It is to Ling Ma’s credit that it wasn’t until about 1/3 way through this novella — which is about a disease that originates in China, flattens New York, and a millennial who sticks with her corporate employer until the absolute last moment that society exists — that I realized it was written before Covid. For prescience alone, I want to give it 4 stars.
This is essentially a zombie story set during the Obama years. Our protagonist Candace is our first generation immigrant who works very hard at her Bible product management position, making frequent business trips to Chinese factories, because, frankly, she doesn’t know what else to do and she’s good at it. Shen Fever, a fictional disease that originates in Shenzen China, gradually comes society–people infected with Shen Fever repeat old routines compulsively, without consciousness. (Hint: this is a big theme!) Candace finally leaves New York and ends up with a troupe of survivors because a few people, it turns out, are immune to the fever. Their leader is a vaguely religious middle-aged dude with a savior complex who has strict ideas about appropriate behavior. Not great! There are a few twists and turns along the way and I can’t decide if the ending is insane or hopeful.
Ma throws a lot of things at this story: the immigrant experience; the aimless repetition at the heart of capitalism; the alienation and self-awareness of her generation; the eerie, overwhelming power of controlling personalities; the nostalgia for a motherland you never really knew; the idea of your actual physical body being trapped — either in a routine or in a physical space; what it means to be truly lonely.
If you are looking for a short zombie-ish distopia, this is a good one! I didn’t love Candace’s voice, which felt too detached (but I suspect that was part of the point?) and I had a hard time believing that it would take her so, so, so long to feel New York (but then, someone had to be the last one to go, right?)
This reminded me a little of Station Eleven, minus some of the hope and plus a big dose of loneliness. Actually, the difference is right there in the title – this novella is about being torn from your life, your country, your fellow humans, yourself, your past. Sometimes you understand it far too late; you must keep going.
“My father rarely spoke of the past, and perhaps it was only after having officialized his severance from China that he felt free to speak openly of his life there.”