Then

by Julie Myerson

It was 9.22, the moment when everything stopped. First there was the burning air, then came the darkness, the fire, and finally the frost. Now, in a frozen, wasted London, a woman – uncertain even of her own name – is fighting to stay alive. Along with a small group of fellow survivors, she takes refuge in the Building, an abandoned skyscraper in what was once the financial centre. But spectres stalk the empty offices and endless corridors, and soon visions of a forgotten world emerge, a world of broken love and betrayal, and horrific, shocking mercies – a world more traumatic even than the desolate present.

Genres: Fiction, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2011

About the author

Julie Myerson is the author of nine novels, including the internationally bestselling Something Might Happen, and three works of nonfiction. As a critic and columnist, she has written for many newspapers including The Guardian, Financial Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New York Times.

Reviews

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about two-thirds of the way through and I've had these thoughts in my head for some time and I feel I need to record them now.
Everyone keeps saying how gripping this book is, how disturbing, how powerful but I don't quite feel this the same way. It's not so gripping that I can't put it down but it IS fascinating. It's not so disturbing that I feel upset by it - for apocalypses it's good but also a bit tame; they're cold but not freezing, they're hungry but not driven to cannibalism, their world is falling apart yet there is a lot less chaos and brutality than I would expect. Pardon the pun but for an apocalypse it's a bit cold and distracted.
No, what IS fascinating about this story is the way it makes me feel like I'm in someone's mind; her mind. Her world has fallen apart. This cold, colourless landscape reflects her inability to feel emotions - she comes across as cold, confused... lost. Her "ghosts" or "hallucinations" or "flashbacks" are the product of a broken mind. And that's what makes the book disturbing - to be inside a broken mind. How much IS illusion, how much real? You feel something terrible has happened (and I'm not just talKing about the end of the world!). She's done something terrible - or has she? Is she blaming herself? Does she feel that somehow she's caused all this? All is confused yet has a structure... We ARE in a true wilderness here, the detritus and chaos of a broken mind...
And that is what makes this a truly brilliant bit of writing - the fact that it can draw these feelings, these questions, out of me - the fact that it can make me think about what all this is REALLY about...

And now I've finished I have nothing more to say.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Then is not a post-apocalyptic survival story. The apocalyptic event, which is never fully explained, that led to London becoming a frozen wasteland sets the scene for the story, but this is far more a literary mystery than a story of survival.

The writing style itself is quite difficult to get used to - it's quite bleak and time shimmers between the past and the present from paragraph to paragraph - this is a book that I had to pay real attention to, otherwise I would have been constantly lost.

Isobel has survived the event, simply described only as an unseasonably hot day that after a flash of light turns the world cold, and is sheltering in an office building with a man, and three teenagers. Having lost her memory, and continuing to have some kind of amnesia, she initially has no recollection of the event, or even of what has occurred just hours before. She is not particularly likable as a character, mainly because she has no memories to form a personality, likes or dislikes, and as she cannot remember nor really even distinguish between dreams and reality, she has an almost ghost-like quality.

Other characters fade in and out as the story progresses, and the whole book has a very ethereal but disjointed feeling. The ending is particularly poignant, but this book has no real resolution, which almost makes it a little bit too clever for its own good. This is not a fun read, nor action-packed, but I did like the ghostly, discombobulated feel. Yep, I've been waiting years to use that word!

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie

[Michele Harrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to give this 4 stars for now. For the first part of this book, I was a bit confused - as was the protagonist. who is largely without memory, and living in an office high rise, after what would appear to be the end of the world as we know it. Outside everything is frozen or on fire. There is no electricity, no communications, and it would seem, very few people left alive. This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

I'm going to say little else about the actual story here, other than the fact that I am in AWE of the bravery of this author to have written this story. To have explored this scenario as she did. Sadly, I was away holidaying with other people when I read this - and this is a novel where the horror of what's coming creeps up behind you, slowly, like a murderous lover. You know it's coming, but you just can't turn around and make it stop. The sort of book that really, really needs to be read where you know you will not be interrupted.

As the final scenes in this book were tearing my heart out - and smashing it, forcibly against the wall, and the rock in my throat was beginning to choke me - someone entered the room and noticed I was a tad 'traumatised'. And they commented "God, you get way too involved in the books you read - they are meant to be escapism", and the moment was lost for me. Damn it. It's a bloody good book if I'm 'involved'. It's what I lust after - books that offer engagement, inspiration, insight, heart-breaking, gut wrenching bloody INVOLVEMENT. God-damn it, don't waste a tree otherwise!!!!!

So, whilst I read it then, I need to read this again. Soon. Because it deserves to be felt again, deeply. I don't have children, and this book has haunted me for over a week now. I can't say what this would be like for a mother to read.

And I can't imagine ever liking a moment of winter, ever again.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

London, and a curious apocalypse has befallen the city. One February day, the temperature soared. At first, Londoners basked in the unseasonal warmth, but as buildings began to erupt into flames, exuberance turned to panic. Then the temperature dropped again and snow began to fall, plunging Britain into a frozen permafrost. [return][return]The tale is related by a narrator who struggles to remember what happened, or who she is. Holed up in an office building in the City with a small group of strangers, she experiences flashbacks and begins to catch small glimpses of her life as it was before. Eventually, the truth is unveiled and the collision of personal tragedy and collective disaster comes to light.[return][return]I love a good disaster movie, and the meteorological catastrophe underpinning this story hit all the buttons for me. Myerson's descriptions of a familiar city in crisis were evocative and, at times, moving. [return][return]The characters are excellent. Each earns their own place in the story, and Myerson has created a story with no more or no fewer characters than were required to carry out the plot. In particular, I thought the narrator's voice was very well-written, with stark confusion and misunderstanding pervasive throughout.[return][return]My only gripe is that it takes a long time to get going. The first few chapters are entirely disjointed, which is vital to understanding the narrator's state of mind, but I felt this part of the book was longer than it needed to be. If you start to lose patience halfway through - don't! Persevere, and it gets much better towards the end. You'll be glad you did.

[Guy Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A maternal counterpoint to Cormac McCarthy’s depiction of indefatigable fatherhood in The Road, Then is, if possible, even less fun.
Like The Road, Then is also hard to put down, despite the relentless parade of sleep-shattering horror. We’re talking real horror here, not of the supernatural or cartoon slasher type, but of the realisation of the terrors all parents have, the kind of cold, black, oily weight on the heart fear that makes you want to check on your own offspring as they sleep. We’ll leave it at that.
Izzy struggles to survive in a frozen London. Her perception of time is unreliable. She cannot, at first, remember her own name. Through a Memento-like trickle of flashback and recollection, Myerson unleashes an uncompromising picture of marital betrayal, the end of the world running in parallel to the end of a marriage; a lesser catastrophe, maybe, but nevertheless as devastating.
Myerson weaves past and future, cause and effect together, hinting at multiple versions of the same events playing out over and again. Izzy could be dead – the ice and fire motifs of the apocalypse have a certain hellish precedence. A more concrete indication of what’s really going on may have helped us here, but maybe not; as a portrait of the struggles between home, heart and head, Then is astonishingly powerful, haunting and disturbing, its occasionally frustrating sense of confusion fortifying Izzy’s sense of dislocation in the reader’s mind. Horrifyingly compelling.

Did you know?

Myerson’s books all concern her experiences of motherhood, so much so she fell out with her son Jake over one of them.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a sense of place so immense; I was pulled in from the very start. The story tangles and then unfurls on almost every page in a rapid mesh of half-events, conversations and time but I was never lost. Julie's writing is superb, adept and unflinching in this novel. Read it. Quickly, go!

[Andy Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I think this is a good book or not. On one hand I didn't enjoy it and it was quite confusing at times, but on the other it was original and interesting.

The book is centred around an amnesiac woman who is sheltering in a London office building with a few other survivors of an undefined apocalyptic event that leaves the whole city a frozen wasteland. She remembers almost nothing about her past life or the people she is with. It is gradually revealed how she came to be there and more-or-less who she is.

The style of the book is very spartan, with little punctuation (rather like 'The Road' but with breaks for paragraphs etc). This adds to the atmosphere but punctuation is used for a reason, and the lack of it doesn't make the text easy to read sometimes. The story is also very slow to get going, with almost nothing happening in each scene. This gives the feeling of the woman's memory gradually returning in a way that draws the reader in, but can be a bit tedious.

Finally, I pretty much predicted the ending (if you can call it an ending) and I'm still not sure what was real and what was imagined. Maybe that's the point, but I found it frustrating and I can't really see the point of it all.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is brutal and powerful and heartbreaking, but it's one I'll keep because it's brilliant. Definitely not a book for everyone. More for those who like contemplating the meaning of life, death and everything in between.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that considers the lived experience in a post-apocalyptic London. With all of the current talk of nuclear exchanges between Russia and NATO, it somehow seemed appropriate to give some thought to what that might mean to those on the receiving end. We know that something bad has happened, but we aren't told exactly what.

Some parts of the story suggest a form of dirty bomb near Liverpool Street in London. Other parts suggest some form of asteroid strike or possibly the consequence of some form of solar activity. What we do know is that, in February, things get extremely hot, and then they freeze. The reader isn't helped by an absence of timescale to all of this. The narrative could cover a period of months or days. It equally could be a much shorter period of, say, an afternoon. All we do know is that there is a period in which and already traumatised woman is traumatised further.

It felt to me that the book was about what it feels like to suffer a trauma. The main character was already suffering from an affair that hadn't gone quite right and a marriage that starting to bounce awkwardly. There was the question of childbirth, paternity, and separation all rolled into a short space of time. We are led to believe that the apocalyptic event occurred just at the point where the woman was in labour. I'm afraid that this stretched my belief a bit too much.

Layered on top of that was what we are led to believe was a sexual assault, an on-going relationship with imaginary friends, and a community living in a tower block. The narrator of the story isn't fairly lucid and that conspires to make the story just too far unbelievable. The author stretched the goodwill of the reader a bit too far. It really didn't work for me.

This is a shame. The book contains a good idea, but the execution of the idea doesn't really work. It may have worked better if told in the third person rather than the first. It might have worked better with a more coherent timeline. It could have made more sense if the main character had a degree of lucidity. However, none of these were present in the book which meant that the opportunity, in my view, was missed.

[David]

A first-person narrator with PTSD/memory loss trauma is living in what looks like a post-apocalyptic frozen London, struggling to understand what she thinks she is experiencing and to find memory of what she has already experienced. In a very real sense, the 'end of the world' disaster that has all but decapitated London is the lesser of two major traumas. Not an easy read, since the narrator is extremely unreliable, and the timeline unstable/shifting, but, gradually, clues repeat with sufficient frequency for the reader to assemble a more or less likely, more or less coherent picture of what has happened--and what continues to happen in the narrator's mind. Terrifying.

[Sarah Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an extraordinary book. When I first read it and got to the end I wondered what it was all about and went right back to the beginning and started again. I asked my friends and family to read it so I could discuss it with them and it even impelled me to find a local book club which I've been enjoying immensely for the past 18 months or so.
This month it was my turn to choose so I chose 'Then'. One meber said it was the worst book he'd ever read but the rest of us enjoyed arguing over what 'really' happened.
All of us agreed that the writing is vivid and conjures up the frightening images of post apocalyptic London in a way that engages every sense.
Warning: if you like a definite story that goes from a to b to c this isn't for you; also it has some very graphic descriptions of difficult matters including childbirth...
But it's definitely the most memorable novel I've read for several years.

[Biogeek · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very, very difficult book to read. There are all sorts of factors that make books hard to stick with. Narratives that bounce from past to present, where characters' memories are undependable, where characters deliberately withhold information from each other and the readers, where incomprehensible events have occurred, where these events may or may not have occurred in the real world ...and all of these make up Julie Myerson's Then. The novel succeeds in throwing is into the middle of a post-climate catastrophe London, but fails to allow us to make any sense of what has happened, or what is happening to Isobel, the protagonist. I had no problem with not understanding what the great cataclysmic event was. I did have a problem with not understanding most of what had happened in Isobel's life. Many better post-apocalyptic novels out there.

[E.H. Walter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited by the idea of this book, a post apocolyptic London and one woman's struggle to survive in this strange new world. I was utterly disappointed. I am not sure what this book was trying to do. Was it an observation of the frailty of the human memory or just trying to be a 'clever' book? Whatever it was trying, for me it did not work. I am sad I wasted three hours reading it, at least it was not more.

[Gerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

BIT OF SPOILER - BUT NOT BAD.
The author of this book is pure genius when it comes to writing style and topic.
At first I was a bit irritated that the punctuation was sooooo poor. Then as I read, I realized it was a necessary part of the book.
The ONLY reason I am not giving it a 5 star is because it is very, VERY depressing. The content of the story is very morbid and heartbreaking.
If you don't mind that in a book PLEASE, PLEASE read this book.
(some swear words)

[Faye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried to read and enjoy but failed, a hard book to get into. Very disappointed with what it was promising. Not much information on how the apocalypse occurred, a bit too cerebral for me. Others may like this book but I have already got rid of it to a charity shop, a rare fail for me

[Tracey Agnew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is bleak, its main character is broken, her memory shattered by the most heart breaking events. Her life is slowly pieced together through a narrative that goes back and forth in time in a thoroughly absorbing story. Read it!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm hovering between 3 & 4 stars on this one -- there's a lot I really liked about it. It captures the swirling unsteadiness of the wake of trauma, how reality filters in and out afterwards, like nothing I've read before -- the pairing with a post-apocalyptic landscape is a bit clever, but also fitting and, at times, very compelling. It's surreal and strange, with no real footholds to grab to, and trying to puzzle out what's going on (has she been somehow de-aged? has this kid she hates & loves? what apocalyptic event happened? is any of it actually real?) is fun. The kids (and the dog, actually) are written with surprising precision.

But it's also long for what it's actually doing, and at its core, very much a mediocre domestic drama. I like the pulling of mediocre domestic drama into a hellscape, but there isn't much to tease apart at the end of it. Like -- yeah, it's hard when families split apart, and yeah, the parents feel guilty, but it's also not that deep. Or, at least, not very profoundly rendered in this book, anyway.

So yeah -- 3 stars -- but a lot to like here, especially if you're a bit tired of the same old dystopian nightmares getting retold.

[Heather Withnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most emotionally involving books I have ever read. The depiction of the main characters children is exquisite. So much so that my attachment to the youngest child resulted in distress that swamped me. This isn’t a criticism but be warned it is a difficult read emotionally. The theme of maternal guilt is woven throughout the book. It is a dark book and doesn’t really offer redemption or hope. But somehow it still manages to keep you invested in the characters and maybe it serves as a warning on myriad personal levels and more obviously on an environmental level.

[Fiona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this a bit confusing to start with and wasn't sure where it was going. The second half of the book was better and you read flashbacks and could piece things together. A heartbreaking and disturbing read which left me feeling empty. Not for the faint hearted. The ending leaves me questioning the characters sanity, whether she is reliving experiences in her head. I found this book quite disturbing but probably a book I will remember.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myerson does a slow, powerful build of emotion like no one else, and this is one of her best: beautiful, hauntingly lovely, and heart-breakingly sad. As you slowly begin to grasp what has happened to Izzy, it's almost too much to bear, until you realise who and what she really is at the beginning of the story.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've abandoned reading this book at around 100 pages. Although the writing style and descriptions are great, I've just found myself bored, not gripped at all and I don't really care about the characters. Such a shame as I really like this author.

[Daniel C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it's bleak and strange. Cold and heartbreaking. If you're seeking a straight A-to-B narrative, look elsewhere. It's like a barely remembered dark dream.
This is the 2nd novel I've read by Myerson, and I'm already looking for other books by her. Yes, I loved this novel.

[Richard Massey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was not really getting this until about 150 pages in. After that I loved it. Very very dark.

[Trudie · Rating 3 out of 5]

it took me a long time to get into the style of writing and the timeline confused me slightly. I preferred the last quarter of the story although it was emotional to read.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can I give a book a 1 star and a 4 star review at the same time? That seems appropriate.

[Hugo]

Honestly? Can't remember reading it. I'll have to add it to my lockdown re-read pile.

[Jenna Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and heart wrenching. Stayed with me long after I finished reading.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shattering. One of the very few books that has stayed with me years after reading.

[Bookdragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

brain twister

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, infanticide
I didn’t enjoy this. I wanted it to end far before it did. The author’s use of the unreliable narrator sweeps into self-indulgence early on and never yields a satisfying result.
That being said, I was left wondering what we’re meant to make of what really happens so I’m about to speculate wildly!
The characters after ‘the event’ all feature in the evening she has sex with Matt: Matt/ the kid, his colleague Graham, Matt’s nephew Ted who is in a photograph on his desk and Sophy her babysitter.
Graham’s got an orange, as he does later post ‘event’.
Sophy comments that Isobel and Matt/the kid haven’t lost weight like the others.
Everything awfule she does in the office is stuff she did prior to Matt when they were kids- except maybe the glass...?
The only thing that really happens per se after ‘the event’ is Ted getting drunk/ saying he was at a party. And the heavily hinted sexual assault.
So there’s multiple possibilities here maybe everything after Matt’s death is a delusion, maybe giving birth in a traumatic way triggers psychosis/ very quick onset post-partum (again, in this scenario ‘the event’ isn’t necessarily real). Perhaps the grip on reality is lost after her children die and she’s assaulted, leaving her drifting around in a state of confused amnesia as she is for the whole book.
Why does Matt fluctuate in age? Why the preoccupation with Sophy’s coming of age? Why does no one have any kind of character at all? Except arguable her children, even as spectres.
I don’t know. I also don’t really care that much as it’s a poorly written book and I hope to forget it once I’ve clicked submit! It gets a star because it made me ponder.