A Bit Bookish

Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back by Mark O'Connell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The World Health Organization on March 12, 2020 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Pandemics are generally classified as epidemics first (rapid spread of a disease across a particular region). Epidemics don’t always become pandemics, but most virus pandemics have been caused by influenza (flu) viruses. Living through a global pandemic can be an uncertain time for many people. Lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing certainly have everybody on edge. This book is a frightening, yet tender-hearted and funny read. It is a deeply felt book about dealing with our anxious present times and trying to come to grips with the future. How do you live in the shadow that looms? What about having children (the ultimate act of hope)? What might it be like to live through the worst? And what is anybody doing about it? O’Connell is a Dublin-based writer and father of two who crosses the globe in pursuit of answers. He tours survival bunkers in South Dakota, engages with would-be Mars colonists, preppers, etc. Though the book is investigative, it is deeply personal--with shifting insights, humanity, and wit. The fact that he finds hope and inspiration at the end of this journey might be a good lesson for all of us. Brilliant, poignant, exceptional, a stunner of a book and very thought provoking. I loved the juxtaposition of humor and the really serious, sometimes terrifying, thoughts and scenarios he described. His references to other books and people along the way kept sending me to the computer to look them up and read more about the places and situations described.


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