Severance by Ling Ma

[Anonymous]

I realize this is an older book (2018) but I just read it. Wow, it really stank. It was like she didn't have an editor. She used the same adjectives twice in a single paragraph -- and the word "skittish" about 20 times; used some words incorrectly as if she didn't know the actual definitions; and wrote a bunch of jarringly inconsistent details about her character (like, she was promiscuous and sophisticated millennial as a foil to her older lover, and yet she wasn't comfortable having him go down on her). It won the Kirkus prize and was listed as a NYT notable book? She's a MacArthur Fellow? How is this possible?
The only thing intriguing is that it was pre-COVID and seemed to predict 2020. Maybe people were already looking at China as a source of an outbreak of some kind?

Anyone read this book and like it?

[Anonymous]

I would have sworn I read it, but I just read a summary on Wiki and the last half doesn’t sound familiar at all.

Were there any other post apocalyptic novels around the same time that started in NYC? Did Sevrance go through NoVa and DC at one point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have sworn I read it, but I just read a summary on Wiki and the last half doesn’t sound familiar at all.

Were there any other post apocalyptic novels around the same time that started in NYC? Did Sevrance go through NoVa and DC at one point?

No, it goes through the midwest.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, a book club I used to be in chose this book for one of the Covid-era books. I started it, got annoyed, and didn't finish it, which is a huge rarity for me. I think people thought the themes would be especially relatable during Covid but it just didn't resonate with me.

Glad to hear I'm not alone. I feel like people always rave about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, a book club I used to be in chose this book for one of the Covid-era books. I started it, got annoyed, and didn't finish it, which is a huge rarity for me. I think people thought the themes would be especially relatable during Covid but it just didn't resonate with me.

Glad to hear I'm not alone. I feel like people always rave about it.

This book is like something she wrote to get her MFA. It's not ready. She's not a fully formed writer yet. I mean, she's a MacArthur fellow??? How???

[Anonymous]

I loved it.

Granted, it’s been many years since I’ve read it but the story was well written.

[Anonymous]

I loved it. The ending kind of annoyed me at first, but I made peace with it in my dreams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved it. The ending kind of annoyed me at first, but I made peace with it in my dreams.

LOL