Fiction: Jim Crace - The Pesthouse
Posted: 20 Apr 2007, 13:25
Was wondering if anyone else has read this and what they thought of it?
The premise of the story is that two people are making the trek east across America hoping to find a ship to take them across the ocean to a better life.
The twist is its set in a post-collapse America (it doesn't say when its set, but I'd guess at least 100 years after collapse), with remnants of the old world all around - rusting hulks, collapsed buildings, overgrown roads, etc. Also a religious cult who eschew all metal, as it brings death.
Its the first post-apocalypse fiction I've read where the apocalypse is more likely to be energy & climate related industrial collapse, rather than war.
Don't want to say too much in case I spoil the twists too much, but its a very good read, well written, and may well be of interest to Powerswitchers.
The premise of the story is that two people are making the trek east across America hoping to find a ship to take them across the ocean to a better life.
The twist is its set in a post-collapse America (it doesn't say when its set, but I'd guess at least 100 years after collapse), with remnants of the old world all around - rusting hulks, collapsed buildings, overgrown roads, etc. Also a religious cult who eschew all metal, as it brings death.
Its the first post-apocalypse fiction I've read where the apocalypse is more likely to be energy & climate related industrial collapse, rather than war.
Don't want to say too much in case I spoil the twists too much, but its a very good read, well written, and may well be of interest to Powerswitchers.
