Another book about living in the pandemic era, this one starts off with a bit of risible humor. It’s early days yet but the pandemic is already inconveniencing these people. Folks can’t get in or out of a building for an entire week and their attitudes range from disbelief to downright annoyance. I’d expect rage but these aren’t Americans…I think.
We’re bound to get humorous situations and it starts with Immy (short for Imelda?) sneaking out of her one-night-stand’s apartment, only to be stopped by the caretaker (yep, we’re definitely not in America because we call these people “supers”) and told she can’t leave. Now she has to go back to Honeypot guy, whose name she can’t remember. Awkward.
It’s just the start but the author paints Immy’s character in short, swift brushstrokes. She’s flirtatious, sexually experienced and totally irresponsible. She’s not doing the walk of shame so much as “thanks for the swell time but the swelling’s gone” attitude. She’s followed by a man whose living with a charming girl but is already missing her. He thinks he can survive without her but she’s worried that he’s going to start spiraling. I don’t know what that word means but it looks worrying.
The author gets us invested in these people who are going through the same problems besetting the entire nation. They have clear, discrete “voices” and gets us to understand their disparate worries, irritations and swift changes of mood. It promises panic, amusement, heartbreak and the notion that we’re all bound together in this newfound era of contagion, whether we want it or not.
Will their problems be over when the week is finished? We’ll have to read and I am already curious to know what happens.
We’re bound to get humorous situations and it starts with Immy (short for Imelda?) sneaking out of her one-night-stand’s apartment, only to be stopped by the caretaker (yep, we’re definitely not in America because we call these people “supers”) and told she can’t leave. Now she has to go back to Honeypot guy, whose name she can’t remember. Awkward.
It’s just the start but the author paints Immy’s character in short, swift brushstrokes. She’s flirtatious, sexually experienced and totally irresponsible. She’s not doing the walk of shame so much as “thanks for the swell time but the swelling’s gone” attitude. She’s followed by a man whose living with a charming girl but is already missing her. He thinks he can survive without her but she’s worried that he’s going to start spiraling. I don’t know what that word means but it looks worrying.
The author gets us invested in these people who are going through the same problems besetting the entire nation. They have clear, discrete “voices” and gets us to understand their disparate worries, irritations and swift changes of mood. It promises panic, amusement, heartbreak and the notion that we’re all bound together in this newfound era of contagion, whether we want it or not.
Will their problems be over when the week is finished? We’ll have to read and I am already curious to know what happens.