by James Howard Kunstler – $18.00

This is a fictional story of life in a rural area of New York and takes place after the United States of America, as we know it today, has been destroyed by greed, politics and a deadly influenza.

Robert Earle and his fellow townspeople of Union Grove are creating a life for themselves in a country that has changed profoundly. There are no automobiles, no stores, and no government.

Among the other characters we meet are brother Jobe and his followers, new comers to the community, who are a group of ‘new faithers’ – in discussing this book, there was great debate as to whether this group was ‘good’ or ‘bad’. We also meet an extraordinary character called ‘Mother’, a person/woman, whose description makes the reader squirm with discomfort.

While some characters are striving to help each other and form a fair government, others are enjoying the power they have, created by fear, and are operating solely to fulfill their own needs.

The story of the day-to-day living with all its human emotions, including happiness and tragedy, makes for both inspiring and tough reading. This is an ‘end-of-days’ novel and is recommended as a brilliant, thought provoking novel, an imagined life in a post-apocalyptic era.