Candace Chen - in two alternating before and after narratives - is devoted to the routine of work life overseeing the production of bibles, and heading cross-country with a band of survivors remaining after the American population becomes 'fevered.' The fevered sound like zombies, except that they don't eat anyone, and are almost sweet, at least until their body parts start rotting away. They remain stuck in loops of routine, setting the table, reading books, driving, folding clothes. Ma stuffs a lot of motifs and ideas into a brief work: materialism, Chinese manufacturing, the challenges of 1st generation immigrants, not to mention finding love and meaningful work. As heavy as that sounds, this is a great, consuming read, and frequently quite funny. Recommended.
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