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I just turned the last page in this post-apocalyptic novel. I must admit to being of two minds here. Generally, I am a tough critic, able to pinpoint the weaknesses of a piece of fiction whilst also being able to recognize its merits and thereby coming down on one side of the love/hate critique. This one, however, has me straddling middle ground. On one hand, I was glad to reach the end, as I felt that some of the details were becoming tedious. On the other hand, I was sad to say Bon voyage to Nella and Frank.
The plot of this piece is one that's been done, but this author adds a breath of fresh air to the whole flesh-eating zombie genre. Here, the infected are cured, but retain the memories of their days spent wantonly lunching on friends and family. The resulting prejudices and societal biases are far too symbolic of our current climate to be ignored, if, indeed, that was the author's intent. In any case, some of the scenes reflect those precipitated by racial tensions today and hit the mark both physically and emotionally. The divide between the Cured and the Immune stretches far and wide.
This story comes with some of the genre-specific requirements somewhere written in the rules to penning apocalyptic fiction. There are, as mentioned, still roving hordes of zombies eager for a meal; there are those either cured or immune trying to elude these zombies; and there's a secondary love story to tug the heart strings. Surprisingly, all of these elements work here without appearing cliche. The plot moves quickly for the first 3/4 of the book, and at times the reader feels like they've been taken along for one hell of a ride. This author excels at dialogue, which is a good thing, as there's a lot of it.
Here's where things fell short. That amazing dialogue is delivered by characters who, for me, fell a little flat. For several reasons, I never fully "invested", which I think is the reason for my critical ambivalence. First, while we learn Frank's back story, it's not nearly with enough detail to develop any empathy. The same holds true for Nella, and even more so for Dr. Pazzo and Dr. Schneider. The former was seemingly non existent before the plague, whilst the two latter were inconsistent in their actions. Perhaps a starting place for them would have at least explained their behaviors. For example, what motivated Dr. Pazzo to engage in this type of work? Was there something personally motivating him to work on the bacteria? Were he and Ann together long? How serious was it? In order to feel the connection, I would have needed more from them--more of what they were before the plague, of how they ended up where they were when the plague struck. Did Frank.have siblings? What about Nella's parents? What became of them? I wanted to feel what they were feeling, but without a place of reference to who they were, it was difficult to relate to who they had become.
The last third of the book failed for me because I hadn't established those character connections necessary in order to fully appreciate the gravity of their situations. I wanted to find out more about Frank and Nella before they sailed off, but I was also eager to say adios, as I had all but given up hoping for those details.
