“It was chilling to reflect on how well the world used to work and how much we’d lost.” pg 12, ebook.
In World Made by Hand, civilization has fallen to pieces. There is no consistent electricity. The town of Union Grove has running water, but only because of a water system that relied more on elevation than anything else.
Worse, the justice system has fallen apart. There is little to no medical care facilities or supplies available. Television stations have ceased to broadcast. The radio sometimes broadcasts religious programming in the moments the electricity flickers on and then off.
“It’s not all bad now,” I said. “We’ve lost our world.” “Only the part that the machines lived in.” Jane Ann patted my thigh, but said no more and got up to leave.” pg 25, ebook
A slow-paced dystopian novel that savors the end of life as we know it might not have been the best book for me to read right now. In the midst of a global pandemic and unfounded fears that life may never go back to the way it was, this wasn’t as much an escape as an additional cork-popper to my ever-present anxiety.
The characters lack depth, but I found myself caring for them because they seemed so real.
They want food, shelter and safety for their loved ones, even though all of those things have become difficult to find.
“By the time he passed away, it was obvious there would be no return to ‘normality.’ The economy wouldn’t be coming back. Globalism was over. The politicians and generals were failing to pull together at the center.” pg 29, ebook.
There are very few moments of action in here. I can see the slow pace being frustrating to some readers.
“The afternoon weather resolved into an uncomfortable drizzle, driven by hot winds out of the south. I had an old ripstop nylon poncho from my collegiate camping days, but it had lost its waterproofing.” pg 126, ebook
But, to play the devil’s advocate, perhaps that would be the way the world would actually end. To quote T.S. Eliot: “Not with a bang, but with a whimper.”
Recommended for readers who enjoy dystopians like Station Eleven and who are brave enough to read this kind of thing with the current state of things.
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