The dead and the gone
Pfeffer, Susan. Marion Lloyd Books, 2008. ISBN 9781407106229.
(Age 13+) A companion novel to Life as we knew it, this novel
can be
read as a stand-alone. A meteor has struck the moon, changing the
earth's
climate drastically and bringing disastrous tsunamis and flooding.This
is the compelling story of what it is
like to
survive in New York where the tube stations have been flooded, shops
looted and
the
Yankee Stadium filled with the bodies of the dead. Alex Morales and his
two
young sisters, Briana and Julie, find themselves alone in the city.
Their
father had been in Puerto Rico for a funeral when the disaster struck
and their
mother called away to help in a hospital. Nothing has been heard of
either of
them since the first early reports of the tragedy. Alex, who
has
come from a strict Catholic family, is left to look after his two
sisters
without the support of any adults.
While the protagonists face many of the same
disasters,
intermittent electricity, food shortages, grey dust and a flu epidemic,
the
urban setting brings a different set of problems to be faced. The
Church gives some spiritual and
physical
support like lunch at the schools, but it is Alex who takes on the
difficult
role of head of the household and keeps his family together.
This is a survival story, but highlights the
plight of the
poor. Although Alex is very bright and a leader at school, it is the
boys who
have rich and influential families who are able to leave the devastated
city.
Alex and Julie queue up for food in dangerous lines, the girls can't
walk
around unprotected and it is difficult to see how they can survive.
Alex faces
the moral dilemma of stealing from the dead to keep the family alive.
The
reader sees the young siblings grow from self-centred adolescents to
brave and
caring young adults. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the
story
is the author's exploration of faith in testing times.
This is a compelling read. While it didn't grab me
as
powerfully as Life as we knew it,
probably because I was prepared for the effects of the disaster, the
themes that are explored,
including religion, morality, class structure and family, are certainly
thought
provoking.
Pat Pledger
,