Afterland

I’ve been looking forward to Lauren Beukes’s Afterland since it was first announced a couple of years ago. A long-time fan of the author’s work, I had pretty high expectations for the novel. I’m glad to report that I was not disappointed. An interesting novel, with protagonists you’ll root for and plenty of interesting social and cultural observations.

Cole and Miles/Mila are interesting guides to this post-pandemic America: South African, they were in the States because Cole’s husband, Devon is American and was also back for work. However, the HCV (Human Culgoa Virus) pandemic hit and 99% of men (worldwide, not just in the US) are wiped out — painfully, too, as Beukes paints a gruesome fate for all the men who succumb. As foreigners adrift in a strange and suddenly dramatically different land, albeit one that nevertheless exhibits many of America’s familiar worst tendencies, they offer an outsider’s perspective that is sharply observed and written. I also really enjoyed their interactions and relationship — it was fun, touching, and very real (all things considered). You really root for them, as they make their way across the States, bouncing from one difficult/dangerous situation to the next.

Also in the mix is Cole’s sister, Billie, who starts the novel awakening after being knocked unconscious by her sister. The backstory is filled out as the novel progresses, and we learn the differences between the two sisters, as well as their dramatically different life choices and paths. I didn’t enjoy Billie’s chapters as much as I did Cole’s and Miles’s, but she adds another interesting and different perspective of this new reality.

Given certain aspects of the subject matter, notably the fact that it’s men who are dying from the HCV, I was quickly put in mind of Brain K. Vaughan’s Y the Last Man, and Beukes includes a quick nod to that series in an interlude:

“You could lock yourself in a bunker in solitary confinement and only breathe your own recycled air, or maybe our astronauts are safe, like in that comic book…”

The subject matter is at times rather close to reality — the details about the pandemic, for example, and the snippets of news and other media have strong echoes of 2020 (conspiracy theories and all!). This made for a pretty interesting read, but also an at times more unsettling than expected read. If you’re a little pandemic’d-out, though, you may want to wait until life is a little more normal. If you do pick it up, though, you’ll find an engaging mother-son survival-road trip tale.

The author’s writing is excellent throughout, and the pacing is pretty good throughout (it’s not a break-neck thriller). It is also a novel that suggests that, no matter the pandemic/disaster, we can expect both the best and worst of humanity to be amplified, and in the case of the latter, in depressingly familiar ways.

Overall, then, I’d recommend this to all fans of Beukes’s past work and also fans of novels like Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and other fiction in the post-pandemic sub-genre.

In the not so distant future, there is a pandemic which affects only the male population. Miles, a 12 year old, is one of the few males immune. Everyone wants to use Miles for their own purpose.

Miles' mother, Cole, wants to keep him safe and free. She dresses Miles as a girl and the two embark on a perilious journey through the United States in order to reach safety in their home country of South Africa.

Beuke uses her incredible writing skills to create a taut post apocalyptic noir thriller. One which raises the philosophical question: How would the world be if only the women survived?

It is an interesting, exciting read. I would be delighted if there is a sequel.

I was given a free ARC. I'm leaving my honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Lauren Beukes for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

This was an absolutely gorgeous story. Wow. I got some Sleeping Beauties by Owen & Stephen King vibes while I was reading this. This author is creative and her writing style is oh so wonderful. What would it be like if a pandemic would occur that only affected the male population? I found this incredibly relevant right now in the times of COVID-19. This was interesting and exciting, and I’d love to see a sequel. A wee bit unsettling, but just the perfect amount.

Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I'm a fan of Lauren Beukes honest and authentic writing style, so I was thrilled to receive Afterland. Wonderful title, striking cover, and ripped-from-the-headlines synopsis, I couldn't wait to start this one.

In a world recovering from a deadly virus that wipes out the majority of the male population, Cole is just trying to protect her son, Miles. With the help of her sister, Billie, they agree to escape the detention center and try to make arrangements to make it back to South Africa, but on the night of their escape, plans deteriorate, and the group is forced to improvise. Cole will stop at nothing to protect Miles, and Billie will stop at nothing to apprehend her nephew and pay debts to some dangerous people.

Afterland, at its heart, is a story of hope, absolution, and rehabilitation. In the literal sense, the world is trying to rebuild after Manfall, and the parallels between this and our current situation was eerily prescient. Beukes touches on pandemic, climate change, economic disaster, and BLM, and while terrifying in its accuracy, there is an underlining hope that resonates in her characters that I found endearing and compelling. What's more is that since the characters are from Joburg, we get a perspective that is not distinctly American, with commentary on the health care system, police force, and government treatment, which really struck a chord with me when so many voices are fighting to be heard.

On top of that, each character struggles with their own personal demons. Perhaps most endearing was the dynamic between Cole and Miles and watching how he begins to shape his own personality, how it conflicts with both his mother's interests and the government's interests, and how even though survival is key, life has to be about more than just surviving. They search for purpose and forgiveness and soothe sore spots and regrets on their journey, but at the end of the day, they are still their own people who need to come together through the struggle.

Beukes' writing is genuine; I especially appreciated the Vice interlude and the effortlessness she gave to vernacular in her dialogue. It is not easy to incorporate slang without sounding cheesy or forced, but Beukes is a talented writer with command of her craft, which makes for an enjoyable read.

Overall, Afterland is a timely, gripping, deeply-moving read that pokes at the heart of our very existence. I'd recommend to anyone who loved A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World or Light of my Life (on Amazon Prime) or anyone looking for a pandemic read with REALLY on-the-nose issues and gritty characters.

Big thanks to Mulholland and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Afterland by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

By now, a lot of us have read a lot of dystopias featuring sexual politics, often accompanied with some major disaster that leaves women a huge minority (The Book of Etta) or (The White Plague) or any number of bigger named modern authors.

This one flips the script. Men are seriously endangered.

The few men left must deal with the patriarchy of women. :) Yes, patriarchy. Because let's face it, patriarchies are learned.

All told, I loved the worldbuilding. There are a lot of great easter eggs and the research for the plague itself was brilliant. The characterizations of Cole and Billy and Miles was pretty fantastic. It reads like a convoluted cat-and-mouse, being on the run from the government and even from themselves.

My only real concern is not a dealbreaker, but a personal preference. The religious bits were fascinating and weird and well-thought-out BUT it wasn't exactly to my taste. Or maybe it was, but where it eventually led was... weird. Maybe that's a product of having read soooo many dystopias where religion gets funky automatically, but I'll give Afterland this: it doesn't go the same direction as the rest. :)

All told, I DO love the whole After-Man take on the world. :) It's more down-to-earth and pretty damn realistic compared to, say, The Power. Afterland is more character-led. I'm glad I got to read it.