Severance by Ling Ma: A Book Review
I’m always looking for weird books to read. So when I was browsing the shelves at Barnes & Noble and saw Severance sitting on a table, I knew I had to check it out. The cover is unique and I’m watching the TV show Severance right now so I wondered if the two were related. Spoiler alert: they are not. But Severance by Ling Ma is an eye opening and sometimes humorous work that stands out on its own. And today I’m going to be sharing my book review.
But really, it’s more like a book discussion. I had so many different feelings while I read this book. Candace’s office life felt weirdly familiar and the fact that there was an illness in this book that led to much of the world population dying away? Well, that felt weirdly reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic. Which is very weird because this book was published in 2018.
Sounds intriguing, right? So keep reading for my full book discussion on Severance by Ling Ma. It’s a very interesting read that took me by surprise, but also felt familiar.
What is Severance by Ling Ma about?
Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. With the recent passing of her Chinese immigrant parents, she’s had her fill of uncertainty. She’s content just to carry on: She goes to work, troubleshoots the teen-targeted Gemstone Bible, watches movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend.
So Candace barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies cease operations. The subways screech to a halt. Her bosses enlist her as part of a dwindling skeleton crew with a big end-date payoff. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost.
Candace won’t be able to make it on her own forever, though. Enter a group of survivors, led by the power-hungry IT tech Bob. They’re traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers?
A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines, and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Ling Ma’s Severance is a moving family story, a quirky coming-of-adulthood tale, and a hilarious, deadpan satire. Most important, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive. (from Amazon.com)
My Initial Thoughts
As I mentioned previously, I picked this book up on a whim at Barnes & Noble. I was attracted to the title and the cover art originally. It was so simplistic and it had an New York Times book sticker on the front so that led me to believe that it was a good book.
The back didn’t tell me about the book. It was mostly filled with blurbs from people who had read the book, as well as some of the accolades that the book has received. So yeah. I went into this book not knowing much about it and found it to be a very engrossing story.
Severance is a story about The End
Or maybe it’s the beginning? It’s hard to say because things end on a bit of a cliffhanger. But let’s go back to the beginning.
The story is told in dual timelines. In the first timeline, it is present day. The world has succumbed to Shen Fever, a mysterious illness from China that is causing people to grow ill and die. Candace has left New York City and is traveling with a band of misfits (or actually, I guess they’re more like doomsday preppers) who are heading West for a place called The Facility. Once they arrive they can start their new home, away from the sickness and the uncertainty of the world.
But before that, Candace Chen was a product manager for a publishing company. She worked in the bibles department, so her main job was to handle the manufacture of bibles. She had a boyfriend, and an apartment, and a steady routine. But as the world starts to change and the world gets sick, things change for her very quickly.
It might be the end of the world. But things must go on. And as Candace becomes more important to her company as she continues to work during the fever, you can’t help but wonder what comes next.
I Felt a Real Sadness while Reading Severance
Both of Candace’s parents are deceased and she shares stories from her childhood and growing up. I imagine it must be very difficult to grow up with immigrant parents, who want to challenge you and make sure you succeed. I think that before the fever Candace was alone. I mean, she had a boyfriend, but he wasn’t a very good one. And then he leaves and she’s left in New York City alone.
There are coworkers. And acquaintances. But Candace doesn’t ever really seem that connected to anyone. And maybe that’s the point of this book. Maybe we’re all on our own. This book feels so heavy and full of meaning but I also wonder if I’m interpreting things the wrong way.
It’s definitely something to think about.
This Book is Darkly Humorous
I found myself laughing a little bit because of how dark things were. Like when the fever has spread but Candace still has to go to work, so she winds up taking over an office and sleeping there. Gotta love a work life balance, right?
But there are other things. Like when they arrive at the facility, and it turns out to be a shopping mall and they all sleep in separate department stores. Personally, I’d be scared to sleep in a store by myself. Unless it was a mattress store. That would be great.
NY Ghost
One of Candace’s hobbies is taking photos around New York City. She has a photo blog called NY Ghost and it becomes a very interesting part of the story. Because after the fever has spread and the city empties out, she goes and walks for hours on end and takes photos of what she sees. Although they mention wordpress it felt very much like a tumblr thing to me. I used to love looking at photo blogs on tumblr.
It’s Unsettling how Similar This Book is to the Covid-19 Pandemic
It’s clear that the author did a lot of research on how illnesses spread. I was shocked by what I read because it felt so similar to the Covid-19 pandemic, and yet this book was published in 2018. It was so fascinating to read about how things could be different. It gave me a lot to think about.
In Conclusion
Severance by Ling Ma was a really interesting read. I don’t think I would recommend it to everyone. But it’s a great story and I loved the dual timelines. I think that if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction with well written prose, this just might be the book for you. It’s so millennial and dark but also funny.
