Full Reviews
2020, a post apocalyptic family set in Portland, Oregon where the cast of characters is rich, witty and tangible. Sophie Cohen and her husband Bertrand are dealing with the inevitable issues of disease, starvation and safety. Sophie and Bertrand’s relationship, although emotionally strained, has one focus and that is to keep their surviving family members safe. They live on the 11th floor of a high rise with their teenage daughter Sasha and Sophie’s mother Lulu-who seems to be unaffected by this new world.
Initially, you think Lulu is crazy yet you fall in love her with in an endearing I-won’t-accept-what’s-really-happening way. In order to keep their family secure and fed, Sophie uses her autistic brother Mitchell’s talents at drug making to trade for goods. Bertrand uses his medical background to heal those in need and provide security to his family. The plot thickens when women begin to turn up murdered and Sophie and Bertrand take it upon themselves to solve the mystery behind the serial killings.
Etiquette for an Apocalypse isn’t like other sci-fi apocalyptic novels. Instead, it deals more with the reality of violence, a lack of a fast food joints on every corner and a longing for security, but in a darkly comedic way. Sophie, our heroine, (albeit unlikely heroine) consistently thinks about food. It’s what I imagine all of us would go through if we were in this position.
Anne Mendel sheds a light so clearly and so naturally you get lost in this uber fast read. She has a way of writing appreciation for the things you have and to providing a thrilling ride into lives of people that could easily be your own friends and family.
At only 277 pages I was left wanting more. I wanted to find out where Sophie’s story goes and read on about what mess she inserts herself in next. If you are looking for an enjoyable, relatable read then you’ve found the right book.
Jessi Buchmann, Luxury Reading
That which made me want to try this book was the cover, I mean look at it! So cool and weird, I love it.
It’s the end of the world but some are struggling to survive (it helps having a genius for a brother who can make painkillers:) It’s a new world where those with a skill has survived. Sophie sells drugs, but even in this bleak bleak world the book itself does not feel overly bleak. Because the book is so much more than just another dystopic apocalyptic story. It’s a story about a mother trying to do right by her daughter, a girl becoming a teenager in this kind of world. Oh yes she is not happy. About a marriage that is not as passionate as it used to be. And it’s not easy to be loving when you have nothing to eat and people die around you left and right. And last, dealing with a mother who does not want to accept that the world has changed.
But the family drama and issues aside the book is also a bit of a mystery as women are being murdered and Sophie wants to find out who is doing it. Because no one else care. And by digging around in things she should not more happens, I can’t go into details but it gets exciting.
A bleak world about a family trying to cope. It has this certain feel to it, bleak yet so normal. Many apocalyptic books are awesome, but in the end they are just so freaking big. So much happened, the world has changed too much. Here it feels like this could happen. A supervolcano would just have to explode and that would send ripples through out the world. This is how people would try to get by.
Conclusion:
I have said it before, but a different sort of end of the world book, one that I enjoyed and one that felt like it was happening right now.
Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell