around 200 (give or take 50) pages.
I think it was written between the late 1950’s to 70’s or 80’s by someone of John Christopher’s caliber but almost certainly American.
Some plot and story elements:
It opens in a large-ish metropolitan town or city in America’s East Coast or somewhere east of the Mississippi. .
Protagonist is kind of slimy, self-centered alcoholic character. He’s a National Guard or Army corporal or buck sergeant who seems to be AWOL.
He wakes up from a blackout drinking bender in a cheap hotel and is worried about a likely court martial. He goes outside to a boulevard – confused by the lack of people.
He encounters a teenage girl (perhaps 19 years old) whom we meet again near the very end of the story. Our protagonist refers to her as “nineteen”
She’s sort of shallow and ditzy - looting jewelry from abandoned jewelry stores because she’s smitten by all the glitz.
There’s a scene in the first half of the story where the protagonist cautiously and stealthily approached a big river (like the Mississippi) but is afraid of being caught or shot by a mobilized National Guard or militia guarding the bridge.
Cause and symptoms of the apocalypse ???
The bulk of the story revolves around following the protagonist as he journeys westward trying to avoid being caught and killed while desperately looking for food and a safe place to sleep and survive the coming winter.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
In another chapter, he’s ingratiated himself to a family living on an isolated rural farm that offers meager pickings of grown food. He reluctantly agrees to work on their paltry land, fortifying their inadequate defenses (against all realistic hope) in exchange for room and board over the harsh winter.
There‘s a scene where he’s looking out across the rugged, desolate landscape surrounding the farm while knowing for a fact there is a man who is stealthily crawling through freezing muck and mire, looking for a way to gain the advantage of a surprise attack on the naïve family, stalking them like a deadly predator. The protagonist is able to repel the first couple attempts but he knows it’s futile seeing that savage raiders will eventually succeed the first opportunity after he moves on. His successes in defense of the farm happen without his bringing the brutality of his methods to the attention of the innocent family.
All this snowballs into a crisis of conscience over their inevitable slaughter at the hands of savage roaming raiders once he leaves their farm.
He announces his intention to leave at the first sign of spring and the family urges him to stay but he selfishly declines the offer. And he doesn’t have the heart to really make them understand the lethal threat so he leaves them with an illusion of safety.
Sure enough, the farm attracts savage raiders from a perceived bounty of food, shelter and people to murder, rape, and pillage.
The very last scene is when, against all odds, he encounters the same girl (from the beginning of the story) after nearly killing her at a remote cabin. He greets her cavalierly, “Hey nineteen”.
Your help is greatly appreciated!