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A review by wingreads
Severance by Ling Ma
5.0
Candace is a Chinese Millenial devoted to routine, but finds herself with a small group of survivors when a plague sweeps across the world. The book is told in parallel; flashback chapters to Candances' job as a bible production administrator, and to the current state of the small group of survivors she has found herself with. Candace is detail oriented, and what she decides to focus on (calenders, book spines etc) provides a rich insight into her cognition.
Before plague
Candace is meandering through life, living off her immigrant parents hard-earned savings as she figures out what she would like to do. She finds vices for coping mechanisms for a life cluttered with consuming objects, sex, and one-upmanship. One aspect of her job, includes flying to the outsourced printing factory in China, where she faces alienation due to the language and cultural barriers. Candace works in Shanghai, reconnects with her Fujinese relatives and consumes in Hong Kong. I love Ling Ma's rich descriptors of consumerism of the three different places and the focus on products, items...which outweighs the relationships in Candace's life.
During Prague
Candace lives out her rituals as the plague comes closer. It affects her friends, colleagues...but she continues to go to work, come home, eat and sleep. There seems to be an automated ritual of comfort whilst the world around her depends into chaos.
Band of survivors
Candace notes the group rituals which provides solice to the small group. How rationalised looting is now called stalking, with pre, during and post steps. I found this aspect of behaviour fascinating, as we focus on rituals to soothe and justify behaviour. This was also a juxtaposition with the fevered and their rituals. Candace becomes fascinated with the rituals and its slight variations, and likens to to being human in nature despite the fevered having lost their human capacity.
Some standout moments for me:
"They should know my difference. They should sense my unfathomable fucking depths. All of these distinctions belied the fact I very much want to work in art. I want to be an Art girl". The millenial rage in these sentences was like a time loop back to the 2000's where the intense need to be unique and also conform was a narrative which I heard over and over again. There is a rawness in Candaces personal narrative of her wish for personal growth, but also how the systems push her towards conformity.
"We want you to be useful". This is a loaded statement on her Mother's deathbed. There are many ways to be useful and what this means to individuals. This statement has an impact on Candaces trajectory, but also is a inhibitor.
"This is just an object. It serves as a reminder of who we used to be. But accessing the old data is not helpful for you to move forward" There was a cruelty in how a personal item was returned to Candace midway through the book.
Ling Ma has written an excellent short (<300page) introspective distopian thriller which takes sharp shots at the capitalism dream, and how we long for a reset button which disrupts (but not too much).
Before plague
Candace is meandering through life, living off her immigrant parents hard-earned savings as she figures out what she would like to do. She finds vices for coping mechanisms for a life cluttered with consuming objects, sex, and one-upmanship. One aspect of her job, includes flying to the outsourced printing factory in China, where she faces alienation due to the language and cultural barriers. Candace works in Shanghai, reconnects with her Fujinese relatives and consumes in Hong Kong. I love Ling Ma's rich descriptors of consumerism of the three different places and the focus on products, items...which outweighs the relationships in Candace's life.
During Prague
Candace lives out her rituals as the plague comes closer. It affects her friends, colleagues...but she continues to go to work, come home, eat and sleep. There seems to be an automated ritual of comfort whilst the world around her depends into chaos.
Band of survivors
Candace notes the group rituals which provides solice to the small group. How rationalised looting is now called stalking, with pre, during and post steps. I found this aspect of behaviour fascinating, as we focus on rituals to soothe and justify behaviour. This was also a juxtaposition with the fevered and their rituals. Candace becomes fascinated with the rituals and its slight variations, and likens to to being human in nature despite the fevered having lost their human capacity.
Some standout moments for me:
"They should know my difference. They should sense my unfathomable fucking depths. All of these distinctions belied the fact I very much want to work in art. I want to be an Art girl". The millenial rage in these sentences was like a time loop back to the 2000's where the intense need to be unique and also conform was a narrative which I heard over and over again. There is a rawness in Candaces personal narrative of her wish for personal growth, but also how the systems push her towards conformity.
"We want you to be useful". This is a loaded statement on her Mother's deathbed. There are many ways to be useful and what this means to individuals. This statement has an impact on Candaces trajectory, but also is a inhibitor.
"This is just an object. It serves as a reminder of who we used to be. But accessing the old data is not helpful for you to move forward" There was a cruelty in how a personal item was returned to Candace midway through the book.
Ling Ma has written an excellent short (<300page) introspective distopian thriller which takes sharp shots at the capitalism dream, and how we long for a reset button which disrupts (but not too much).