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California
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Science Fiction (2014)A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent, California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind's dark nature and deep-seated resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.
The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.
Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.
The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.
Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.
393 pages, Hardcover
First published July 8, 2014
About the author
Edan Lepucki
9 books33.1k followersEdan Lepucki is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels California and Woman No. 17. Her new novel, Time's Mouth, was published August 1, 2023.
Edan is also the editor of Mothers Before: Stories and Portraits of Our Mothers as We Never Saw Them. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire, The Cut, McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She was the guest editor of Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019.
She likes taking baths, reading, and filling out forms.
Edan is also the editor of Mothers Before: Stories and Portraits of Our Mothers as We Never Saw Them. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire, The Cut, McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She was the guest editor of Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019.
She likes taking baths, reading, and filling out forms.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,055 reviews
July 27, 2016
If you're looking for an unbiased review, you can look elsewhere. I'm married to the author of this book. I read drafts of this at various stages and since I know the author in the Biblical sense (hey now), I am completely incapable of giving an unbiased review. But if you're interested in hearing why I think this is such a tremendous novel and such a fun read, read on.
There are many "post-apocalyptic" books in existence, but what I love about California is that it feels very mid-apocalyptic. The apocalypse here is not that of the molten lava variety or the devastating plague nature, but rather the slow, inevitable decline that likely awaits us all. Lepucki doesn't dwell too much on the whys and hows of the world of California. We know that for the 99%, the world is a brutal place, one that only vaguely resembles our own. Those who can have fled the major cities--now riddled with violence and decay--either for the cloistered sanctuary of a "community," where life is a sort of clownish replica of the world we inhabit today, or to set out on their own in the wilderness.
Frida and Cal are two such pioneers, living alone in a hand-made shack. They grow what they can and kill what they can and try to make a go of it the way their ancestors likely did. One thought that recurred as I read a later draft of California is that Frida and Cal's existence is one logical conclusion of hipsterdom. Too hip for the city, they now live out a kind of fantasy life of burlap and denim, the ultimate farm-to-table life. Their world is small and fraught until Frida becomes pregnant and decides that they must set out to find other nearby settlements.
This is the story of a family, complete with all the politics, grudges, in-jokes, and tenderness that most of us will recognize as true. That it happens to take place during the end of our world makes it all the more compelling. Beautiful language abounds, as does mystery. Violence hangs over the book, but presents itself only in small bursts, little cataclysms.
I could go on and on about this book, but what I'm really looking forward to is discussing it with some other people. It's a book full of ideas and life. And I can't wait for all of you to read it.
Three notes:
* I started this review by saying that I was totally biased, and I am, but believe the 5-star rating when you see it: I gave my wife's last book 4-stars.
* While the book wisely eschews most historical irony, there are a few fun Easter eggs. My favorite involves a certain contemporary author. Keep your eye out for that one.
* Some of my favorite sections of the book--those detailing life on the bizarro campus of Plank College--were cut from the book. It was the right decision, but man, do I miss those pages. I'm hoping Edan will make a little DVD-extras-type thing out of that section to satisfy my campus-novel lust.
There are many "post-apocalyptic" books in existence, but what I love about California is that it feels very mid-apocalyptic. The apocalypse here is not that of the molten lava variety or the devastating plague nature, but rather the slow, inevitable decline that likely awaits us all. Lepucki doesn't dwell too much on the whys and hows of the world of California. We know that for the 99%, the world is a brutal place, one that only vaguely resembles our own. Those who can have fled the major cities--now riddled with violence and decay--either for the cloistered sanctuary of a "community," where life is a sort of clownish replica of the world we inhabit today, or to set out on their own in the wilderness.
Frida and Cal are two such pioneers, living alone in a hand-made shack. They grow what they can and kill what they can and try to make a go of it the way their ancestors likely did. One thought that recurred as I read a later draft of California is that Frida and Cal's existence is one logical conclusion of hipsterdom. Too hip for the city, they now live out a kind of fantasy life of burlap and denim, the ultimate farm-to-table life. Their world is small and fraught until Frida becomes pregnant and decides that they must set out to find other nearby settlements.
This is the story of a family, complete with all the politics, grudges, in-jokes, and tenderness that most of us will recognize as true. That it happens to take place during the end of our world makes it all the more compelling. Beautiful language abounds, as does mystery. Violence hangs over the book, but presents itself only in small bursts, little cataclysms.
I could go on and on about this book, but what I'm really looking forward to is discussing it with some other people. It's a book full of ideas and life. And I can't wait for all of you to read it.
Three notes:
* I started this review by saying that I was totally biased, and I am, but believe the 5-star rating when you see it: I gave my wife's last book 4-stars.
* While the book wisely eschews most historical irony, there are a few fun Easter eggs. My favorite involves a certain contemporary author. Keep your eye out for that one.
* Some of my favorite sections of the book--those detailing life on the bizarro campus of Plank College--were cut from the book. It was the right decision, but man, do I miss those pages. I'm hoping Edan will make a little DVD-extras-type thing out of that section to satisfy my campus-novel lust.
November 15, 2022
Haha, this is narrated by the same woman who narrates the Divergent books so this sounds like the alternate Tris and 4bias story.
Alright, so...I made a poor decision in choosing this one. After I read karen's review, which, by the way, would make a fine opposing viewpoint to this review, I knew it would be a story that irritated me. But, see, we were having computer problems and I couldn't get Overdrive to work so I went to Hoopla and they had this there, front-n-center, and I ... after all the buzz and Sherman Alexie-ing (and I reallylike [feel disappointed with] that guy) and Colberting and Down-with-Amazon!ing well, I just thought I'd give it a shot.
I can't one-star this because there is a plot and the writing is fine and there's nothing technically wrong with it.
I just couldn't believe the premise.
That was the thing: I could not believe the story. None of it. My skepticism started with Cal and Frida. How in the hell had they survived for 2+ years on their own in the wilderness? They're morons! Complete and utter imbeciles. They should have been eaten by a bear in the first chapter. My problem began when Frida (I started calling her Frito in my mind just to make her more entertaining because I hated her)(HAAAATE) was late with her period and decided that meant she was pregnant. There were discussions here and there about "Are you sure? Because maybe you're not for this bunch of reasons," but it was never seriously doubted, her pregnancy. Now, ok, let's break this down:
Cal and Frito had both come from a crumbling society but were still well-fed and relatively healthy.
Cal and Frito left the crumbling society for Reasons and have been living in the wilderness for 2+ years.
Cal and Frito suck at hunting and their gardening seems limited to beets (this is the real reason you liked this story, isn't it, karen?) Frito can find mushrooms in the forest, though Cal really can't.
Cal and Frito should have lost a LOT of weight on their new lifestyle plan: eat raw foods and whatever rabbit they can ensnare + work all day on surviving and homesteading + SEX all day, every day + stress over the world ending, etc. All extra fat = GONE!
SO! Why is Frito still even able to have periods after 2+ years of this new lifestyle plan? Why hasn't her body stopped using precious resources to bleed? That's what a body often does in times of extreme duress, weight loss, and when in survival mode, especially when a body has been soft and pampered and not used to any of this stuff. It's going to protect itself and stop having periods. So why didn't that happen? Six months in, sure, I could buy a pregnancy. 2+ years of eating mushrooms and beets and having a lot of sex and hard labor and very little protein? No.
From there, everything else fell apart for me. I couldn't buy into the whole premise of the story, ergo, there was no story.
Other gripes:
-Cal is a creeper. His fondest dream has been to be trapped alone in the world with only Frida and his dream came true! He looks at her a lot, just watching her because he looooves her with all his heart and possessive nature. He has a thing for 1950's American societal norms and wants to be the next (and last) Ozzie and Harriet which...why did he marry someone who is always talking about how she doesn't have to do what men want her to do because she is a human and a person and blah blah blah?
-Frida is a giant waste of words. She is an ardent feminist in lipservice but never in action. She's shallow. She may have some sort of disorder that is never addressed but that seems to drive most of her behavior. She's pretty out of touch with reality. I really do not understand how she's survived at all! And you know what really chapped my hide? Frida takes her first good shower in ten bajillion years and you know what she does? She shaves. She shaves and is thrilled to be hair-free again. This is the mindset I could not get over. A woman who has been "surviving" in nature for over two years, a woman who has supposedly had to let a lot of stuff go, a FEMINIST who believes women and their images, roles in society, and general actions should not be dictated by the opinions of men...is excited about shaving her fucking legs and armpits. And then she goes on to judge another woman, one who is actually good at surviving and homesteading and being part of a culty team, for having hairy armpits. OMG! Seriously? This is what Frida does. She constructs a ghost of a shell of her former life around her so that she doesn't have to deal with her actual environment and it's frustrating because there are no consequences to this behavior. She's not eaten by a bear, she's not trapped in a cave under fallen rocks, she's not sold into slavery by the roaming bands of pirates (what?), etc.
-The forms?/spikes: Why are they so scary? They're super big, right? Like 6+ feet? No one is going to accidentally impale themselves on these things, they're too tall. Are they all razor-edged so that if you get too close, you get sliced up? Even if that were the case, you don't actually have to try to squeeze between them, though if they're not all razory, why wouldn't you just squeeze between them? I had no idea what this was all about, why they were so scary, and how they kept out intruders. I also didn't understand how so many could have been created and erected in five years. Was it five years? It was a short amount of time and there were limited resources so...no. Didn't get that.
-The children! Why won't someone think of the children? Well, because if you think of them too hard, none of it makes sense. Not even a bit. I was all, "WHAT??? Is this serious? No, it can't be. It is? WHAT?"
-Logic doesn't work in this place.
Here are the list of questions I wrote down while reading this, though I will skip the ones I've asked above:
1) Why does the idea of pregnancy set off a sudden and unconvincing need to be with other people? I know why I would want that but I don't understand why she does.
2) Isn't Cal from a farm? Why, then, is he so damn worried about everything in nature? Why is he so bad at nature, actually?
3) Why has the world run out of mountain lions and swordfish? Why are there so many bears and coyotes?
4) Am I getting an anti-feminism message from this? Frida is supposedly all Woman Power! but makes herself look stupid in that regard. It seems there's an underlying message about the superior health of women who are sexually active, who find domestic tasks to be pleasant, who are submissive helpmates to men, and who have rid themselves of the notion that their opinions matter.
5) Does a person know if carrots are bland if one has been foraging and living off the land for 2+ years? It seems carrots would be anything but bland after a diet of beets, mushrooms, and the occasional rabbit. But what do I know. My palette is highly unsophisticated.
Ok, so, if this is actually a cutting social commentary on how our reliance on technology, our allowance of ease, and our encouragement of monopolies to control all our resources will create a societal breakdown in, what? two or three generations from now, it's an ok story. It shows that people need to understand how to take care of themselves, need to understand where resources come from, how trade works, how things are made and they need to learn to do so before it's too late because otherwise, the world is going to devolve into gated communities for the rich and everyone else will be struggling to survive, dying, dead, or enslaved as menial labor in gated communities for the rich. Oh...hey, wait up. We might be there already.
As a post-apocalpytic survival story, though, this doesn't fly. You're not going to get any helpful tips on what to do if you go homesteading in the California wilderness once LA is dead.
Alright, so...I made a poor decision in choosing this one. After I read karen's review, which, by the way, would make a fine opposing viewpoint to this review, I knew it would be a story that irritated me. But, see, we were having computer problems and I couldn't get Overdrive to work so I went to Hoopla and they had this there, front-n-center, and I ... after all the buzz and Sherman Alexie-ing (and I really
I can't one-star this because there is a plot and the writing is fine and there's nothing technically wrong with it.
I just couldn't believe the premise.
That was the thing: I could not believe the story. None of it. My skepticism started with Cal and Frida. How in the hell had they survived for 2+ years on their own in the wilderness? They're morons! Complete and utter imbeciles. They should have been eaten by a bear in the first chapter. My problem began when Frida (I started calling her Frito in my mind just to make her more entertaining because I hated her)(HAAAATE) was late with her period and decided that meant she was pregnant. There were discussions here and there about "Are you sure? Because maybe you're not for this bunch of reasons," but it was never seriously doubted, her pregnancy. Now, ok, let's break this down:
Cal and Frito had both come from a crumbling society but were still well-fed and relatively healthy.
Cal and Frito left the crumbling society for Reasons and have been living in the wilderness for 2+ years.
Cal and Frito suck at hunting and their gardening seems limited to beets (this is the real reason you liked this story, isn't it, karen?) Frito can find mushrooms in the forest, though Cal really can't.
Cal and Frito should have lost a LOT of weight on their new lifestyle plan: eat raw foods and whatever rabbit they can ensnare + work all day on surviving and homesteading + SEX all day, every day + stress over the world ending, etc. All extra fat = GONE!
SO! Why is Frito still even able to have periods after 2+ years of this new lifestyle plan? Why hasn't her body stopped using precious resources to bleed? That's what a body often does in times of extreme duress, weight loss, and when in survival mode, especially when a body has been soft and pampered and not used to any of this stuff. It's going to protect itself and stop having periods. So why didn't that happen? Six months in, sure, I could buy a pregnancy. 2+ years of eating mushrooms and beets and having a lot of sex and hard labor and very little protein? No.
From there, everything else fell apart for me. I couldn't buy into the whole premise of the story, ergo, there was no story.
Other gripes:
-Cal is a creeper. His fondest dream has been to be trapped alone in the world with only Frida and his dream came true! He looks at her a lot, just watching her because he looooves her with all his heart and possessive nature. He has a thing for 1950's American societal norms and wants to be the next (and last) Ozzie and Harriet which...why did he marry someone who is always talking about how she doesn't have to do what men want her to do because she is a human and a person and blah blah blah?
-Frida is a giant waste of words. She is an ardent feminist in lipservice but never in action. She's shallow. She may have some sort of disorder that is never addressed but that seems to drive most of her behavior. She's pretty out of touch with reality. I really do not understand how she's survived at all! And you know what really chapped my hide? Frida takes her first good shower in ten bajillion years and you know what she does? She shaves. She shaves and is thrilled to be hair-free again. This is the mindset I could not get over. A woman who has been "surviving" in nature for over two years, a woman who has supposedly had to let a lot of stuff go, a FEMINIST who believes women and their images, roles in society, and general actions should not be dictated by the opinions of men...is excited about shaving her fucking legs and armpits. And then she goes on to judge another woman, one who is actually good at surviving and homesteading and being part of a culty team, for having hairy armpits. OMG! Seriously? This is what Frida does. She constructs a ghost of a shell of her former life around her so that she doesn't have to deal with her actual environment and it's frustrating because there are no consequences to this behavior. She's not eaten by a bear, she's not trapped in a cave under fallen rocks, she's not sold into slavery by the roaming bands of pirates (what?), etc.
-The forms?/spikes: Why are they so scary? They're super big, right? Like 6+ feet? No one is going to accidentally impale themselves on these things, they're too tall. Are they all razor-edged so that if you get too close, you get sliced up? Even if that were the case, you don't actually have to try to squeeze between them, though if they're not all razory, why wouldn't you just squeeze between them? I had no idea what this was all about, why they were so scary, and how they kept out intruders. I also didn't understand how so many could have been created and erected in five years. Was it five years? It was a short amount of time and there were limited resources so...no. Didn't get that.
-The children! Why won't someone think of the children? Well, because if you think of them too hard, none of it makes sense. Not even a bit. I was all, "WHAT??? Is this serious? No, it can't be. It is? WHAT?"
-Logic doesn't work in this place.
Here are the list of questions I wrote down while reading this, though I will skip the ones I've asked above:
1) Why does the idea of pregnancy set off a sudden and unconvincing need to be with other people? I know why I would want that but I don't understand why she does.
2) Isn't Cal from a farm? Why, then, is he so damn worried about everything in nature? Why is he so bad at nature, actually?
3) Why has the world run out of mountain lions and swordfish? Why are there so many bears and coyotes?
4) Am I getting an anti-feminism message from this? Frida is supposedly all Woman Power! but makes herself look stupid in that regard. It seems there's an underlying message about the superior health of women who are sexually active, who find domestic tasks to be pleasant, who are submissive helpmates to men, and who have rid themselves of the notion that their opinions matter.
5) Does a person know if carrots are bland if one has been foraging and living off the land for 2+ years? It seems carrots would be anything but bland after a diet of beets, mushrooms, and the occasional rabbit. But what do I know. My palette is highly unsophisticated.
Ok, so, if this is actually a cutting social commentary on how our reliance on technology, our allowance of ease, and our encouragement of monopolies to control all our resources will create a societal breakdown in, what? two or three generations from now, it's an ok story. It shows that people need to understand how to take care of themselves, need to understand where resources come from, how trade works, how things are made and they need to learn to do so before it's too late because otherwise, the world is going to devolve into gated communities for the rich and everyone else will be struggling to survive, dying, dead, or enslaved as menial labor in gated communities for the rich. Oh...hey, wait up. We might be there already.
As a post-apocalpytic survival story, though, this doesn't fly. You're not going to get any helpful tips on what to do if you go homesteading in the California wilderness once LA is dead.
August 20, 2018
this is another fine literary post-apoc/survival book.
like The Road, or Zone One, it uses its setting as a backdrop to explore larger human concerns. it doesn't focus on the "how we got here," but rather on "what do we do with what we have left?" and specifically on the effects of solitude and community on the marriage of cal and frida.
which makes it sound like an elizabeth berg novel, and it's definitely not, but that was to me the most unusual aspect of the book, in a genre i have read extensively: what it means to be two survivors. what it means to be two survivors with a third to-be-born. what it means to be two survivors suddenly living in a group of other survivors. and the challenges these changing social groups represent for the couple at their center.
a quick overview: while the book isn't very detailed in terms of the specifics of the world-altering events, there has basically been a gradual breakdown and decline; a combination of weather events, illnesses, energy crises unwinding across the map, leaving many dead, pockets of wealthy gated communities to prosper, roving bands of pirates to pillage, and individuals eking out a life for themselves in the wilderness. cal and frida are two of these people. the beginning of the book finds them alone, having fled the desolation of LA, surviving in the forest with only each other to rely upon. it's not an easy existence, but they are happy, in love, still passionate about each other in this prelapsarian setting but with a decidedly postlapsarian outlook, filled with memories of what they have lost. their only contact is august, a man who travels between the various isolated homesteads, trading for supplies. frida's realization that she is pregnant brings the first shift in their relationship, along with the strain and uncertainty about what bringing a child into this new world would entail. when she inadvertently learns of a community nearby, she decides she wants to relocate there with cal, who has his own reasons to be suspicious, but eventually decides to take the chance, for his family to have a shot at a life with all the benefits of a community.
but it gets more complicated than either of them had foreseen.
obviously, i am going to leave that for you to find out for yourself, and it is the meat of the novel, but for me the uniqueness of this book lies in what engagement in and with this community does to cal and frida as a couple. there are plenty of reasons why their situation becomes problematic, which are SHHHHH, but in the background of all the larger dramas is the constant stream of how just the very presence of others changes their relationship. after years of having only each other, suddenly they are surrounded by other people, other voices, other conversations and perspectives and sights and sounds. and suddenly they have different roles and distractions and parts to play and needs to fill and even though it is just a quiet element of the book, for me, it was the most fascinating and revelatory.
this book is a success on every level, and i am so pleased to see this genre thriving and evolving and being put to great use as a way to dissect the very essence of humanity and still tell a ripping good story. thumbs to the sky!
you can also pre-order it on bn.com, i feel i should say in my own self-interest. or powell's. just not amazon.
come to my blog!
like The Road, or Zone One, it uses its setting as a backdrop to explore larger human concerns. it doesn't focus on the "how we got here," but rather on "what do we do with what we have left?" and specifically on the effects of solitude and community on the marriage of cal and frida.
which makes it sound like an elizabeth berg novel, and it's definitely not, but that was to me the most unusual aspect of the book, in a genre i have read extensively: what it means to be two survivors. what it means to be two survivors with a third to-be-born. what it means to be two survivors suddenly living in a group of other survivors. and the challenges these changing social groups represent for the couple at their center.
a quick overview: while the book isn't very detailed in terms of the specifics of the world-altering events, there has basically been a gradual breakdown and decline; a combination of weather events, illnesses, energy crises unwinding across the map, leaving many dead, pockets of wealthy gated communities to prosper, roving bands of pirates to pillage, and individuals eking out a life for themselves in the wilderness. cal and frida are two of these people. the beginning of the book finds them alone, having fled the desolation of LA, surviving in the forest with only each other to rely upon. it's not an easy existence, but they are happy, in love, still passionate about each other in this prelapsarian setting but with a decidedly postlapsarian outlook, filled with memories of what they have lost. their only contact is august, a man who travels between the various isolated homesteads, trading for supplies. frida's realization that she is pregnant brings the first shift in their relationship, along with the strain and uncertainty about what bringing a child into this new world would entail. when she inadvertently learns of a community nearby, she decides she wants to relocate there with cal, who has his own reasons to be suspicious, but eventually decides to take the chance, for his family to have a shot at a life with all the benefits of a community.
but it gets more complicated than either of them had foreseen.
obviously, i am going to leave that for you to find out for yourself, and it is the meat of the novel, but for me the uniqueness of this book lies in what engagement in and with this community does to cal and frida as a couple. there are plenty of reasons why their situation becomes problematic, which are SHHHHH, but in the background of all the larger dramas is the constant stream of how just the very presence of others changes their relationship. after years of having only each other, suddenly they are surrounded by other people, other voices, other conversations and perspectives and sights and sounds. and suddenly they have different roles and distractions and parts to play and needs to fill and even though it is just a quiet element of the book, for me, it was the most fascinating and revelatory.
this book is a success on every level, and i am so pleased to see this genre thriving and evolving and being put to great use as a way to dissect the very essence of humanity and still tell a ripping good story. thumbs to the sky!
you can also pre-order it on bn.com, i feel i should say in my own self-interest. or powell's. just not amazon.
come to my blog!
October 23, 2016
If the world's second-most annoying couple lives in the woods, will we care?
Probably not.
Despite great potential, California is a mess of a navel-gazing couple looking for
Narrative shifts time frequently as the main characters Cal and Frida think about their lives to this date, from their time in L.A. to years before to their more recent times living in a shed. For the most part, the shifts are handled well. Voice also goes back and forth between Cal and Frida, giving the reader insight into their inner thoughts. This is important because most of the words have dried up between them and if we relied on dialogue or action, nothing would happen. Unfortunately, this leaves the reader wishing for something more exciting than Cal reminiscing about college and his friendship with Micah, or Frida thinking about baking at the market and hero-worshiping younger brother Micah.
"There were only two years at Plank. If you were admitted, it was free, but there was no real degree at the end. Most of the boys transferred to one of the Ivy Leagues, went traveling, or fell off the map... Many Plankers wanted to fight injustice and poverty throughout the world, though certainly not with religion" (p.36).
Which leads me to problem #2, plot. Plotting is weak, existing mostly as a framework for characterization. Frida may or may not be pregnant (she's three weeks late! she must be pregnant! because nutrient deprived women are never late!) so she's suddenly determined to find more people. Cal is equally determined to wrap her in bubble wrap, despite the fact that there is no bubble wrap. They head off and --surprise! People! What follows reminds me a great deal of The Walking Dead, season two, when the group sits around the farmhouse talking and washing clothes. There's lots and lots of clothes-washing and chopping vegetables for the ladies, lots of physical labor for the men. And showering. The ending is obvious enough that the biggest suspense is whether or not Frida will awaken to reality. For those who like the action side of the apocalypse, forget it.
And the setting. Half the reason we tune in to apocalypse stories is to try and read the tea leaves of current civilization. Sadly, details in California are sadly lacking. There are intriguing hints of cumulative disasters (social unrest, shortages, environmental degradation) loosely tied to increasing economic disparities. I found myself reading to understand how this situation occurred as much as the actual plot (see paragraph above), but ended up disappointed. Rich people retreated to Communities, which are basically enclaves for people with resources, but it's not particularly clear how those resources remain available. I feel like Lepucki borrowed her setting from popular young adult dystopia more than creating a concrete vision. Eventually the incompleteness of the world-building ends up hampering story logic.
With all of that, I might have enjoyed it had either of the main characters been particularly likeable. Frida is an immature nitwit who takes a 'Vicodin' because she misses being high and who hoards secrets from her husband like a brand-new turkey baster. Cal is stuck between reliving glory days at college and thinking testosterone-laden thoughts about his wife. It's almost as if they weren't two people living on the edge of nowhere, scraping out a survival, the way they obsessively ruminate about the past. Frida is particularly stupid:
"Today, in the kitchen," Cal said, "did you get an idea of where they're getting all their food from? ...Where are they storing everything? Did they have... anything canned?"
"I wasn't on a recon mission, Cal."
No, she wasn't on a recon mission. Just because they've been substance hunter-gatherers for the last two years and have suddenly entered a community that may or may not accept them as members, why should she care about food sources? Why should she try to understand how the community works?
Then there's Frida and Cal living alone in a house: "She loved the hushed quality of her steps along the path--Cal was religious abut keeping it clear" (p.77). Why? And has Lepucki been in a temperate forest for more than five minutes? Keeping it clear would be a daily activity, and it's a sign saying, "people here!"
But Frida isn't only stupid, she's woefully mercurial. One minute it's all about the baby, "Something about how she'd need to stay healthy, that the stakes were higher now that she might be pregnant." Then literally, two minutes later, with the Vicodin: "A buzz: that's what she wanted" (p.48)
Then there's Cal, who continues to refer to Frida as "my wife" first, then adds her name almost as an afterthought. He actually has thoughts worrying about the possibility that the people they meet will be all male and want to take Frida away. It's really the wrong kind of perspective to get me to enjoy a character.
Goin' back to Cali? I don't think so.
Two stars, not because I think it was an 'okay' read, but because it was written more competently than a one star book.
April 4, 2015
When I first saw this book I got all excited. I love apocalyptic stories and this one sounded like it would be so good. I begged for it. I pleaded. And now I'm dnf'ing it at 38%.
I've learned that if the world is going to end that you need to go and get one thing.
A Turkey Baster
Don't worry about much of anything else. Because if these two characters can survive. Just about anyone can. Can they feed themselves? Well, barely. Frida is obsessed with her turkey baster. Hey, it's new! It still has the tag on it! She picked it up before she and her boyfriend Cal head off into the woods to survive. She keeps it a secret from him though and only takes it out when she is alone to stroke it.
Then once Frida decides she is pregnant they head to another settlement so they can be around people. She takes the baster as a gift.
#world problems solved.
I will defer now to the awesomeness that is Erica's review to better explain this book.
But one thing first..thanks for this image in my head Erica. I owe you one.
I've learned that if the world is going to end that you need to go and get one thing.
A Turkey Baster
Don't worry about much of anything else. Because if these two characters can survive. Just about anyone can. Can they feed themselves? Well, barely. Frida is obsessed with her turkey baster. Hey, it's new! It still has the tag on it! She picked it up before she and her boyfriend Cal head off into the woods to survive. She keeps it a secret from him though and only takes it out when she is alone to stroke it.
Then once Frida decides she is pregnant they head to another settlement so they can be around people. She takes the baster as a gift.
#world problems solved.
I will defer now to the awesomeness that is Erica's review to better explain this book.
But one thing first..thanks for this image in my head Erica. I owe you one.
October 12, 2017
CALIFORNIA- in my humble opinion- is one of the most realistic post-apocalyptic novels that I have ever read (No, I have not read The Road yet- but it is on my list). There are no zombies here, there is not a lot of action...not a lot of blood, and nooooo love triangles. And it is not one BIG BANG that ends the world as we know it...more of a gradual pfffffffft.
I am not an expert by any means...but there was something that seemed to ring very true for me- that this could happen if the world keeps going the way it is. I am not going to get on my soap box and lecture everyone about greed, global warming, or the way people choose to live their lives- but anyone who reads this should take a moment to really let it sink in. Because THIS is probably what we are looking forward to if something doesn't change. If WE don't change. Maybe not in my life time or yours- but someday...
Okay, maybe that was a little soap boxy...Soooorrrry. ;)
Cal and Frida are sort of a modern day Adam and Eve- living alone somewhere in California- sometime in the future. It is unclear of how other parts of the world are doing- but things have definitely broken down in California and the rest of the USA- due to a long slow decline- illnesses, loss of natural resources, super storms, climate change- The wealthy 1% have flocked to "The Communities" where things are a little easier, and more readily available....but for Cal and Frida life is back to the basics in their little shack in the woods. They are in love- they are alone- they have what they need....for now...
Things change when Frida realizes she may be pregnant. Her maternal instincts are telling her to seek out others for the safety of her unborn child. Cal isn't so sure- He sees danger in the unknown and he likes to have Frida all to himself- but to appease her, he goes along with her wishes and they leave everything behind in search of a nearby settlement called "The Land".
BELIEVE THE HYPE! CALIFORNIA is soooooooo good- and it sooooooo deserves the extra exposure it received from Stephen Cobert. I have a feeling it would have eventually found an audience with or without it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/edan-l...
Thank you Little, Brown and Company for giving me an advanced copy of this wonderful debut!
I am not an expert by any means...but there was something that seemed to ring very true for me- that this could happen if the world keeps going the way it is. I am not going to get on my soap box and lecture everyone about greed, global warming, or the way people choose to live their lives- but anyone who reads this should take a moment to really let it sink in. Because THIS is probably what we are looking forward to if something doesn't change. If WE don't change. Maybe not in my life time or yours- but someday...
Okay, maybe that was a little soap boxy...Soooorrrry. ;)
Cal and Frida are sort of a modern day Adam and Eve- living alone somewhere in California- sometime in the future. It is unclear of how other parts of the world are doing- but things have definitely broken down in California and the rest of the USA- due to a long slow decline- illnesses, loss of natural resources, super storms, climate change- The wealthy 1% have flocked to "The Communities" where things are a little easier, and more readily available....but for Cal and Frida life is back to the basics in their little shack in the woods. They are in love- they are alone- they have what they need....for now...
Things change when Frida realizes she may be pregnant. Her maternal instincts are telling her to seek out others for the safety of her unborn child. Cal isn't so sure- He sees danger in the unknown and he likes to have Frida all to himself- but to appease her, he goes along with her wishes and they leave everything behind in search of a nearby settlement called "The Land".
BELIEVE THE HYPE! CALIFORNIA is soooooooo good- and it sooooooo deserves the extra exposure it received from Stephen Cobert. I have a feeling it would have eventually found an audience with or without it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/edan-l...
Thank you Little, Brown and Company for giving me an advanced copy of this wonderful debut!
August 1, 2014
This was, simply put, the worst book I have read in recent memory. I'm shocked at the number of positive reviews. Frankly, I'm not sure why I read the entire thing: it was disjointed and overly self-conscious, and took itself WAY too seriously. Even in dystopia (wartime, etc) , there are light-hearted moments where our humanity shines through. There's none of that here, no humor, no authentic or believable emotion (even believable trauma) of any sort. To make matters worse, the characters are unlikable and their relationships unbelievable. The ultimate insult is that is very poorly written. Example: the author's only way of communicating that a character is surprised is by writing, "She/he raised an eyebrow." I swear, the phrase "raised an eyebrow" must have been repeated 50 times.
Ugh, I really wanted this to be good -- it was an intriguing premise. But alas, I wish I could get those hours back. Don't waste your money or time.
Ugh, I really wanted this to be good -- it was an intriguing premise. But alas, I wish I could get those hours back. Don't waste your money or time.
July 9, 2014
FIRST BOOK PROBLEMS.
So first off: hats off to Lepucki for getting plugged on The Colbert Show by Sherman Alexie. There are worse writers and people to get more attention, for worse reasons. (Though, as I now consider California's Frida, a protagonist who looks on at the double-helixed scheming of her husband and brother, only to finally acquiesce to them "in the name of the greater good" and for sheer self-interested safety, I wonder what SHE would think of this development. Are there two other writers on the Hachette roster with better anti-corporate, anti-authoritarian, voice-of-the-youth bonafides than Alexie and Colbert? How nice of them to plug her book to show NuWal-Mart that Hachette, a major international corporation who profit off the hard work of their authors through their multiple subsidiaries and whose holdings and interests are in the usual depressing warmongering places, could still muscle their way around the marketplace with the always hungry local businesses, a faction that up til now Hachette was entirely comfortable with ignoring.) The industry and the young writers need all the help they can get; the idea behind the push was to stick it to Amazon and help a new writer. No one, I'm aware, was promising a masterpiece. They were only promising a good book.
Which: it basically is! You want to find out how California of 2030/50 came to the mid-stage dystopia that California artfully suggests (warning spikes made of corrugated metal, towering into the sky! domestic terrorists blowing themselves and mall shoppers apart in community shopping malls! wealthier classes blocking access to emergency medical services because poor people don't pay taxes! pirates who strike in bold red colors!), and it provides you with answers as it sucks you in. You want to find out how this quasi-anarchic outpost in the sticks came to be so distrustful (pirates! dead kids! danger and heartbreak!) and how it came to be sustainable (it doesn't! it's all a big hoodwinking by their dangerously messianic leader!). All plotted and put together methodically and timed incredibly well, the revelations coming each in their time. All of them coming in a conversation.
How did the spikes get there! Well David tells Cal ... What happened to the children? Well Anika tells Frida ... What happened to the Millers? Well August tells the couple ... What's wrong with the Communities? Well Micah is happy to tell Cal and by extension you, dear reader ... California is 370 pages of prequel and ten of "a stranger comes to town." It's like the denouement of Murder by Death as setting, plot, dialogue, and character.
I don't necessarily blame Lepucki for this because all of this is way too much to chew on for a sub 400 page book. California, like 1984 in 1948 and A Canticle for Liebowitz in the fifties, are less predictions of the future but well-founded fears about the present, run amok. Dwindling resources, a starving public infrastructure, severe weather events, an upside-down diet where the least-processed food is only afforded to the bourgeois classes; these are real fears with measurable pernicious effects in 2014. California is as right to ruminate on these as Dawn of the Dead was right to parody stultifying consumerism.
But all of the above narrowed their fears (1984 with militaristic double-speak, Canticle for Liebowitz with the nuclear arms race, DotD with the suburban shopping mall) into sharp, penetrating examinations of their day and age (and were hella great books and films generations removed). Lepucki writes about EVERYTHING, and in the interim tries to investigate: the nature of family; what lies we tell ourselves in order to feel protected; the nature of lying generally, lying as meritorious or altruistic act; the tension between boutique and home-made and "natural" products and the hyper-capitalism that barely sustains it; what is the nature of parenthood, anyway?
The canvas is simply too small to fit everything, and so one naturally sympathizes with Lepucki and her characters' decision to just spit it out and do all the heavy lifting for the reader. After all, this is a book about 2014 written in 2014. The book industry is collapsing, and yet each week has more new releases than anyone knows how to handle. This state of affairs doesn't take into account the blogs, social media, the bingewatching vying for the bourgeois reader's attention, and cetera. That's a hackneyed observation, but it isn't less true for its thousandth iteration. How on earth could Lepucki have possibly sold a book that handled such sprawling concerns adequately?
It's tempting to say that we're the generation that bought more shoes and we'll get the post-apocalyptic novel we deserve - vast in topical knowledge, impoverished in critical engagement, ultimately unsatisfying in corrective direction - but I can't live without hope. Lepucki at least writes competently, and if her characters are infuriating and unlikeable they are at least understandable, their motives discernible. She's also one of the few writers I've read who actually does hard description really well; I wished the couple would stay in the otherworldly spikes longer to get more more imagery like "when they hit another wall, six Spikes so close their necks intertwined like swans'." California, finally, is what it is: a promising debut novel with nagging flaws that got caught up in the whirlwind of a corporate pissing match that will, hopefully, raise some boats for independent retailers and give Lepucki the leverage she needs to tell her story as long or as weird as she needs to tell it. How suspiciously win-win.
So first off: hats off to Lepucki for getting plugged on The Colbert Show by Sherman Alexie. There are worse writers and people to get more attention, for worse reasons. (Though, as I now consider California's Frida, a protagonist who looks on at the double-helixed scheming of her husband and brother, only to finally acquiesce to them "in the name of the greater good" and for sheer self-interested safety, I wonder what SHE would think of this development. Are there two other writers on the Hachette roster with better anti-corporate, anti-authoritarian, voice-of-the-youth bonafides than Alexie and Colbert? How nice of them to plug her book to show NuWal-Mart that Hachette, a major international corporation who profit off the hard work of their authors through their multiple subsidiaries and whose holdings and interests are in the usual depressing warmongering places, could still muscle their way around the marketplace with the always hungry local businesses, a faction that up til now Hachette was entirely comfortable with ignoring.) The industry and the young writers need all the help they can get; the idea behind the push was to stick it to Amazon and help a new writer. No one, I'm aware, was promising a masterpiece. They were only promising a good book.
Which: it basically is! You want to find out how California of 2030/50 came to the mid-stage dystopia that California artfully suggests (warning spikes made of corrugated metal, towering into the sky! domestic terrorists blowing themselves and mall shoppers apart in community shopping malls! wealthier classes blocking access to emergency medical services because poor people don't pay taxes! pirates who strike in bold red colors!), and it provides you with answers as it sucks you in. You want to find out how this quasi-anarchic outpost in the sticks came to be so distrustful (pirates! dead kids! danger and heartbreak!) and how it came to be sustainable (it doesn't! it's all a big hoodwinking by their dangerously messianic leader!). All plotted and put together methodically and timed incredibly well, the revelations coming each in their time. All of them coming in a conversation.
How did the spikes get there! Well David tells Cal ... What happened to the children? Well Anika tells Frida ... What happened to the Millers? Well August tells the couple ... What's wrong with the Communities? Well Micah is happy to tell Cal and by extension you, dear reader ... California is 370 pages of prequel and ten of "a stranger comes to town." It's like the denouement of Murder by Death as setting, plot, dialogue, and character.
I don't necessarily blame Lepucki for this because all of this is way too much to chew on for a sub 400 page book. California, like 1984 in 1948 and A Canticle for Liebowitz in the fifties, are less predictions of the future but well-founded fears about the present, run amok. Dwindling resources, a starving public infrastructure, severe weather events, an upside-down diet where the least-processed food is only afforded to the bourgeois classes; these are real fears with measurable pernicious effects in 2014. California is as right to ruminate on these as Dawn of the Dead was right to parody stultifying consumerism.
But all of the above narrowed their fears (1984 with militaristic double-speak, Canticle for Liebowitz with the nuclear arms race, DotD with the suburban shopping mall) into sharp, penetrating examinations of their day and age (and were hella great books and films generations removed). Lepucki writes about EVERYTHING, and in the interim tries to investigate: the nature of family; what lies we tell ourselves in order to feel protected; the nature of lying generally, lying as meritorious or altruistic act; the tension between boutique and home-made and "natural" products and the hyper-capitalism that barely sustains it; what is the nature of parenthood, anyway?
The canvas is simply too small to fit everything, and so one naturally sympathizes with Lepucki and her characters' decision to just spit it out and do all the heavy lifting for the reader. After all, this is a book about 2014 written in 2014. The book industry is collapsing, and yet each week has more new releases than anyone knows how to handle. This state of affairs doesn't take into account the blogs, social media, the bingewatching vying for the bourgeois reader's attention, and cetera. That's a hackneyed observation, but it isn't less true for its thousandth iteration. How on earth could Lepucki have possibly sold a book that handled such sprawling concerns adequately?
It's tempting to say that we're the generation that bought more shoes and we'll get the post-apocalyptic novel we deserve - vast in topical knowledge, impoverished in critical engagement, ultimately unsatisfying in corrective direction - but I can't live without hope. Lepucki at least writes competently, and if her characters are infuriating and unlikeable they are at least understandable, their motives discernible. She's also one of the few writers I've read who actually does hard description really well; I wished the couple would stay in the otherworldly spikes longer to get more more imagery like "when they hit another wall, six Spikes so close their necks intertwined like swans'." California, finally, is what it is: a promising debut novel with nagging flaws that got caught up in the whirlwind of a corporate pissing match that will, hopefully, raise some boats for independent retailers and give Lepucki the leverage she needs to tell her story as long or as weird as she needs to tell it. How suspiciously win-win.
February 4, 2016
Well, that was the dullest post-apocalyptic story I've ever read.
I'm just going to refer you to this review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And add that I really disliked the writing style, logic gaps, and characterization.
Also, I'd normally enjoy baking scenes, but the baked goods in Canter's look pretty terrible, so I was mostly scrunching up my nose every time one of those came up.
I'm just going to refer you to this review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And add that I really disliked the writing style, logic gaps, and characterization.
Also, I'd normally enjoy baking scenes, but the baked goods in Canter's look pretty terrible, so I was mostly scrunching up my nose every time one of those came up.
June 25, 2019
After buying a digital copy of California and finishing it last week, I strongly considered going to a B&M store to purchase a physical copy. My plan was to pick it up from the store and then light it on fire, but I decided that supporting Edan Lepucki would have been the worst thing I've done since buying California the first time.
April 23, 2014
A tour de force!
July 15, 2014
Edan Lupecki’s California feels decent but incomplete. I liked the book but probably retain more gripes than praise. After finishing the novel I felt emotionally manipulated, for example, but the “pregnant lady in a dangerous world” thing, but upon reflection Ms. Lupecki may just be good at drawing in/freaking out a reader. California is particularly strong in the nuances of the two main character’s marriage/relationship, e.g. the way they rationalize (or don’t have to rationalize) keeping secrets and forging alliances outside of their partner in the new social landscape. The pair (Frieda and Cal) trailblaze their ways to the wild after their city breaks down and a (lazy word usage warning) dystopian scenario emerges in which the super-rich can afford to live in gated communities while everyone else fends for very limited resources. I’ve heard people describe California’s scenario as a more “realistic” dystopia than most. I disagree. First, there’s no way a southwestern dystopia would look so goddamn white. Second, this dystopia wouldn't emerge so clean; the violence, political ramifications, and economic repercussions wouldn’t evolve so cut and dry. For a small example, what happened to drone technology? Why couldn’t the affluent use drone technology to survey their surroundings? Why would they rely on others beyond their walls for information instead of venturing out on their own in order to strengthen their defensive position? A few of the characters aren’t particularly well-drawn, either, and storyline swerves are pretty severe. That’s okay, I guess. California might function better as a film than a novel. I don’t know. I thought it was pretty good. Not great, pretty good, but significantly flawed.
January 27, 2014
WOW. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I worry that to tell you anything about this book would be a complete spoiler--I went in knowing just that it's set in a semi-future and no more. You should do the same, but beware: I devoured this one in a day, and was completely unable to stop reading. Don't expect to be able to keep any dinner plans after you've started. It is seriously great.
February 10, 2020
The literary dystopian is becoming a crowded genre, and California, with its belabored suspense plot and tedious world-building, does not really compare to Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Hinting at environmental catastrophe but focusing on human relationships, it tries to inhabit a middle ground between those two precedents but ends up feeling rather juvenile. So you get duff lines like these:
• “These men were up to something.”
• “God, she could be such a selfish brat.”
• “She had wanted to be a part of a community, and abracadabra, here it was.”
• “Catch up, Cal, will you?”
By contrast, the pinnacle of the author’s prose is the (admittedly very nice) line “A dog with xylophone ribs stalked an uneven porch.” (Almost sounds like it should be a pangram.)
I appreciated that Lepucki has tried to produce a new angle on the post-apocalyptic novel, with a married couple taking the forefront. Also, a bit like in Children of Men, she effectively uses an unborn child as a symbol of hope, of life continuing: “glory be the gift of children, excited for the bounty they would inherit. Because that’s what moms did, right? They chose to believe the future was good. To assume otherwise was to participate in a kind of despair.” (It comes as no surprise that Lepucki had her first child while composing the novel.)
The problem is: Frida is an interesting enough character; Cal, not so much. Neither of them is hugely compelling, however. (And it seems like all they ever do is have sex.) Plus there is a very pantomime villain. Characterization is definitely lacking here.
My favorite little aside was .
Still, this is a quick and gripping read (I read it in about 48 hours). The best thing about it is the deft contrasting of past and present with a believable future. But bottom line? I didn’t think it was necessary when we’ve got other serviceable dystopian stuff out there.
• “These men were up to something.”
• “God, she could be such a selfish brat.”
• “She had wanted to be a part of a community, and abracadabra, here it was.”
• “Catch up, Cal, will you?”
By contrast, the pinnacle of the author’s prose is the (admittedly very nice) line “A dog with xylophone ribs stalked an uneven porch.” (Almost sounds like it should be a pangram.)
I appreciated that Lepucki has tried to produce a new angle on the post-apocalyptic novel, with a married couple taking the forefront. Also, a bit like in Children of Men, she effectively uses an unborn child as a symbol of hope, of life continuing: “glory be the gift of children, excited for the bounty they would inherit. Because that’s what moms did, right? They chose to believe the future was good. To assume otherwise was to participate in a kind of despair.” (It comes as no surprise that Lepucki had her first child while composing the novel.)
The problem is: Frida is an interesting enough character; Cal, not so much. Neither of them is hugely compelling, however. (And it seems like all they ever do is have sex.) Plus there is a very pantomime villain. Characterization is definitely lacking here.
My favorite little aside was .
Still, this is a quick and gripping read (I read it in about 48 hours). The best thing about it is the deft contrasting of past and present with a believable future. But bottom line? I didn’t think it was necessary when we’ve got other serviceable dystopian stuff out there.
August 6, 2014
I am a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and can generally find redeeming qualities in even the most repetitive and unoriginal stories. Not only did this book not live up to the hype, it adds nothing to the cannon of great post-apocalyptic fiction out there. If anything,
California
is a poor recitation of literary themes and evidence of lackluster character and plot development.
A quick summary: After natural disasters and illness decimate the US (and presumably the world), food and electricity become scarce, society disintegrates, and safe "communities" are formed for the rich. Cal and Frida, young and married, leave ravaged LA to live in the woods. When Frida gets pregnant, they decide to try to find a settlement of people to live among. They arrive at "The Land" and resume a semblance of normalcy, working, interacting with others, and Frida even gets to bake cakes.
Then the story gets convoluted and unduly long as Cal and Frida separately discover connections between the people who govern The Land, the safe haven community "Pines," pirates, a terrorist group called "The Group," and a bunch of wannabe rebels from a college called Plank (the students are called "plankers"). Cal and Frida must work with the plankers in the Land (who are distinguishable from the Land members who may be part of The Group, and the original Founders of the Land who are not part of a group - ugh, the horribly convoluted story!) to protect their unborn while also preventing further death and destruction. This plot clearly showed how the author lacked creativity and originality; not only was it unoriginal, the reveal of who was who and who does what and who was good or bad was predictable, poorly crafted, and failed to hold my attention at all.
Moreover, Frida and Cal are two very unlikable protagonists; their griping and pettiness and immaturity fail to show how stress in trying times can make a person wilt. Instead, it just made them appear childish and made the book worst than poorly written angsty YA novels. It is even hard to tell if they love each other given how quick they are to lie and blame each other. Although the novel just dragged on and on, the ending came quickly, events became inexplicably convenient, and a lot was left unexplained.
I noticed some reviewers compared this to The Road. While both novels document human struggles in a post-disaster world, this novel is a far cry from the brilliance and superior writing of Cormac McCarthy. Peter Heller's The Dog Stars is another work of art covering how people survive in a world changed by natural disasters, illness, and human conflict, and is a far better read than California. Save yourself the time and brain cells and skip California.
A quick summary: After natural disasters and illness decimate the US (and presumably the world), food and electricity become scarce, society disintegrates, and safe "communities" are formed for the rich. Cal and Frida, young and married, leave ravaged LA to live in the woods. When Frida gets pregnant, they decide to try to find a settlement of people to live among. They arrive at "The Land" and resume a semblance of normalcy, working, interacting with others, and Frida even gets to bake cakes.
Then the story gets convoluted and unduly long as Cal and Frida separately discover connections between the people who govern The Land, the safe haven community "Pines," pirates, a terrorist group called "The Group," and a bunch of wannabe rebels from a college called Plank (the students are called "plankers"). Cal and Frida must work with the plankers in the Land (who are distinguishable from the Land members who may be part of The Group, and the original Founders of the Land who are not part of a group - ugh, the horribly convoluted story!) to protect their unborn while also preventing further death and destruction. This plot clearly showed how the author lacked creativity and originality; not only was it unoriginal, the reveal of who was who and who does what and who was good or bad was predictable, poorly crafted, and failed to hold my attention at all.
Moreover, Frida and Cal are two very unlikable protagonists; their griping and pettiness and immaturity fail to show how stress in trying times can make a person wilt. Instead, it just made them appear childish and made the book worst than poorly written angsty YA novels. It is even hard to tell if they love each other given how quick they are to lie and blame each other. Although the novel just dragged on and on, the ending came quickly, events became inexplicably convenient, and a lot was left unexplained.
I noticed some reviewers compared this to The Road. While both novels document human struggles in a post-disaster world, this novel is a far cry from the brilliance and superior writing of Cormac McCarthy. Peter Heller's The Dog Stars is another work of art covering how people survive in a world changed by natural disasters, illness, and human conflict, and is a far better read than California. Save yourself the time and brain cells and skip California.
August 13, 2016
Not satisfying to me either as literary fiction or as genre. The sentences aren't beautiful, and the plot is thin—not much happens in the present tense, and it feels like you're reading an updated Greek play, where characters come onstage to say, "Hey, someone got beheaded once, a long time ago!" Not much happens scene by scene, either; there are no small moments of believable tension or awkwardness. Characters aren't well-drawn; apart from Cal and Frida, they're an indistinguishable mass. We're told that the villain is charismatic and violent, but we never see those qualities in scene. And almost without exception, the characters' motivations don't make sense. Whenever they get annoyed with each other, or forgive each other, or keep a secret, you think, "Wait, why? This makes no sense" instead of, "Yes, that's exactly what life is like."
July 7, 2014
Every once in a while, something in the news reminds me that the rule of law is tenuous. It's so easy to take peace for granted. It's unsettling, and then I go on with my life. This book is a whopping dose of that unsettled, itching feeling. Life as we know it seems to slip away so easily in California, perhaps because the "apocalypse" isn't just one thing, but a series of problems that snowball into societal breakdown and people run amok. Amok! The characters have to make some really tough choices to survive, and this book's beautiful writing creeps into you and keeps you up at night, wondering what you would do. Would you stick to your principles or would you make the fastest grab for safety and comfort?
California is absolutely lovely -- extreme creepiness and unsettled, itchiness notwithstanding! It is utterly unlike any post-apocalyptic fiction I've read before. Highly recommended.
California is absolutely lovely -- extreme creepiness and unsettled, itchiness notwithstanding! It is utterly unlike any post-apocalyptic fiction I've read before. Highly recommended.
July 16, 2014
3.5 so the world as we know it has ceased to exist. All the things we are being cautioned about now, loss of energy, pollution, global warming, severe weather changes, have all come to pass. Some cities are inhabitable and several large corporations, two which names made me chuckle because they are so much in the news for their strong arm tactics, have started secure gated communities.
Cal and Frida are a young couple who are living off the grid, alone in the woods. They will soon find a settlement where many surprises await.
Frida was a very well rounded character but I did feel that her husband was more roughly portrayed. Some of his lines were just corny, for lack of a better word. I found this book to be a continuing narrative of suspense and survival. Definitely wanted to find out what was going on, what the secrets were and how this was going to end. In this new world where people were choosing security over freedom, when almost the worst had already happened, there were still plots afoot and people who had to be in charge regardless of the means. Human nature never changes, it appears.
ARC from publisher.
Cal and Frida are a young couple who are living off the grid, alone in the woods. They will soon find a settlement where many surprises await.
Frida was a very well rounded character but I did feel that her husband was more roughly portrayed. Some of his lines were just corny, for lack of a better word. I found this book to be a continuing narrative of suspense and survival. Definitely wanted to find out what was going on, what the secrets were and how this was going to end. In this new world where people were choosing security over freedom, when almost the worst had already happened, there were still plots afoot and people who had to be in charge regardless of the means. Human nature never changes, it appears.
ARC from publisher.
April 3, 2020
4 Stars for California (audiobook) by Edam Lepucki read by Emma Galvin
An interesting post apocalyptic story.
I really enjoyed the narration...2
An interesting post apocalyptic story.
I really enjoyed the narration...2
November 1, 2014
Reading California in California - where there is only 12 to 18 months left of water in Socal, if the drought persists - is a particularly uncomfortable experience. The world of California could be closer than we think, and I don't want to be the lady carrying around a turkey baster at the end of the world.
The world of California seems reminiscent of Margaret Atwood, especially since both feature the rich-people compounds where the world crises can be safely ignored. But I think California does a better job of placing its dystopian world eerily close to ours. It's all too easy to imagine our cities falling slowly into disrepair (with the help of a few natural disasters, of course) while the rich seclude themselves in Calabasas and Malibu.
The setting is definitely the strongest part of the book; it's easy to become irritated with Frida and Cal, since they never seem to pick up on the weird cues of the cultish community that they stumble into. Honestly, my main complaint is that I wanted more - more traveling outside of L.A., more scenes set at Plank before the whole world goes to pieces, and more of an idea of the Community structure.
Anyway, California is a great addition to the post-apocalyptic genre, and it really made me want to hunt and gather my own clafoutis.
The world of California seems reminiscent of Margaret Atwood, especially since both feature the rich-people compounds where the world crises can be safely ignored. But I think California does a better job of placing its dystopian world eerily close to ours. It's all too easy to imagine our cities falling slowly into disrepair (with the help of a few natural disasters, of course) while the rich seclude themselves in Calabasas and Malibu.
The setting is definitely the strongest part of the book; it's easy to become irritated with Frida and Cal, since they never seem to pick up on the weird cues of the cultish community that they stumble into. Honestly, my main complaint is that I wanted more - more traveling outside of L.A., more scenes set at Plank before the whole world goes to pieces, and more of an idea of the Community structure.
Anyway, California is a great addition to the post-apocalyptic genre, and it really made me want to hunt and gather my own clafoutis.
August 18, 2014
Someone here on goodreads said that this read like a first draft. I agree.
Someone else said that the writing was average at best, siting the example: "Cal didn't like that. He didn't like that he didn't like that". I agree, and good example.
Someone else said that it seemed like the only thing they'd ever do was have sex. Yes it sure did.
So I just couldn't finish this. The writing was too lackluster and felt so strained. There were four letter words thrown in here and there that just didn't fit the tone of the story. I felt like the author was trying to give it some edge or something, but all it did was make me cringe. Not because of the swearing, but because of the forced tone. I was really looking forward to this one. I picked it up the first day it came out on Audible. One of my favorite narrators reads this one, but it wasn't enough to save it for me. But some of the best reviewers out there (D, K, and L to name just a few...) are giving it 4 stars. So don't let this sway you if you want to give it a go. It just wasn't for me.
Someone else said that the writing was average at best, siting the example: "Cal didn't like that. He didn't like that he didn't like that". I agree, and good example.
Someone else said that it seemed like the only thing they'd ever do was have sex. Yes it sure did.
So I just couldn't finish this. The writing was too lackluster and felt so strained. There were four letter words thrown in here and there that just didn't fit the tone of the story. I felt like the author was trying to give it some edge or something, but all it did was make me cringe. Not because of the swearing, but because of the forced tone. I was really looking forward to this one. I picked it up the first day it came out on Audible. One of my favorite narrators reads this one, but it wasn't enough to save it for me. But some of the best reviewers out there (D, K, and L to name just a few...) are giving it 4 stars. So don't let this sway you if you want to give it a go. It just wasn't for me.
July 24, 2014
Oh dear. This novel seems to promise so much but delivers little. A husband and wife are living in the woods off the grid after the normal world has gone to hell for some reason never stated. All alone, they are slightly bored -- and so was I. Even when they join other people, nothing happens. Most of the action is off-stage, recounted by a witness or in backstory. In spite of the constant talk and endless explanations, none of the characters were clear to me; the main characters flip-flop in their supposedly strongly held beliefs; for example, equality is important until it's not. And they often change sides -- she wants to stay in the new place, he doesn't, -- until he wants to stay and she wants to leave. That was irritating, especially because I did not have a clear idea of what these people wanted.
While I was slogging through the book, I kept wondering where it was going. Now that it's over, I suppose the whole question is what people are willing to give up for security. The answer seems to be everything.
The ending was rushed and I was glad.
While I was slogging through the book, I kept wondering where it was going. Now that it's over, I suppose the whole question is what people are willing to give up for security. The answer seems to be everything.
The ending was rushed and I was glad.
September 18, 2014
Where I got the book: e-galley from NetGalley.
I’m a sucker for a dystopian premise, but such novels usually end up depressing me and California was not the exception to that rule. I wish someone would write a novel about a future imperfect where people behave well, cooperate and don’t turn all weird just because civilization ends but NO, writers generally seem to believe that absolutely everyone is selfish and dark and savage at heart, ever since Lord of the Flies I think.
In California, Cal and Frida have left L.A. with the hope of leading a better life by themselves in the wilderness. Over their lifetime civilization (as we know it) has gradually ground to a halt, although the wealthy have (of course) formed Communities and left everyone else to starve because, selfish and dark and savage. Cal knows something about survival because he attended a college called Plank where they learned self-sufficiency, as did Frida’s brother Micah but she and Cal won’t talk about Micah. A desperate attempt to follow the tracks of the mysterious trader August shows Cal and Frida that they may have another option . . . .
What I didn’t like about this novel was the characters, all of them, especially the main ones. That’s another thing I’d like: a dystopian novel that made me care a rat’s backside about a single one of the characters in it, but nooooooo.
What I DID like about this novel was the imagining of a society gradually falling apart as goods become scarce and systems fail for some unspecified reason, probably due the sheer unsustainability of our current extravagant lifestyles. My favorite bit was about Ikea, which closed down sometime in Frida’s childhood: “they took their meatballs and went back to Sweden.” Frida has recurring dreams about ordering a latte, which is a little strange because I’d think if one aspect of civilization were to go early on, it would be expensive coffee beverages. And Frida and Cal seem somehow too privileged and educated to belong to the underclass of left-behinds—I would think that a guy with training in self-sufficiency would be snapped up early by the Communities.
There were a lot of little questions like that niggling at my mind as I read this book—why are Frida and Cal so resourceful and intelligent at times and yet so strangely passive at others? And I didn’t really buy their decision to follow August, as if living by themselves had just been some kind of phase they were going through. At times the two of them seem like an utterly useless waste of space, especially when Frida decides that getting high takes priority over acquiring any sort of goods that might be of help to them. Perhaps all the intelligent people went into the Communities, and Frida and Cal are representative of the rest?
In the end I found this whole tale disappointingly shallow and forgettable. Well written and all that, but it seemed to lack heart.
I’m a sucker for a dystopian premise, but such novels usually end up depressing me and California was not the exception to that rule. I wish someone would write a novel about a future imperfect where people behave well, cooperate and don’t turn all weird just because civilization ends but NO, writers generally seem to believe that absolutely everyone is selfish and dark and savage at heart, ever since Lord of the Flies I think.
In California, Cal and Frida have left L.A. with the hope of leading a better life by themselves in the wilderness. Over their lifetime civilization (as we know it) has gradually ground to a halt, although the wealthy have (of course) formed Communities and left everyone else to starve because, selfish and dark and savage. Cal knows something about survival because he attended a college called Plank where they learned self-sufficiency, as did Frida’s brother Micah but she and Cal won’t talk about Micah. A desperate attempt to follow the tracks of the mysterious trader August shows Cal and Frida that they may have another option . . . .
What I didn’t like about this novel was the characters, all of them, especially the main ones. That’s another thing I’d like: a dystopian novel that made me care a rat’s backside about a single one of the characters in it, but nooooooo.
What I DID like about this novel was the imagining of a society gradually falling apart as goods become scarce and systems fail for some unspecified reason, probably due the sheer unsustainability of our current extravagant lifestyles. My favorite bit was about Ikea, which closed down sometime in Frida’s childhood: “they took their meatballs and went back to Sweden.” Frida has recurring dreams about ordering a latte, which is a little strange because I’d think if one aspect of civilization were to go early on, it would be expensive coffee beverages. And Frida and Cal seem somehow too privileged and educated to belong to the underclass of left-behinds—I would think that a guy with training in self-sufficiency would be snapped up early by the Communities.
There were a lot of little questions like that niggling at my mind as I read this book—why are Frida and Cal so resourceful and intelligent at times and yet so strangely passive at others? And I didn’t really buy their decision to follow August, as if living by themselves had just been some kind of phase they were going through. At times the two of them seem like an utterly useless waste of space, especially when Frida decides that getting high takes priority over acquiring any sort of goods that might be of help to them. Perhaps all the intelligent people went into the Communities, and Frida and Cal are representative of the rest?
In the end I found this whole tale disappointingly shallow and forgettable. Well written and all that, but it seemed to lack heart.
January 12, 2015
There's a possibility that I'm getting a little burned out on post-apocalyptic fiction. (My themed book club means that I've averaged one P-A novel a month for the last 5 years or so...) Either that, or this book is just sort of medium-good. I'm leaning toward the latter.
As the curtain opens, we meet Cal (sometimes called California) and his wife, Frida. Since the collapse of civilization, they've been living in isolation in a shed, roughing it without any of the conveniences of modern life. We get the sense that both their experiences and their lack of social stimulation have made them rather... odd.
Cal is perfectly happy making Frida his entire world. However, Frida longs for other people, and insists, eventually, on journeying past their self-imposed borders to see what else is out there.
The best aspect of the book is its exploration of the complexity of the emotional ties that bind people. It talks a lot about why people make the choices they do - and what people can and can not forgive. It does a very good job of creating shifting dynamics where peoples' positions on issues gradually change places. What are the forces that bring people together; and what are the things that will erode and dissolve their bonds?
The weakness of the book was in creating believable scenarios, from a logical perspective. My attention kept getting snagged on the physical and geographic details. What happened to all the people? Why would 'stuff' be in such short supply, in the absence of all the people? I couldn't quite picture the lay of the land at times, as it was described, functioning in the way the author asks us to believe...
In addition, the story ends at a really inopportune and inconclusive moment. Is Lepucki planning a sequel? I'm not sure; but we're left knowing there's a big plot, but unsure of all the details and not knowing how it will all play out... I found it a bit frustrating.
As the curtain opens, we meet Cal (sometimes called California) and his wife, Frida. Since the collapse of civilization, they've been living in isolation in a shed, roughing it without any of the conveniences of modern life. We get the sense that both their experiences and their lack of social stimulation have made them rather... odd.
Cal is perfectly happy making Frida his entire world. However, Frida longs for other people, and insists, eventually, on journeying past their self-imposed borders to see what else is out there.
The best aspect of the book is its exploration of the complexity of the emotional ties that bind people. It talks a lot about why people make the choices they do - and what people can and can not forgive. It does a very good job of creating shifting dynamics where peoples' positions on issues gradually change places. What are the forces that bring people together; and what are the things that will erode and dissolve their bonds?
The weakness of the book was in creating believable scenarios, from a logical perspective. My attention kept getting snagged on the physical and geographic details. What happened to all the people? Why would 'stuff' be in such short supply, in the absence of all the people? I couldn't quite picture the lay of the land at times, as it was described, functioning in the way the author asks us to believe...
In addition, the story ends at a really inopportune and inconclusive moment. Is Lepucki planning a sequel? I'm not sure; but we're left knowing there's a big plot, but unsure of all the details and not knowing how it will all play out... I found it a bit frustrating.
August 8, 2014
Spoilers below.
I really, really wanted to like this, but the horror in this post apocalypse is being trapped with two of the blandest characters in recent memory. In the beginning, I had hope that Lepucki was going to write a scathing critique of the nostalgia for patriarchy inherent in the genre, but a third of the way in, our heroine is baking and fretting over a pregnancy, and in a move to jump start a leaden climax, makes a decision akin to ripping off her bikini and leaping into shark infested waters. The faux Mayberry, housewifey ironic ending does little to remedy this. Cal is a bore, Frida is as exciting as flour, and despite rumored decapitations and a cult like environment, I got no sense of menace from any of the characters--including chief head chopper, Micah.
None of these people seems very good at survival either. This is a privileged apocalypse where the survivors eat beets and read Debord, and seeing as these folks likely would have made their own mead or frequented Chez Panisse in better times, the lack of detail we get about foraging or farming or curing meat or well anything other than beets and carrots feels like a pretty big miss.
Maybe that's the whole point and I'm missing a wonderful parody of California malaise, but this one didn't do it for me. I did like the writing though and will likely pick up her next novel. Just wasn't for me.
I really, really wanted to like this, but the horror in this post apocalypse is being trapped with two of the blandest characters in recent memory. In the beginning, I had hope that Lepucki was going to write a scathing critique of the nostalgia for patriarchy inherent in the genre, but a third of the way in, our heroine is baking and fretting over a pregnancy, and in a move to jump start a leaden climax, makes a decision akin to ripping off her bikini and leaping into shark infested waters. The faux Mayberry, housewifey ironic ending does little to remedy this. Cal is a bore, Frida is as exciting as flour, and despite rumored decapitations and a cult like environment, I got no sense of menace from any of the characters--including chief head chopper, Micah.
None of these people seems very good at survival either. This is a privileged apocalypse where the survivors eat beets and read Debord, and seeing as these folks likely would have made their own mead or frequented Chez Panisse in better times, the lack of detail we get about foraging or farming or curing meat or well anything other than beets and carrots feels like a pretty big miss.
Maybe that's the whole point and I'm missing a wonderful parody of California malaise, but this one didn't do it for me. I did like the writing though and will likely pick up her next novel. Just wasn't for me.
September 22, 2018
I read this back in 2013 and decided to read it again as parts of it I wanted to revisit. This is a strong debut novel from Edan Lepucki. I found this book a breath of fresh air amongst others and it delighted me by being a novel that revealed itself to be better and better as I read more pages. A very thought-provoking read also.
What's the book about?:
The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.
Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.
My Review:
Some people talk of this book as being set in a post-apocalyptic era or dystopian backdrop. For me, after reading the detail in the book about HOW Cal and Frida come to be living in the wilderness away from society it was more like understanding that the world had destroyed itself.
Issues with oil prices and availability, environmental issues, crime, the rich getting richer and being able to afford the necessities whilst the poor are forced out of society, living a minimalistic lifestyle. It was like watching segregation at work in a novel. So yes, I can see why some feel it's PA or Dystopian but it didn't quite feel like that to me. You make your own mind up.
We spend time with Cal and Frida in their wilderness hut for a good part of the book, surprisingly that was quite good, you would think it might be boring to write about only two characters digging for vegetables or hunting for berries and fish to eat, but it was a great time to get to connect with both characters, the book flits back to the past to give us some background information about the two of them prior to the world as they know it changing all around them.
Where the book really picks up pace and gets interesting is once they discover the settlement or camp of people nearby and take the leap to move from being on their own to blending in and knowing this community of survivors. Oh this is good stuff people, because there is nothing but secrets, lies and stuff to be revealed from this point on.
I just was reading and reading, going with the flow of the plot, keen to know more about the complex characters that live within the secluded complex. They have no idea who they can really trust here, and even as the reader I got it wrong on my judgement of characters around them, so no wonder they did too.
It's a fascinating insight into how a community can be born and new traditions developed after great calamity. How the human being thinks and lives with each other when society as a whole has crumbled. Who makes the rules? Who follows them? It's all here for you to explore. Many times I was picturing myself in their situation and wondering how I would be in that setting. It's intriguing.
This is a community that has many secrets, fear, and unspoken words.
There is a lot of spoilers in the book that I am not going to share for obvious reasons, but do stick with it if you are reading it, it's a book that almost gradually reveals it's gems and surprises. There are many likeable characters in the book that are tangible and real. I particularly liked the character of August, especially by the end. But all of the characters introduced stand on their own merits and are easy to connect to.
The book does flash back to past events which gradually builds up the whole picture for us around the plot and the characters, I felt the author did a good job of balancing that well so it's not too much one way or the other.
A very enjoyable and unusual read. A well written debut novel, I am keen to read more of Edan Lepucki's writing should she write more in the future. It's a book that honestly is not that far-fetched from how the future of our society might be, a sobering and scary thought. 4 Stars!
What's the book about?:
The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant.
Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.
My Review:
Some people talk of this book as being set in a post-apocalyptic era or dystopian backdrop. For me, after reading the detail in the book about HOW Cal and Frida come to be living in the wilderness away from society it was more like understanding that the world had destroyed itself.
Issues with oil prices and availability, environmental issues, crime, the rich getting richer and being able to afford the necessities whilst the poor are forced out of society, living a minimalistic lifestyle. It was like watching segregation at work in a novel. So yes, I can see why some feel it's PA or Dystopian but it didn't quite feel like that to me. You make your own mind up.
We spend time with Cal and Frida in their wilderness hut for a good part of the book, surprisingly that was quite good, you would think it might be boring to write about only two characters digging for vegetables or hunting for berries and fish to eat, but it was a great time to get to connect with both characters, the book flits back to the past to give us some background information about the two of them prior to the world as they know it changing all around them.
Where the book really picks up pace and gets interesting is once they discover the settlement or camp of people nearby and take the leap to move from being on their own to blending in and knowing this community of survivors. Oh this is good stuff people, because there is nothing but secrets, lies and stuff to be revealed from this point on.
I just was reading and reading, going with the flow of the plot, keen to know more about the complex characters that live within the secluded complex. They have no idea who they can really trust here, and even as the reader I got it wrong on my judgement of characters around them, so no wonder they did too.
It's a fascinating insight into how a community can be born and new traditions developed after great calamity. How the human being thinks and lives with each other when society as a whole has crumbled. Who makes the rules? Who follows them? It's all here for you to explore. Many times I was picturing myself in their situation and wondering how I would be in that setting. It's intriguing.
This is a community that has many secrets, fear, and unspoken words.
There is a lot of spoilers in the book that I am not going to share for obvious reasons, but do stick with it if you are reading it, it's a book that almost gradually reveals it's gems and surprises. There are many likeable characters in the book that are tangible and real. I particularly liked the character of August, especially by the end. But all of the characters introduced stand on their own merits and are easy to connect to.
The book does flash back to past events which gradually builds up the whole picture for us around the plot and the characters, I felt the author did a good job of balancing that well so it's not too much one way or the other.
A very enjoyable and unusual read. A well written debut novel, I am keen to read more of Edan Lepucki's writing should she write more in the future. It's a book that honestly is not that far-fetched from how the future of our society might be, a sobering and scary thought. 4 Stars!
July 11, 2014
This dystopian story follows married couple Cal and Frida in the middle of the 21st century, who left LA following a slow and steady apocalypse, as the country was running out of food, supplies, and supportable habitation. The Internet dried up, and the scramble to peaceably and comfortably exist was running on empty. Although it doesn’t state definitively what occurred, it is evident that climactic conditions and carbon footprints were involved.
“…LA’s chewed-up streets or its shuttered stores or its sagging houses. All those dead lawns…people starving on the sidewalks…the city wasn’t just sick, it was dying.”
Cal and Frida live in a remote landscape in solitude, until they find one family a bit further away. But, when Frida determines that she is pregnant, they decide to venture out into a more established community that they learn about from their new friends. Having to rely on each other for all their emotional needs can be dicey; periodically, the differences in their outlooks caused problems psychologically and emotionally.
When they arrive at the new grounds and community, they discover that the charismatic leader's identity is a huge coincidence, one that, honestly, created an eye-rolling groan for me. It was a gimmick that cheapened the story, in my opinion. However, I was able to remain generally engaged in the day-to-day events of Cal and Frida's life. Often, it had a soap-opera-ish feel to it, and read more like a domestic drama for young adults, with the adolescent type of flirtations and triangulations inherent to that group. Also, the dystopian nomenclature tries a little too hard.
Periodically, I felt that Lupecki was shuffling too many ideas at once, muddying the locus of the story. Some of the inclusions, like the retrospect to the college that Cal went to, were weighed as more important than it came across, i.e., it was convenient as a meeting ground for various characters, but the details about life at the school seemed superfluous or telegraphed. Often, events and disclosures didn't feel organically compelling; rather, the author had a tendency toward amplifying scenarios that were aimed at convincing the reader of more substance than the moments actually conveyed.
The blurbs for this book—“Breathtakingly original, utterly gripping, inventive, arresting”—even comparisons to Cormac McCarthy and Lorrie Moore—created some high expectations in me that were not fulfilled. This was far from original—in fact, I found it pretty derivative, an imitative Margaret Atwood type story that didn’t measure up. Most of the characters felt secondhand, except for August, the enigmatic, wayfaring, mule-riding trader, whose agenda is mysterious.
The prose was serviceable, but the atmosphere, rather than “darkly arresting,” was more airy. The author appeared to be petitioning the reader to believe in the characters’ authenticity. In Lupecki’s defense, she does have some fair storytelling abilities that kept me reading until the last page. And, despite the largely hereditary plot, I was pleasantly surprised by the denouement, which kept some options open and provoked contemplation.
Thanks to Little Brown for providing me a copy for review.
2.5 rounded up
“…LA’s chewed-up streets or its shuttered stores or its sagging houses. All those dead lawns…people starving on the sidewalks…the city wasn’t just sick, it was dying.”
Cal and Frida live in a remote landscape in solitude, until they find one family a bit further away. But, when Frida determines that she is pregnant, they decide to venture out into a more established community that they learn about from their new friends. Having to rely on each other for all their emotional needs can be dicey; periodically, the differences in their outlooks caused problems psychologically and emotionally.
When they arrive at the new grounds and community, they discover that the charismatic leader's identity is a huge coincidence, one that, honestly, created an eye-rolling groan for me. It was a gimmick that cheapened the story, in my opinion. However, I was able to remain generally engaged in the day-to-day events of Cal and Frida's life. Often, it had a soap-opera-ish feel to it, and read more like a domestic drama for young adults, with the adolescent type of flirtations and triangulations inherent to that group. Also, the dystopian nomenclature tries a little too hard.
Periodically, I felt that Lupecki was shuffling too many ideas at once, muddying the locus of the story. Some of the inclusions, like the retrospect to the college that Cal went to, were weighed as more important than it came across, i.e., it was convenient as a meeting ground for various characters, but the details about life at the school seemed superfluous or telegraphed. Often, events and disclosures didn't feel organically compelling; rather, the author had a tendency toward amplifying scenarios that were aimed at convincing the reader of more substance than the moments actually conveyed.
The blurbs for this book—“Breathtakingly original, utterly gripping, inventive, arresting”—even comparisons to Cormac McCarthy and Lorrie Moore—created some high expectations in me that were not fulfilled. This was far from original—in fact, I found it pretty derivative, an imitative Margaret Atwood type story that didn’t measure up. Most of the characters felt secondhand, except for August, the enigmatic, wayfaring, mule-riding trader, whose agenda is mysterious.
The prose was serviceable, but the atmosphere, rather than “darkly arresting,” was more airy. The author appeared to be petitioning the reader to believe in the characters’ authenticity. In Lupecki’s defense, she does have some fair storytelling abilities that kept me reading until the last page. And, despite the largely hereditary plot, I was pleasantly surprised by the denouement, which kept some options open and provoked contemplation.
Thanks to Little Brown for providing me a copy for review.
2.5 rounded up
September 6, 2016
I read mostly non-fiction and perhaps I expect a storyline to make sense. Here we never find out the nature of the apocalyptic event that predates this story other than a couple references to bad storms thousands of miles away, yet the local society seems pretty comfortable walking around in tee shirts and denim. The location would seem to be central/eastern California with a population so scarce that one can walk for two days without evidence of a single person and this breadbasket country cannot produce enough food to feed 100 people. Cal, the gardening guru, can barely grow a beet. The community must have spent thousands of hours building Forms to little avail when those parts could have been repurposed into something useful. Bandaids and turkey basters are valued commodities, but guns and ammo seem fairly available.
That said, I can see from other reviews that I am in the minority and know that I might be too hidebound to enjoy this genre. Thankfully, there's lots to choose from out there (and why was Micah hoarding all those books?).
That said, I can see from other reviews that I am in the minority and know that I might be too hidebound to enjoy this genre. Thankfully, there's lots to choose from out there (and why was Micah hoarding all those books?).
September 28, 2014
Entirely believable take on a post-decline America. It was not an apocalyptic event but more of a slow decline due to forces of nature, corrupt government, and civil unrest. The story follows a young couple who has escaped the dangerous neighborhoods of LA for the solitude of living in the old forests of northern California. Very good but those who want action and adventure might find it a bit slow.
September 5, 2018
The whole time I was reading this I was hiding from my 3 month old and my husband so I could find out what was going to happen next. What a wonderfully written story, I am in love with the two main characters. The book isn't even out yet and I am already wondering about a sequel!
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