What is it about post-apocalyptic novels that are so enthralling? I think that, for many of us, it has something to do with putting ourselves in that kind of situation. Who DIDN'T imagine wandering around the United States after Captain Tripps hit in The Stand (because, of course, surely each of us would have been immune, right?!)? Jim Crace, a Whitbread First-Novel winner and National Book Critics Circle award winner, has a decidedly literary entry into this genre with The Pesthouse. There is a great balance here between story and circumstance, with the focus mainly on two young survivors making their way east in the hopes of catching a boat to Europe, where things may or may not be any better. Crace is a superb writer, to the point where I wonder if he is TOO good to write a novel such as this. Will his fans appreciate the sci-fi elements here, and will sci-fi fans appreciate his command of the language. Time will tell, I suppose. I'll make up my own mind when I see how he ends the story...
On a related note, when I sat down to write this, I was thinking of a novel very much like The Stand that I read forever ago. It took some searching, but I finally found Swan Song by Robert McCammon. I was amazed to find that I've been attributing this novel to the wrong author for years. While I wasn't sure of the title, I have always thought Dan Simmons wrote this story. I'm wrong about a lot of things, so this is one less thing I'll screw up in the future!
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