An Apocalyptic Zombie Novel for Subversive Millennials

With corporate drudgery, late-stage capitalism, and the melancholy of adulthood familiar to many of us, Ling Ma’s presentation and takedown separation Offers a sharp and tense satire featuring a terrifyingly mundane epidemic.

Candace Chen, a millennial publishing drone self-confined to a Manhattan office tower, is so devoted to routine that she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions spreads throughout New York. But then it spreads outside the city also. The family migrated. There was a pause on companies. Subways screech to a halt. In a heartbeat, Candace is uninfected but alone, roaming the streets taking photos of the quiet, abandoned town as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost.

Even the antisocial Candace can’t remain content forever, let alone survive. Enter a group of survivors led by power-hungry IT tech Bob. They are traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace has a secret that she knows Bob will exploit. Should she flee from her rescuers or cling to the only community she has left?

The zombie novel has a storied history as a tale of social ills and absurdity. Although the zombies in this novel aren’t stalking prey, moaning, “Breiiiiiiins,” they are terrifying for different, disturbing reasons. Threaded through this tale of existentialism, Candace’s observations about her confused outlook on life, her uncaring isolation, and her parents’ assimilation after emigration lead this zombie tale of destructive longings into irreversible and largely unhygienic brain spaces.