Name: Carolina Poças's review of Severance by Ling Ma
Item: Severance
Rating: 5
Author: Carolina Poças

Ling Ma

Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine: her work, watching movies with her boyfriend, avoiding thoughts of her recently deceased Chinese immigrant parents. So she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps the world. Candace joins a small group of survivors, led by the power-hungry Bob, on their way to the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers?

Severance

Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance. Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. With the recent passing of her Chinese immigrant parents, she’s had her fill of uncertainty. She’s content just to carry on: She goes to work, troubleshoots the teen-targeted Gemstone Bible, watches movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend. So Candace barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies halt operations. The subways squeak to a halt. Her bosses enlist her as part of a dwindling skeleton crew with a big end-date payoff. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost. Candace won’t be able to make it on her own forever, though. Enter a group of survivors, led by the power-hungry IT tech Bob. They’re traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers? A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines, and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Ling Ma’s Severance is a moving family story, a quirky coming-of-adulthood tale, and a hilarious, deadpan satire. Most important, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive.

A Novel

One of if not my biggest worry in life is that I’ll let leisure die. Maybe that’s why I want to work in museums, it almost necessitates leisure. 

Clark Louis

Leisure, the problem with the modern condition was the dearth of leisure. And finally, it took a force of nature to interrupt our routines. We just wanted to hit the reset button. We just wanted to feel flush with time to do things of no quantifiable value, our hopeful side pursuits like writing or drawing or something, something other than what we did for money. Like learn to be a better photographer. And even if we didn't get around to it on that day, our free day, maybe it was enough just to feel the possibility that we could if we wanted to, which is another way of saying that we wanted to feel young, though many of us were that if nothing else. 

There was an insatiable frenzy to shopping in Hong Kong, to using a foreign currency that felt like play money. There was no guilt. I couldn't calculate the exchange rate fast enough

It is the feeling of drowning in a big hot open gutter, of crawling inside an undressed, unstanched wound that has never been cauterized.

sofia mae

And because memories beget more memories, you always remember more than you think is even there.

Arie P

Chicago is the most American of American cities.

  It’s actually Needling, Bob said. Needling, Illinois. It’s right outside Chicago.

erin alise 

You have beautiful skin, it is just uncomfortable right now.

Carolina Poças

This book threw me off in ways that I can’t put eloquently.

I was quick to dismiss this book as something less than what it is. I got hung up over simple things like chapters feeling like random detail dumps, the odd jumping between timelines from chapter to chapter, and Ma’s choice to not use quotation marks to name a few (a pretty benign thing for me to get hung up on especially since I ended up listening to it for the latter half).

I was actively fighting those prejudices, and I kept fighting myself to at least TRY to empathize with Ling Ma and the main character, Candace... and trying to understand why things were told in the order they were and what the author may be conveying through the subtext of it all. (that damn subtext…)

What I took away was... a lot of criticism... of what? i'm not entirely sure.

was it a criticism of the typical 20-something new-grad having moved to (insert city) and reaping the socioeconomic privileges that came with it without repaying it forward?

was it a criticism of the superficiality of all the brand names that people may covet that, at the end of the day, are shells of dreams whose sole purpose is to like pockets?

maybe there’s criticism of the role that social media takes on in the world when it comes to creating current narratives.

i definitely felt like there was a narrative about a woman and her body and dealing with the gaze of others. from the sex scenes to how characters (even Candace herself) handled the pregnancy… especially how her autonomy was stripped away by the men in control.

As I write this, I’m more hung up on the power of social media and news. There’s the part of Tienanmen square where Candace’s parents argue over the quality of the information they’re gleaning from the news. There’s the part where Candace and Jonathan are reading news about Shen fever and arguing over the severity of it. There’s the hashtag-ification of a hurricane… played up as a joke with Netflix and trends making light of a shit situation. Both of those situations feel like a parallel of one another. “What is the media sharing with us? What is the true story? Who can we trust?” are the questions I took away from that.

What I would like to understand better is

 is a novel that challenged me to read past the words I was reading/hearing. It was confusing at first and I was quick to reject it, and before I knew it I was on the edge of my driver’s seat (safely) wondering if she’d be able to escape.

The author said the curtains are blue. What does it mean?

Candace picked up a bottle of Evian. What does it mean?

jntn

This book threw me off in ways that I can’t put eloquently.

I was quick to dismiss this book as something less than what it is. I got hung up over simple things like chapters feeling like random detail dumps, the odd jumping between timelines from chapter to chapter, and Ma’s choice to not use quotation marks to name a few (a pretty benign thing for me to get hung up on especially since I ended up listening to it for the latter half).

I was actively fighting those prejudices, and I kept fighting myself to at least TRY to empathize with Ling Ma and the main character, Candace... and trying to understand why things were told in the order they were and what the author may be conveying through the subtext of it all. (that damn subtext…)

What I took away was... a lot of criticism... of what? i'm not entirely sure.

was it a criticism of the typical 20-something new-grad having moved to (insert city) and reaping the socioeconomic privileges that came with it without repaying it forward?

was it a criticism of the superficiality of all the brand names that people may covet that, at the end of the day, are shells of dreams whose sole purpose is to like pockets?

maybe there’s criticism of the role that social media takes on in the world when it comes to creating current narratives.

i definitely felt like there was a narrative about a woman and her body and dealing with the gaze of others. from the sex scenes to how characters (even Candace herself) handled the pregnancy… especially how her autonomy was stripped away by the men in control.

As I write this, I’m more hung up on the power of social media and news. There’s the part of Tienanmen square where Candace’s parents argue over the quality of the information they’re gleaning from the news. There’s the part where Candace and Jonathan are reading news about Shen fever and arguing over the severity of it. There’s the hashtag-ification of a hurricane… played up as a joke with Netflix and trends making light of a shit situation. Both of those situations feel like a parallel of one another. “What is the media sharing with us? What is the true story? Who can we trust?” are the questions I took away from that.

What I would like to understand better is

- the importance of Candace’s stories of her estranged (?) family in China and her trip to the production facilities

- what can be gleaned from the descriptive nature of her sex life

- what can be pieced together from the hopping across different timelines

Ling Ma’s Severance is a novel that challenged me to read past the words I was reading/hearing. It was confusing at first and I was quick to reject it, and before I knew it I was on the edge of my driver’s seat (safely) wondering if she’d be able to escape.

The author said the curtains are blue. What does it mean?

Candace picked up a bottle of Evian. What does it mean?

I am highly intrigued by both perspectives that Candace has, I just don’t get why it was put like this. I’d love to re-read them as two different books that focus as prequel and sequel. Because I don’t really see how her past affect how the story progresses and there seems to be very little to no connection at all.

Alisha

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, capitalistic routine will be the death of us. Sever us from the system that has been consistently designed against us. If we continue on we will move like the fevered. Living each day repeating routines until our last. 

Alyanna

Aside from being a genuine page turner that I had trouble putting down, this book is a really interesting take on the apocalypse, our demise, and the unsustainability of our current ways of life. 

very prescient of the pandemic; capitalism was also delved through zombie literature. overall, book could have a better ending.  

Another ella rec that changed my brain chemistry. No one has a unique experience fr my alienation from Fuzhou included. maybe hormonal but also reminiscing definitely felt some type of way about the conversations with her dad. Despite that b-plot I actually didn’t really enjoy the actual book I think. Too heavy handed critique of capital in a distinctly (now-dated) millennial gaze. I think the ending was the only salvation because yk. we are Cogs and to cogs we shall return. 

I appreciated the initial world building, but though I liked the premise and author’s style, I felt that it got boring in the final third and the attempts to build tension were ineffective

Alice Argentino

Capitalism is a disease and nostalgia is the symptom.

Darryl Laiu

Made me reflect on how much capitalism is engraved and integrated in our everyday lives.

march🐇

pandemic/zombie apocalypse/critique of capitalism. very enjoyable 

jacq bridge

Loved until the last 40 pages when I completely stopped caring

Regan Martin

Started off a little slow, but quickly gave me that 5 ⭐️ feeling. LOVED it!!

hessensitive

Best speculative fiction I’ve read maybe ever…. It made me think about ritualistic living and being a creature of habit. How do we live each day without just following the same carved out path made by ourselves over decades and years. Gave me a whole new appreciation for zombie literature 🧟‍♀️

Princess Doe 

3.25 stars. Definitely an enjoyable book that really speaks to the millennial dilemmas of working with exploitative global capitalism. I found the writing & tone a little all over the place, and was let down by the ending. However, still a great promising debut!

Ryan Mateyk

Ling Ma is an incredible writer, this was absolutely fantastic.

armoni mayes

Really wanted this to be five stars, but i still feel like the book was lacking something that I cannot put my finger on. although this could change in the future, but for now it’s at a 4.5-4.75 stars.

I am sad to say how long it took me to getting around to reading the “novel that predicted the pandemic”, which is how it was advertised on tiktok, etc. But this is actually closer to a zombie apocalypse without canabilism or violence. Shen fever is a fungal infection that attacks the brain and the occupant basically enters a trance like state until they most likely die of natural elements or hunger/thirst I’m sure. 

If you read  The metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and liked it, you’d probably like this. Although the main plot is steered around this fevered vs. not fevered, it is mostly about how we continue to pursue work in the face of tragedy. It is also about isolation while still in a group of people that you’ve essentially been forced to be in a cohort with due to the given circumstances. Our main character, Candance, finds peace and guidance in continuing her office job past the point of actually doing her job when business dries up. Even the fevered continue to work their jobs…very creepy. 

Okay ramble over. i’d recommend this book

Heather Margaret

Grace Edwards

Maybe 3.5. The concept was really interesting but I just couldn’t get into it and I thought the anti-capitalist stuff was a little heavy-handed.

I can write a whole blog post about this story and how good it was to read. Something about the tone, something about how bland Candace is, something about her as a caricature. I'll have it written up. Overall a read so timely for me at the current stage I am in my live. I only gave it .5 less due to that rather lazy ending, but as I reflected on it again, it fit the airiness of Candace's personality quite well. She's a wanderer.

Carisa Antariksa

Jordan

The prose is very good, but the story is incredibly boring. The main character, Candace is just the worst, so boring and is just kind of 'there' the whole time.

Elisavet Rozaki 

This story reminded me so much of the events following the covid-19 outbreak, only to realize that it was released in 2018!

Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine: her work, watching movies with her boyfriend, avoiding thoughts of her recently deceased Chinese immigrant parents. So she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps the world. Candace joins a small group of survivors, led by the power-hungry Bob, on their way to the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers? A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Severance is a moving family story, a deadpan satire and a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive. Ling Ma was born in Sanming, China and grew up in Utah, Nebraska and Kansas. She attended the University of Chicago and received an MFA from Cornell University. Prior to graduate school she worked as a journalist and editor. Her writing has appeared in Granta, Vice, Playboy, Chicago Reader, Ninth Letter and other publications. A chapter of Severance received the 2015 Graywolf SLS Prize. She lives in Chicago. ‘A clever and dextrous debut.’ Publishers Weekly ‘Funny, frightening, and touching...Ling Ma manages the impressive trick of delivering a bildungsroman, a survival tale, and satire of late capitalist millennial angst in one book, and Severance announces its author as a supremely talented writer to watch.’ Millions Most Anticipated ‘This is a biting indictment of late-stage capitalism and a chilling vision of what comes after, but that doesn't mean it's a Marxist screed or a dry Hobbesian thought experiment...Ma also offers lovely meditations on memory and the immigrant experience. Smart, funny, humane, and superbly well-written.’ Kirkus Reviews, starred review ‘Ma’s language does so much in this book, and its precision, its purposeful specificity, implicates an entire generation. But what is most remarkable is the gentleness with which Ma describes those working within the capital-S System. What does it mean if a person finds true comfort working as a "cog" in a system they disagree with? Is that comfort any less real?’ Buzzfeed, #1 Summer Read Pick ‘Embracing the [apocalyptic fiction] genre but somehow transcending it, Ma creates a truly engrossing and believable anti-utopian world...[An] extraordinary debut.’ Booklist, American Library Association (starred review) ‘Ma’s writing about the jargon of globalised capitalism has a mix of humour and pathos that reminded me a little of Infinite Jest and a little of George Saunders; it produced a sense of estrangement from my cosmetics, my clothes, and my iPhone. I finished it feeling sad and sensitive to the garbage all around us that comes at such a high cost to planetary and human welfare.’ New Yorker, What We’re Reading This Summer ‘Ling Ma has given us a terrifyingly plausible vision of our collective future...and yet, somehow, Severance could easily be the funniest book of the year. It’s a brilliant, deadpan novel of survival, in this world and in the precarious world to come.’ J. Robert Lennon, author of Broken River ‘The novel’s strength lies in Ma’s accomplished handling of the walking dead conceit to reflect on what constitutes the good life. This is a clever and dextrous debut.’ Publishers Weekly ‘A smart, searing exposé on the perils of consumerism, Google overload, and millennial malaise...An already established audience will be eager to discover this work.’ Library Journal

this book just made me depressed and uneasy but I can see how people like it and I applaud them also I read it from 2am-5am 

Ruby Emmeline Fisher

Maybe it’s the end of the world, but not for Candace Chen, a millennial, first-generation American and office drone meandering her way into adulthood in Ling Ma’s offbeat, wryly funny, apocalyptic satire, Severance. "A stunning, audacious book with a fresh take on both office politics and what the apocalypse might bring." —Michael Schaub, NPR.org “A satirical spin on the end times-- kind of like The Office meets The Leftovers.” --Estelle Tang, Elle NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: NPR * The New Yorker ("Books We Loved") * Elle * Marie Claire * Amazon Editors * The Paris Review (Staff Favorites) * Refinery29 * Bustle * Buzzfeed * BookPage * Bookish * Mental Floss * Chicago Review of Books * HuffPost * Electric Literature * A.V. Club * Jezebel * Vulture * Literary Hub * Flavorwire Winner of the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award * Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction * Winner of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award * Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel * A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 * An Indie Next Selection Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. With the recent passing of her Chinese immigrant parents, she’s had her fill of uncertainty. She’s content just to carry on: She goes to work, troubleshoots the teen-targeted Gemstone Bible, watches movies in a Greenpoint basement with her boyfriend. So Candace barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies cease operations. The subways screech to a halt. Her bosses enlist her as part of a dwindling skeleton crew with a big end-date payoff. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost. Candace won’t be able to make it on her own forever, though. Enter a group of survivors, led by the power-hungry IT tech Bob. They’re traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers? A send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines, and missed opportunities of contemporary life, Ling Ma’s Severance is a moving family story, a quirky coming-of-adulthood tale, and a hilarious, deadpan satire. Most important, it’s a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive.

Bella Baxter

This book can be summed up in two sentences: I got up. I went to work in the morning.

The End. :)

This actually reminds me of something else I read or saw that was structured like this but in a more interesting way.

Other thoughts:
* WILD that she wrote this two years before COVID hit.
* Punctuation would be nice. Personal preference, does not affect the score. But they're useful as a differentiation tool.
* Love it when books end without an ending. 
* Story is fine. Interesting, at the very least. Bit concerned that the Millennial Novel™️ genre follows the same script: existential dread, cool jobs, brand names, social classes, prestigious education, sex, love and breakups, meltdowns, toxic families, etc. All timeless themes but it's surface-level stuff. The girls need to dig a little deeper.
* Fever symptoms were really interesting in that it turned people into literal task rabbits. Are we all fevered then?

Lindy

Obviously there's something to be said about the book's portrayal of Marx's theory of alienation (the story is set in 2011 and there's a fascinating brief encounter with Occupy Wall Street), but it was impossible for me to not read Severance as a series of allegories about a depressed mind's search for meaning within recursive loops of thoughts and routines.

Carolina Poças &
Severance by Ling Ma

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Carolina Poças &Severance by Ling Ma

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Severance by Ling Ma