
Severance
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Nancy Wu
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By:
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Ling Ma
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 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.
©2018 Ling Ma (P)2018 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"Narrator Nancy Wu delivers an outstanding performance of this cheeky satirical novel...Listeners will be entertained by the world building; cast of amusing, eccentric characters; and bizarre charm of the aloof heroine." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner)
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A surprising novel, excellent narration
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One of the best
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Melancholy at its finest
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My new favorite book!?
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Quite good except the vey end
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Fantastic narration
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Unsatisfying ending
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A little unnecessary (and literal) "as you know Bob" and some inconsistency between what technical details are explains vs. which are not, and which violence is detailed and which is conveniently censored.
It's a good technically thought-out apocalyptic book.
The thing I really just couldn't handle was Nancy Wu's voice for all the male characters. Kind of a gratey, raspy mixture of lifeguard bro and Batman parody. It's not fun to listen to, and in many instances I feel it brought a tone to their lines that wasn't supposed to be there. A couple instances where tone or sarcasm felt invented on female characters too.
But! Wu did bring a loving warmth to the Chinese characters as they expressed love and dismay though a cultural divide (a big part of the book) and as they pronounced—sometimes struggling to pronounce—English phrases and names. I thought that was a lovely audible addition to the story.
Lovingly paired future & past, in odd raspy voices
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past where the story ends.
Is there a sequel?
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Just OK
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