This novel is a modern-day retelling of the story of Pandora (as the literal translation of the title ‘The Girl With All The Gifts’). A plague of fungus has wiped out most of humanity, hijacking the bodies of the infected and using them to spread the downfall further. Yet through the hopelessness emerges a group of children who have retained their humanity and intelligence, despite the infection. It is hypothesised that they may hold hope for the cure. They live wild on the streets of London but, when captured and brought to heel, they can be taught. They can reason. They can lie. And they can love. Melanie, our anti-hero, is the pinnacle of this aberration. She is wickedly smart but also incredibly sweet. She’s particularly in love with her kindest teacher.
I can imagine a primary school teacher identifying deeply with this novel. Each year, a new horde of wildlings is forced to sit in straight lines and learn facts and figures. Sure, they won’t rip your throat out if they get a whiff of your pheromones… hopefully. And I’m certain that in each class, a ‘Melanie’ emerges. Someone who rises above the other students and forms a real connection with their teacher. Someone genuinely excited to learn.
Of course, everything gets turned upside down when Melanie, her adoring teacher, a ruthless scientist, and two armed soldiers are the only survivors when their research base is attacked. Each must rely on the other for survival as they flee for safety, and learn more about the fungus on their journey. The journey of the group, from research base towards settlement, is mostly on foot. There are multiple threats – the harsh environment, a group of bloodthirsty survivors, and the infected ‘Hungries’ themselves. As you read this book, you’ll be sure to gain new appreciation for the reliable warmth and safety of your own bed.
It has got the apocalypse, the anti-hero, the humanity, the brutality, and the science. Its scale is huge but intimately described and its characters fully realised, but despite all this… something was missing that would take this novel from Good to Great for me. Fundamentally, it failed to surprise me. The Girl With All The Gifts should be an easy five star review from me, but its tendency for foreshadowing took away some of my delight. As with most thriller survival novels, it’s better to show and not tell. The reader here was not given much credit to connect dots on their own. Each revelation was telegraphed, explained, and summarised (sometimes by multiple characters). But honestly, I was paying attention and didn’t need this level of hand-holding throughout.
Nevertheless I still highly recommend this book, and the 2016 movie which followed. 4 out of 5 spore-riddled Stars.
