100 Days - ninety five (95): the end of the world

 

'Leave the World Behind' by Rumaan Alam is an unusual take on the end of the world. Amanda and Clay and their children Rose and Archie have rented a high-class holiday home for the week, but out of the blue the owners, George and Ruth, turn up on the doorstep, having driven away from New York in fear because of a black-out. Like when I read 'The Martian' a few years ago my main thought was that it would make a good film, maybe a rather arty atmospheric film. Nothing much happens but from the first knock on the door there is this weird tension between the grownups, which is impressive since you get the thoughts of each of them though from an external point of view. Stylistically this was unusual since the insides of people's heads are often reflected in their actions and words when a third person narrative is used. The narrative lurches from sitting in the hot tub to contemplating if there has been a nuclear strike, the whole thing is just so surreal. There are brief mentions of terrible things happening in the 'outside world' but they don't have any source of information. What I found most interesting was its examination of how dependant people are on their phones; all them are at a loss for what to do next without the reassurance of the phone. The person I felt most frustrated by was Clay, who drives off to the nearby town, and gets lost, despite having driven there for shopping the previous day. But then on the other hand I like that he was allowed to be weak, and how he admits to himself that he doesn't want to be strong and fix things for the others, he wants someone to take care of him. It is unusual for male characters to be able to admit this (though he lies to the others about getting lost).

"Without thinking, Clay gave his phone his fingerprint. The phone showing him a photograph of the children, Archie, then eleven, Rose, only eight, rounded, small, innocent. It was startling to look at this evidence of the selves now gone, thought he often didn't truly see this picture, obscured by little squares of information, the seductive glow of the phone itself. He felt fantom tingles when the phone was not at his side. Clay recalled that in January, in the spirit of resolution, he'd tried leaving the phone in the other room while he slept. But that was how he did most of his newspaper reading, and staying informed was as worthy a resolution. 'Still nothing,' he said, answering a question they all wanted to ask, even if none of them bothered to. they decided to go to bed." (p.63-4)

An interesting list popped up on my facebook feed, assessing all the 'best of the year' lists from across the interweb, looking at books that appeared on many of them. This book appeared on 20 lists, so I think that makes it pretty highly recommended, assuming that my opinion carries very little weight.

Stay safe. See you tomorrow.

#100DaysToOffload