To be released.

Released to a Little Free Library.

In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A bit of an unsettling too close-for-comfort read tinged with sci-fi dystopian elements, except that we did live through a pandemic. A flight attendant falls for the charms of an airline pilot - they quickly get married, and expediently expects her to take care of his three kids from prior marriage. On a flight to Germany, everyone gets put in quarantine, and gradually his frequent phone calls becomes less frequent, (view spoiler)[and eventually he falls out of his family's life and is probably leading a new life (with a new woman) abroad. (hide spoiler)]

The strength of the book lies not in the plot - which is more or less a straightforward "oh-my-gosh" the world is falling apart, now we need to save up / save gas / learn to live like survivalists fare - but in the simplicity of the innocence of language that covers up the severity of the impact the "Phoenix flu" is having on the world. Gradually assumed social structures fall apart, cities become deserted, but rather than using a more stringent tone in her writing the author utilizes a more casual almost innocent tone.

Part of me wanted to like the book more, but I really do wish that there was more richness about the individual characters, and especially about the (view spoiler)[deadbeat husband, (hide spoiler)] by the end of the book. (view spoiler)[I guess that is the point the writer is making that not everything will need, or will have, a nice resolution. (hide spoiler)]


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To be released in Duets Bookbox Round #2.

This one came home in my Duets Bookbox Round #2.

not sure about this one.....

reserved for a wishlist tag

sent off to another bookcrosser for the wishlist tag game......enjoy

2024 Keep Them Moving Release Challenge
2024 RABCK Release Challenge

The wishlist book arrived safely today; many thanks! I enjoyed the author's very creepy novel Mind of Winter, and wanted to try more of her work.

Later: This one's quite jarring, as it deals with a global pandemic in an all-too-familiar way, but the book came out in 2009! Here, an unfortunately naive young woman marries a handsome airline pilot and resigns from her flight attendant job in favor of becoming a housewife - and stepmother to his three children, including two teen girls who dislike her intensely, and a small boy who's happy to have any attention at all. Yeah, this is going to work out well... Even without the complications of the spreading "Phoenix flu", our poor heroine looks to be in trouble!

I appreciated the slow-building horror of the situation - and the author's choice to focus on this one household for the majority of the tale, with glimpses of what's going on in the rest of the world inserted here and there. The touches of hope added poignancy to the situation - yes, everyone's getting along better under duress, but their situation is not sustainable, and even if there are rescue efforts afoot from whoever else has survived, well... Let's just say that the story overall gave me the feeling of a lovely but mournful dirge.

I left this book in the entrance of the Thirsty Moose; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

Released for:

** 2024 4 Elements challenge **

** 2024 Keep Them Moving challenge. **