How to Survive Everything - Ewan Morrison

Well, Ewan Morrison's novel, How to Survive Everything kept me glued to the couch on a rainy weekend!

Haley and her younger brother Ben have been kidnapped by their (non-custodial) father who is determined to shield them from the next pandemic, at a remote, off the radar location. It is Haley's voice and point of view that drives the book.

Is their father delusional or is he a canny harbinger of the truth? He's written a manual to follow, for just about anything that could occur. Almost. And it is this treatise that Haley refers to with every event, occurrence, interaction that takes place in the compound. But there's not an answer for everything that transpires. 

I quite like dystopian tales and I found the physicalities of Morrison's setting to be intriguing. The idealism and regimen that the members try to live by and follow start to take their toll as the book progresses. Are they delusional? Or far seeing?

Wound into the tale is the unpredictable factor - people. There are others inside the gates as well. The dynamics of a small society cannot be predicted. I loved Haley's recounting. She's torn between her beliefs and what her father is telling her, her burgeoning attraction to one of the other residents, her love for her mother and more.

How to Survive Everything was a page turner for me. I couldn't wait to read the ending, to find the answers for the questions I had. And I did - but certainly not what I imagined.

This was a five star read for me. See for yourself - read an excerpt of How to Survive Everything.

How to Survive Everything is more than a little frightening to read, given our world today.  

**Television rights have just been sold for a planned series.

Afterland - Lauren Beukes

I enjoy reading speculative fiction. I'm always curious as to what an author imagines for our future. Lauren Beukes's latest novel, Afterland, isn't that far in the future - and is in fact disturbingly close to what we're living with now.

There's a pandemic - and what it does is kill only men. There are a few left and the government has them in captivity, testing them. It's been three year now - there are a few males who are immune. The female government has them in captivity, testing them. Miles is now twelve and is one of the few boys left. Stuck in the US when the pandemic hit, his mother Cole has been trying to get them back to their own country of South Africa. With the help of Cole's sister Billie, they have one last shot.

"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." And women. Billie has a different plan for Miles.

What follows is a gut wrenchingly tense, hold your breath dangerous, edge of your seat chase. With every corner Miles and Cole turn, there's another complication, problem, roadblock. For in this new world, everyone has their own agenda.

The characters were so well drawn. Twelve year old Miles rang true and Cole's love and determination to save her son is palpable. But Billie. Ohhh boy, Billie is, as my gran used to put it, a piece of work. Her thinking is skewed to begin with, but a bump on head amplifies her crazy. And along the way both Cole and Billie meet and travel with other groups of women. Just as - or more - scary than Billie.

And is Beukes's imagining that far fetched? Nope, not at all. Separating parents from their children, holding people captive against their will, a sickness across the world and more.

Beukes had me from first page to last. Would you like it? If you liked The Handmaid's Tale with a side of Mad Max, you'd love Afterland. I could see this one as a movie. Take a look - here's an excerpt of Afterland.  his was a first read of Lauren Beukes for me. I think her writing is absolutely fantastic, so I'm off to hunt down her first two books. And I'll eagerly awaiting the fourth!

The Pull of the Stars - Emma Donoghue

If Emma Donoghue writes it - I need to read it. I've been waiting for The Pull of the Stars to release - and I couldn't help myself - I finished it in a day. Yes, it's that good (as are all of Donoghue's books)

Donoghue wrote The Pull of the Stars before Covid 19 came about. But the similarities are frightening. History truly does repeat itself.

The Pull of the Stars takes place over three days in a maternity quarantine ward in a hospital in Dublin - at the height of the 1918 Flu Pandemic.

Julia Power is in charge of the three bed ward as there are very few nurses to go around. The local nunnery provides young Bridie as a helper for Julia. And the third of this triangle is Dr. Lynn. Kathleen Lynn is an actual historical figure who was a pioneer in her field - and deeds. I truly enjoy Donoghue's blending of fact and fiction in her books.

The setting is so detailed, I felt like I was in the little ward, struggling to grab just a bit of the fresh air trying to get in through the wee window. The smells, the lack of privacy, the desperate struggle to just breathe. All while pregnant. The descriptions of childbirth are visceral - and again, true to the time. Julia's care of the sick women in her care and her sense of duty are impeccable. But there are cracks in her carefully cultivated public persona. Her obligations do battle with her want of more. More for her patients, more for women - and more for herself. A partner, a confidant, a child. Bridie's enthusiasm, quickness in mind and body and her outlook on life despite the hardships she has endured will endear her to the reader. Donoghue does a fantastic job as well at bring Dr. Lynn to life. A woman truly ahead of her time.

Ahh, this book is heartbreaking. The treatment of women during this time period, the mortality rate of infants, the Catholic Church's abuse of power, life and death, the effects of war and so much more.  But the spark of light (and pull of the stars) lives in these pages too. A story you won't be able to put down.

So very, very well written. Read an excerpt of The Pull of the Stars.