So lovely that Alma featuredĀ Afterland on this list of summer reads, alongside You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat, Laura Van Den Berg’s new short story collection, I Hold a Wolf by the Ears, and Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline.
Emily Burack writes: āI was high-key very, very stressed readingĀ Afterland āĀ but that is the point: Itās a stressful world Cole and Miles are living in! Beukes expertly writes tension and trauma.ā
Hereās more:
In Lauren Beukesā dystopian novel, a mysterious flu pandemic hits the world in 2020. (Gulp.) The flu kills the majority of the worldās men, leaving very few boys and men left alive. One is 12-year-old Miles, born to a white South African mom and Black American dad. They are in America when the pandemic hits, and are unable to get home to South Africa. The Department of Men locks Miles up in a bunker, quarantining him for his safety. The bulk of the story takes place three years post the āManfallā, when Milesās mom, Cole, breaks him out of the bunker and tries to find a way for the two of them to get back home to South Africa. As men are super valuable in this new world, a whole host of characters are after Miles ā including Coleās sister, Billie
Great shot ofĀ Afterland in more good company from @writersblockbookstore.