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May 03, 2021sandraperkins rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
This book sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, the actual book is not nearly as good as I expected. It is definitely not “spectacular.” First, I did not like the writing style of the author—it was too casual and slangy. Second, I did not like Amanda and Clay and their children, who are self-centered, privileged people. They are tiresome. Ruth and G.H. are more interesting, but not enough to save this book. I did not care about any of these people. Third, this turned out to be one of those books about a major catastrophe in the world, and how the characters react to it, except that the actual catastrophe does not impact these characters directly in most ways. The author keeps giving us teasers about what is going on in the rest of the world, but the remote house in which these people are staying never loses electricity or water, and they have plenty of food. They are afraid of the unknown, but they also seem to think their home and neighborhood are intact. I kept reading to see what would happen (and what HAD happened), and the ending was abrupt and disappointing. Fourth, given that we are still living with a global pandemic that has subjected us to fear and uncertainty for 14 months to date, I am really not interested in reading a book about people experiencing fear and uncertainty. I have been there and done that. Finally, this book was not convincing or well written. There are better books out there about catastrophes and how people react to them. I have read a couple of them, and they are terrifying. It is truly shocking how quickly civilization falls apart when electricity disappears, or water no longer runs, and the supply chain is disrupted. Most of us are ill equipped to deal with having to feed and take care of ourselves if something like that happens. So I give this book one half a star. Please do not waste your time reading this book when there are so many better books out there. Read Klara and the Sun instead!