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Book Reviews Fiction

Severance by Ling Ma – One of the Best I have Read Of Late

I have picked up Severance randomly from a local library. Initially attracted to the concept of a story of an apocalypse at the backdrop of office life, the millennials, modern society, and Chinese immigrants, this book turns out to be something special. Something I really enjoy reading. I took my time and had to read the ending twice as I was not entirely sure if it is what it is.

Time does not flow linearly in this story. There are lots of flashbacks and side stories. Effortlessly though, the narration is smooth without causing any confusion. That is just art. One of the central themes is routine. How we day in and day out going through our routines in the office and at home (similar to the zombies or the “fevered” in the apocalypse world). Another theme is nostalgia and the Internet is a giant collection of our past (and how much time we spent with it).

That ending though still haunts me. It is so open-ended. The readers are the ones who are going to complete the journey. I won’t be surprised if we have different interpretations.