There have been many pandemic books written since COVID, and this is one of them. Drawing on the themes of terror, political incompetence and social collapse, End of Men does something a little different with this device, using it to poke around in some ’what-ifs’ of current gender politics.
The concept is simple, a new deadly disease appears out of nowhere and rampages through the population, but it only affects men. Women can carry the disease, but only men die, and die they do in droves. The story is told from the perspectives of different women; politicians, medical professionals, researchers, journalists, daughters, mothers and wives, and it isn’t afraid to get it hands dirty with some pretty sharp-toothed social commentary.
“I have never felt so powerful. This must be what men used to feel like. My mere physical presence is enough to terrify someone into running.”
With the recent experiences of COVID still fresh in our minds, the stories cut close to the bone, giving heart-breaking accounts of loss and the terrifying inertia of being trapped indoors not knowing when, or if, it will ever be over. There are some compelling characters including ‘good’ men and ‘bad’ women to give balance, and for the most part, things tick along as you might expect them to. The book’s pace is solid and the world is extremely convincing, but there’s not much to surprise or many new insights to be gleaned, either about the role of women in society, or our handling of major health catastrophes.
All in all, a decent read, but nothing to get overly excited about. If you’re curious about the premise, it’s worth a look, and if you’re nostalgic for the gut-gripping terror that you might lose all your loved ones while trapped alone in quarantine, you’re in for a treat.
If you’ve read it, let me know what you thought in the comments, and as always, don’t forget to sign up for future blog updates.
Buy on kindle £5.49
Paperback from World of books £4.79
Follow the author on twitter @ChristinaRoseSB
2 Comments
Working at Walmart · November 1, 2022 at 8:36 pm
Thanks again!
israelxclub.co.il · June 23, 2023 at 6:42 pm
When I originally commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you are able to remove me from that service? Appreciate it!