“Nobody wants to be here and nobody wants to leave.”

Well that was bleak. Of course it was, it was a Pulitzer Prize winner. 

I’ve been sitting with this review for weeks because I genuinely cannot decide if I liked this book or not. 

Is it poorly written? No. Does it make feel right down to your bones? Yes. Is it good? Honestly I don’t know. 

Now I understand why it won a Pulitzer and can talk all day about the blurred lines between the setting and the reader. The intentional anonymity and lack of individuality in a post apocalyptic hellscape. That hope remains an active intention to keep alive, while being optimistic need not necessarily play a part in the action of hope. 

I think my main struggle with determining if I liked it or not is the book is just bleak. It starts bleak. The middle is bleaker. The ending (ambiguous as it is) was the least bleak or the most bleak aspect depending on how you choose to interpret it. 

I can’t wait to discuss this with the bookclub because there’s a lot to unpack with this one. At least we did a Christmas secret book swap to add some joy, we’ll need it after the discussion.