Postapoc

author: Liz Worth

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.66

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/05/04

date added: 2014/05/04

shelves:

review:

'PostApoc' finds our protagonist Ang struggling in a world that has seemingly died with a whimper, not a bang. There are no zombies, or cataclysms here (except for the dwindling supplies and population). In fact, we're left wondering what happened. With an unreliable narrator looking for her next high, we're left with missing chunks of time and an otherworldly narrative that is poetic and untethered.



After being the sole survivor of a suicide pact, Ang finds herself immersed in an underground music scene obsessed with the end of the world. When that finally happens, at first Ang and her friends don't notice because of the intoxicated lifestyle they choose. They live in a supposedly haunted flophouse where the neighborhood dogs are fighting to survive. As clothing, food, alcohol and even makeup become scarce commodities, Ang and her friends are forced (or willing) to make trades for the items they need and crave. At first, as electricity still sometimes works, there is time to go see a favorite band, but the slow erosion of everything takes it's toll on everyone.



It's possibly the most gritty exploration of life in a post apocalyptic world I've ever read. Dirt is everywhere, foodstuffs are questionable, yet still eaten, and bathing is a waste of drinking water. The book feels like it has a layer of grit on it an eighth of an inch thick and seems to laugh at our world of hygiene and antibacterial soap. The fictional drug greyline, which Ang and her friends are addicted to, has a seriously bad set of side effects. This is not a book for the squeamish. I can't call it a straight out horror novel (although it must be) because the prose is so trippingly wonderful. There are passages that are simply beautiful in their description of a dying world. I was held captive by this book and it haunted my dreams. This is definitely a writer I will seek out.



I was given a review copy of this book by Now Or Never Publishing Company and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this unforgettable and haunting book.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/Rj9SVh