The Pesthouse
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 7/15/2010
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 7/15/2010 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
I've been intrigued by some of Crace's other work (Being Dead, The Devil's Larder), so when I came across this good-condition hardcover at the Used Book Superstore I decided to give it a try. It's about a post-apocalyptic America, where the US "is now a lawless, scantly populated wasteland"...
Later: The story has similarities to The Road, though much more hopeful (not that it's hard to be more hopeful than The Road!). The two main characters, Franklin and Margaret, find themselves the only survivors of a freak accident that looses toxic gasses from a lake. He's saved by a leg injury that keeps him out of town, and she by her illness, resulting in her being placed in the pesthouse. They join forces and set out to the coast, where it is rumored that there are ships that can take people to a country safe from the plagues and starvation - but to get there they have to face brigands and other dangers. And if they do get there, what will they find?
Some interesting twists and turns here, along with the usual descent-into-barbarity aspects of their plight.
Later: The story has similarities to The Road, though much more hopeful (not that it's hard to be more hopeful than The Road!). The two main characters, Franklin and Margaret, find themselves the only survivors of a freak accident that looses toxic gasses from a lake. He's saved by a leg injury that keeps him out of town, and she by her illness, resulting in her being placed in the pesthouse. They join forces and set out to the coast, where it is rumored that there are ships that can take people to a country safe from the plagues and starvation - but to get there they have to face brigands and other dangers. And if they do get there, what will they find?
Some interesting twists and turns here, along with the usual descent-into-barbarity aspects of their plight.
I'm sending this book to BCer time-traveler in New York, in appreciation of her releases for the 2010 Chills & Spills release challenge. Hope you enjoy the book!
GoryDetails, thank you for this wishlist book. I read Crace's Being Dead and loved it, and have wanted to read this one for a while.
This was similar to The Road, which I loved, but it definitely was not as dark. I forgot how much I enjoyed Jim Crace's writing! About halfway through I began wondering why the book was called The Pesthouse...I mean I knew Margaret and Franklin met at the Pesthouse but I didn't think that was a good enough reason to name the book after it...it's not often that the ending of an apocalyptic story makes me smile, but this one did.
To be released for GoryDetails' 2012 Chills and Spills Read-and-Release Challenge (apocalyptic theme) and Booklady331's 2012 Keep Them Moving Challenge.
To be released for GoryDetails' 2012 Chills and Spills Read-and-Release Challenge (apocalyptic theme) and Booklady331's 2012 Keep Them Moving Challenge.
Journal Entry 5 by time-traveler at Cortlandt Town Center - 3131 East Main Street in Mohegan Lake, New York USA on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Released 12 yrs ago (1/19/2012 UTC) at Cortlandt Town Center - 3131 East Main Street in Mohegan Lake, New York USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
On the outdoor wine barrel in front of the liquor store, near the post office. This has been a lucky spot for me!
