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En un monde parfait
Jiselle, trentenaire et toujours célibataire. croit vivre un véritable conte de fées lorsque Mark Dorn, un superbe pilote veuf et père de trois enfants, la demande en mariage. Sa proposition paraît tellement idyllique qu'elle accepte aussitôt, quittant les tracasseries de sa vie d'hôtesse de l'air pour celle, a priori plus apaisante, de femme au foyer. C'est compter sans les absences répétées de Mark, les perpétuelles récriminations des enfants et la mystérieuse épidémie qui frappe les Etats-Unis. lui donnant des allures de pays en état de guerre. Tandis que les événements s'accélèrent autour d'elle, l'existence de Jiselle prend un tour dramatique. l'obligeant à puiser dans ses ressources pour affronter cette situation inédite...
331 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 2009
62 people are currently reading
1816 people want to read
About the author
Laura Kasischke
45 books408 followersLaura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and American poet with poetry awards and multiple well reviewed works of fiction. Her work has received the Juniper Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Pushcart Prize, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Award for Emerging Writers, and the Beatrice Hawley Award. She is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as several Pushcart Prizes.
Her novel The Life Before Her Eyes is the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Vadim Perelman, and starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Kasischke's work is particularly well-received in France, where she is widely read in translation. Her novel A moi pour toujours (Be Mine) was published by Christian Bourgois, and was a national best seller.
Kasischke attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. She is also currently a Professor of English Language and of the Residential College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lives in Chelsea, Michigan, with her husband and son.
Her novel The Life Before Her Eyes is the basis for the film of the same name, directed by Vadim Perelman, and starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood. Kasischke's work is particularly well-received in France, where she is widely read in translation. Her novel A moi pour toujours (Be Mine) was published by Christian Bourgois, and was a national best seller.
Kasischke attended the University of Michigan and Columbia University. She is also currently a Professor of English Language and of the Residential College at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She lives in Chelsea, Michigan, with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 522 reviews
February 9, 2010
I felt on the fence at the end of this book. On the one hand, I loved Kasischke's skill for building incremental dread about the outside world and impending apocalypse -- it starts slowly at first with a few floating white balloons and ends with marauding hoards who will kill you for your car and a few drops of gasoline -- and in that regard it felt a bit like The Road to me, and that was good. I enjoyed the initial tension of Jiselle entering her new husband's family and having to cope with how un-storybook it is, and how wonderfully I hated her stepdaughters who are so cruel to her. But she just never... reacted enough for me. As a main character she felt very flat and too much of a passive observer. She's a spineless make-doer. Her scamp of a husband, who pulls the double-whammy of all time for not only abandoning her but abandoning his own children basically gets away without any accountability (the end of the world is no excuse, I say.) I also expected some major plot turn by the end, but was disappointed with how quietly the last scene faded to the last page. On the whole the writing was poetic and well-executed, but I wanted a bit more oomph from the characters interacting with each other, and more logical details about the Phoenix flu (why does it affect some but not others when they're all exposed to the same elements?).
Major excellent creepy factor: the scene with the pit of dead animals.
Major excellent creepy factor: the scene with the pit of dead animals.
September 29, 2021
I really don't understand why this book only has a 3.3 rating on here. It's like poetry in motion, and for a short read it's a surprisingly deep one. I love it just as much now as the first time I read it.
May 10, 2020
*Un roman qui a été recommandé par un article de France info sur les meilleurs livres traitant d'épidémies, autour d'Oedipe roi de Sophocle, Le Fléau de Stephen King et Némésis de Philip Roth – ça vend du rêve en temps de corona, non ?*
C'est une histoire de contes de fées, peuplée de princesses enfermées dans des palais de glace dans l'attente de leurs princes charmants, de marâtres, de sorcières et de loups menaçants. Sauf qu'elle se passe aujourd'hui, aux États-Unis.
Hôtesse de l'air, Jiselle n'a jamais connu l'amour, jusqu'au jour où elle rencontre Mark Dorn. Après quelques semaines de convolage dans des hôtels aux quatre coins du monde, le séduisant pilote, dont la femme est morte dans de mystérieuses circonstances, lui propose de l'épouser et de venir vivre avec ses trois enfants. Loin dans le ciel, des ballons blancs s'envolent, en hommage aux premières victimes de la grippe de Phoenix.
Le problème avec les princes charmants, c'est qu'ils n'existent que par leur absence : alors que Mark parcourt le monde, et fait rêver Jiselle à coups de sorties ponctuelles au restaurant ou de bracelets, l'ancienne hôtesse est devenu marâtre au foyer, et doit gagner le respect de Camilla, Sara et Sam, en l'ensemble bien déterminés à leur rappeler à quel point elle n'arrive pas à la cheville de leur mère morte. Dans ses premiers tâtonnements de femme enfermée, Jiselle apprend à cuisiner et cherche à toucher du doigt les circonstances de la mort de Joy, une mort blanche, absente, incompréhensible - comme celles de ces milliers d'inconnus qui toussent et pleurent des larmes de sang dans le pays, qui meurent dans d'atroces souffrances d'un mal inconnu, venu de la dégradation de notre environnement, d'une carence en vitamine D ou peut-être d'un laboratoire coréen.
Et le monde sombre dans la folie. Pendant que les hôpitaux sont débordés, que les écoles ferment et que les gourous du développement personnel font leur blé, alors que Mark est détenu en quarantaine à l'autre bout du monde (ou bien s'est refait une vie au soleil, qui sait ?), Jiselle reste à la maison avec ses trois enfants, et lit à Sam de véritables contes de fées, qui imprègnent peu à peu le quotidien des enfants. Les animaux sauvages pleurent du sang, eux aussi, et rôdent autour de la maison. Ces personnages d'un conte de fées moderne survivront-ils au fléau ?
En lisant les critiques d'autres lecteurs, je m'aperçois que certains ont jugé que l'impact de la grippe de Phoenix était exagéré, avec ces spéculations médicales, ses quarantaines et ses morts de célébrités. À lire le livre aujourd'hui, il nous apparaît tristement prophétique.
C'est un roman sur l'équilibre entre vies personnelles bouleversées et catastrophes mondiales, et qui rentre formidablement en résonance avec nos vies confinées actuelles. Construit comme un conte, avec des références aux schémas narratifs, aux personnages et aux images, En un monde parfait dépasse pourtant les frontières d'une histoire simpliste pour incarner notre quotidien.
C'est probablement un roman d'actualité, mais ce n'est pas pour ça qu'il est parfait. Le thème du traitement des animaux m'a passablement agacée, paye ton cliché de "retour à la nature". Le jour de l'effondrement, faudra pas compter sur moi pour aller égorger des lapins tranquillou : je serai dans la team éthique, respect et plantations.
C'est une histoire de contes de fées, peuplée de princesses enfermées dans des palais de glace dans l'attente de leurs princes charmants, de marâtres, de sorcières et de loups menaçants. Sauf qu'elle se passe aujourd'hui, aux États-Unis.
Hôtesse de l'air, Jiselle n'a jamais connu l'amour, jusqu'au jour où elle rencontre Mark Dorn. Après quelques semaines de convolage dans des hôtels aux quatre coins du monde, le séduisant pilote, dont la femme est morte dans de mystérieuses circonstances, lui propose de l'épouser et de venir vivre avec ses trois enfants. Loin dans le ciel, des ballons blancs s'envolent, en hommage aux premières victimes de la grippe de Phoenix.
Le problème avec les princes charmants, c'est qu'ils n'existent que par leur absence : alors que Mark parcourt le monde, et fait rêver Jiselle à coups de sorties ponctuelles au restaurant ou de bracelets, l'ancienne hôtesse est devenu marâtre au foyer, et doit gagner le respect de Camilla, Sara et Sam, en l'ensemble bien déterminés à leur rappeler à quel point elle n'arrive pas à la cheville de leur mère morte. Dans ses premiers tâtonnements de femme enfermée, Jiselle apprend à cuisiner et cherche à toucher du doigt les circonstances de la mort de Joy, une mort blanche, absente, incompréhensible - comme celles de ces milliers d'inconnus qui toussent et pleurent des larmes de sang dans le pays, qui meurent dans d'atroces souffrances d'un mal inconnu, venu de la dégradation de notre environnement, d'une carence en vitamine D ou peut-être d'un laboratoire coréen.
Et le monde sombre dans la folie. Pendant que les hôpitaux sont débordés, que les écoles ferment et que les gourous du développement personnel font leur blé, alors que Mark est détenu en quarantaine à l'autre bout du monde (ou bien s'est refait une vie au soleil, qui sait ?), Jiselle reste à la maison avec ses trois enfants, et lit à Sam de véritables contes de fées, qui imprègnent peu à peu le quotidien des enfants. Les animaux sauvages pleurent du sang, eux aussi, et rôdent autour de la maison. Ces personnages d'un conte de fées moderne survivront-ils au fléau ?
En lisant les critiques d'autres lecteurs, je m'aperçois que certains ont jugé que l'impact de la grippe de Phoenix était exagéré, avec ces spéculations médicales, ses quarantaines et ses morts de célébrités. À lire le livre aujourd'hui, il nous apparaît tristement prophétique.
C'est un roman sur l'équilibre entre vies personnelles bouleversées et catastrophes mondiales, et qui rentre formidablement en résonance avec nos vies confinées actuelles. Construit comme un conte, avec des références aux schémas narratifs, aux personnages et aux images, En un monde parfait dépasse pourtant les frontières d'une histoire simpliste pour incarner notre quotidien.
C'est probablement un roman d'actualité, mais ce n'est pas pour ça qu'il est parfait. Le thème du traitement des animaux m'a passablement agacée, paye ton cliché de "retour à la nature". Le jour de l'effondrement, faudra pas compter sur moi pour aller égorger des lapins tranquillou : je serai dans la team éthique, respect et plantations.
March 1, 2010
I thought this story was incredible. It really kept me interested, and I love the plot within a plot scenario. Although it was careless of Jiselle to marry Captain Dorn in the first place (especially having never met his children until a week before the wedding!), we've all made mistakes and hers is believeable. She does have to face the consequences of her decision, but she forms a strong bond with the children, and she grows tremendously throughout the course of the story. While Jiselle attempts to get used to this new lifestyle and family with her husband gone 90% of the time, there is a plague dubbed the Phoenix Flu causing the world to crumble around her. A couple different things really stuck with me as the story unfolded. One is how resilient Jiselle and her new family were, as well as the majority of the human population. As millions are dying, life still manages to go on. And who knows for how long, but they try for as long as possible. Even as the situation gets worse and towns become deserted, they just lived day-to-day, and learned to survive. What else can you do while you wait for a vaccine to be found? Another is how the family evolves. Jiselle was an amazing character and she really struck a chord with me. She stuck with those children and they really grow to respect her and depend on her and the bond between them becomes unbreakable. I highly recommmend this book!
October 11, 2009
I couldn't get into this book. It's not my normal read, for one. I read it for work, so I would know what I was selling people. I felt like I was reading a first draft, where the author just put all her thoughts on the paper, trying to get a feel for the way it would be told. There were continuity errors, and I really hate continuity errors. For example, when they come home after the first blackout on Valentine's Day, it says that they turned on the radio and listened. A few pages later, the next morning, it says that they couldn't find a radio that didn't need to be plugged in, so they couldn't listen in the morning. Then, they didn't get one until they found an old transistor radio next door. Another was calling Mark in Germany. She goes from not being able to reach him at all to calling him every day. At the end of the chapter, she says how she kept calling the number he called from and got no answer. Then the next chapter has her calling him every day. That kind of thing bugs me.
I didn't really like the characters, either. Out of everyone, I only liked Sam until the last 50 pages or so. Jiselle was pretty pathetic. Mark was a jerk. Anna was bitter and negative. Camilla and Sara were annoying. I figured out pretty quickly that Mark was only in it to get a permanent nanny, and I got the idea that he probably planned to just stay in Germany where it was "safe", right up until they said that the flu was everywhere. It took Jiselle way too long to see through him, and even then, she only denounced him in a passive-aggressive manner by giving his gifts away at Christmas and trading that watch.
When I don't like the characters, I can't really care for the story. I am character driven. The author is not. Kasischke flat out says in the Q&A part at the end of the book that she's never been character driven, more plot driven. That leaves me to believe that she didn't really put much thought into the characters, at least how they began. She just needed people to act this way to further the story. If she doesn't care about her characters, then why should I? None of these people felt real, so it was hard to feel for them. I had more emotion for the death of Britney Spears than I did for most of the characters in the book. I at least know her.
The ONLY reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one is because the gradual shift in Sara and Camilla was done pretty well, for the most part. They didn't suddenly change into nice little girls. When Sara finally blabbed about her dad saying that the way to go was to marry one, I didn't feel as though she was saying it to be mean, she was just stating a fact that had some heat to it since she was so frustrated. Also, I gave it 2 because she had a at least the decency to finally kill off some people that Jiselle knew, though it took her the majority of the book to do that. I would feel more comfortable with this 2 instead of wishing I could give 1.5 if she'd actually had one of the kids die instead of miraculously finding a way to save Sam.
This author has written 7 other novels and I wouldn't read any of them. She admits that she's more of a poet, and that, as well as her poor characterizations, pushes me away from her writing. This was depressing and I was annoyed with the main character for most of the book. If this is how her writing goes, then I'll just stay away from it unless I absolutely have to read it. The new program at work has caused me to read a lot of books that I wouldn't ordinarily read. I wound up enjoying the vast majority of these books. In a Perfect World is not one of those books.
I didn't really like the characters, either. Out of everyone, I only liked Sam until the last 50 pages or so. Jiselle was pretty pathetic. Mark was a jerk. Anna was bitter and negative. Camilla and Sara were annoying. I figured out pretty quickly that Mark was only in it to get a permanent nanny, and I got the idea that he probably planned to just stay in Germany where it was "safe", right up until they said that the flu was everywhere. It took Jiselle way too long to see through him, and even then, she only denounced him in a passive-aggressive manner by giving his gifts away at Christmas and trading that watch.
When I don't like the characters, I can't really care for the story. I am character driven. The author is not. Kasischke flat out says in the Q&A part at the end of the book that she's never been character driven, more plot driven. That leaves me to believe that she didn't really put much thought into the characters, at least how they began. She just needed people to act this way to further the story. If she doesn't care about her characters, then why should I? None of these people felt real, so it was hard to feel for them. I had more emotion for the death of Britney Spears than I did for most of the characters in the book. I at least know her.
The ONLY reason I gave this 2 stars instead of one is because the gradual shift in Sara and Camilla was done pretty well, for the most part. They didn't suddenly change into nice little girls. When Sara finally blabbed about her dad saying that the way to go was to marry one, I didn't feel as though she was saying it to be mean, she was just stating a fact that had some heat to it since she was so frustrated. Also, I gave it 2 because she had a at least the decency to finally kill off some people that Jiselle knew, though it took her the majority of the book to do that. I would feel more comfortable with this 2 instead of wishing I could give 1.5 if she'd actually had one of the kids die instead of miraculously finding a way to save Sam.
This author has written 7 other novels and I wouldn't read any of them. She admits that she's more of a poet, and that, as well as her poor characterizations, pushes me away from her writing. This was depressing and I was annoyed with the main character for most of the book. If this is how her writing goes, then I'll just stay away from it unless I absolutely have to read it. The new program at work has caused me to read a lot of books that I wouldn't ordinarily read. I wound up enjoying the vast majority of these books. In a Perfect World is not one of those books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2013
I really loved this book. Beautifully written, and thought provoking. I read this in one day, and it's the kind of book that I'll be thinking about for awhile, and I wish I knew people who had read it so I had someone to talk to about it. I love that the main character isn't some kind of superhero - she is told a couple of times in different ways by different characters, including a paranoid/survivalist neighbor, her husband, and the National Guard, that she is soft and to "rise to the occasion". Despite this criticism from others, she ends up being the strongest character in the novel (stronger than her neighbor, healthwise, and definitely stronger than her husband, emotionally and morally). Instead of kicking into high gear and developing all kinds of amazing skills to thrive in the "new world", she just makes do. I see a lot of people criticized this aspect of the book/character development, but I think it's realistic, and so much more beautiful to read about this woman who just makes do, and how she manages to take care of herself, her family, and the others that she comes to care about. Also, I loved how this story was a kind of fairytale (subtle), and also talks about fairy tales. I just love things like that (sucker). And also, her husband is a piece of sh!t. Not even for what he did to her, but for what he did to his kids.
February 8, 2011
Let me see if I got this right.
Jiselle is thirty-eight years old and is a flight attendent. Her mother kicked her father out of the house because he was having an affair with Jiselle's teenage friend. Jiselle throughout her life has had several romantic relationships, all of which turned out bad.
Not so good so far!!!!
Jiselle falls in love with an airline pilot, Captain Mark Dorn. The Captain has steel green eyes and the body of Adonis. His marriage to Joy ended when Joy threw heself in front of a school bus to save her child, and died. Maek was now a widower with two teenage girls and a young son. Mark has been unable to keep a girlfriend or a nanny, either due to his lifestyle (he is gone most of the time), or his children's demands on the nanny.
Jiselle, knowing all of this, agrees to marry Mark and leave her job to take care of his children. Her fist problem is that the girls, Sara and Camilla, both detest her and Sara makes no bones about it by writing in her diary and leaving it open for Jiselle to see comments such as: "If he marries this stupid bitch, I'm going to make their lives a living hell".
Oh, did I mention that "The Phoenix Flu" is shutting down just about everything in the United States, and people are dying from this unknown disease.
On theri wedding day Jiseele rips her wedding dress and the canopy over the reception area collapses.
Not getting any better!!!
Captain Dorn is "detained" in Germany by the government due to the Phoenix epidemic and Jiselle is alone at home with the children. She finds herself becoming a suvivalist while Dorn has been absent for over a year.
The book does get better with Jiselle having to fight for survival and coming to terms with the Dorn children.
However, at the end of the book nothing is resoved. Dorn is still in Germany (having a good time). There seems to be no cure for the Phoenix Flu. Jiselle still has the children and is fighting for survival.
Jiselle is thirty-eight years old and is a flight attendent. Her mother kicked her father out of the house because he was having an affair with Jiselle's teenage friend. Jiselle throughout her life has had several romantic relationships, all of which turned out bad.
Not so good so far!!!!
Jiselle falls in love with an airline pilot, Captain Mark Dorn. The Captain has steel green eyes and the body of Adonis. His marriage to Joy ended when Joy threw heself in front of a school bus to save her child, and died. Maek was now a widower with two teenage girls and a young son. Mark has been unable to keep a girlfriend or a nanny, either due to his lifestyle (he is gone most of the time), or his children's demands on the nanny.
Jiselle, knowing all of this, agrees to marry Mark and leave her job to take care of his children. Her fist problem is that the girls, Sara and Camilla, both detest her and Sara makes no bones about it by writing in her diary and leaving it open for Jiselle to see comments such as: "If he marries this stupid bitch, I'm going to make their lives a living hell".
Oh, did I mention that "The Phoenix Flu" is shutting down just about everything in the United States, and people are dying from this unknown disease.
On theri wedding day Jiseele rips her wedding dress and the canopy over the reception area collapses.
Not getting any better!!!
Captain Dorn is "detained" in Germany by the government due to the Phoenix epidemic and Jiselle is alone at home with the children. She finds herself becoming a suvivalist while Dorn has been absent for over a year.
The book does get better with Jiselle having to fight for survival and coming to terms with the Dorn children.
However, at the end of the book nothing is resoved. Dorn is still in Germany (having a good time). There seems to be no cure for the Phoenix Flu. Jiselle still has the children and is fighting for survival.
October 25, 2016
I really like Laura Kasischke. She knows how to set a mood. Yes, she tends to wax a little poetic but that never hurt anyone (I guess). She definitely knows how to create an intense character. Jiselle just about drove me insane. So did Mark and pretty much everyone else. But I really liked this story, and I didn't want to stop reading it. It was like two separate stories that converged into one, slowly at first and then quicker and quicker. I can't decide if the ending was okay or not so good, but I can't think of a better way to have ended things so I guess I'll have to just let that go. I'm going to give this one 4 stars.
October 12, 2009
Synopsis:
Set sometime in the near future but in a world ravaged by an epidemic of the deadly Phoenix flu, In A Perfect World is a close look at the demands and sacrifices of love.
Thirty-two-year-old Jiselle is ready to be swept off her feet by the dashing Captain Mark Dorn and shrugs off her mother's warnings. It didn't matter to Jiselle that she'd only known Mark for a few months and that she would be inheriting a ready-built family. Captain Dorn is universally regarded as a catch and the other flight attendants are jealous. After handling the tantrums of drunken passengers during transatlantic flights, the prospect of spending time with three children in a quiet New York town strikes Jiselle as a peaceful and positive change . So, Jiselle succumbs to the romance and trades in her flight attendant's wings for motherhood and married life. Then the Phoenix flu spreads into Jiselle's world, and alters it forever.
Review:
Kasischke takes complex and believable characters and drops them into an apocalyptic future. The effect is a suspense novel that holds all the emotional layers of a rich family drama.
I expected to be frustrated by Jiselle's naivete, but she proved to be such a sympathetic character. I was charmed by her kindness and thoroughly enjoyed Kasischke's approach to storytelling. In A Perfect World is an absorbing and satisfying read - I strongly recommend it!
Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 6, 2009), 336 pages.
Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.
Set sometime in the near future but in a world ravaged by an epidemic of the deadly Phoenix flu, In A Perfect World is a close look at the demands and sacrifices of love.
Thirty-two-year-old Jiselle is ready to be swept off her feet by the dashing Captain Mark Dorn and shrugs off her mother's warnings. It didn't matter to Jiselle that she'd only known Mark for a few months and that she would be inheriting a ready-built family. Captain Dorn is universally regarded as a catch and the other flight attendants are jealous. After handling the tantrums of drunken passengers during transatlantic flights, the prospect of spending time with three children in a quiet New York town strikes Jiselle as a peaceful and positive change . So, Jiselle succumbs to the romance and trades in her flight attendant's wings for motherhood and married life. Then the Phoenix flu spreads into Jiselle's world, and alters it forever.
Review:
Kasischke takes complex and believable characters and drops them into an apocalyptic future. The effect is a suspense novel that holds all the emotional layers of a rich family drama.
I expected to be frustrated by Jiselle's naivete, but she proved to be such a sympathetic character. I was charmed by her kindness and thoroughly enjoyed Kasischke's approach to storytelling. In A Perfect World is an absorbing and satisfying read - I strongly recommend it!
Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 6, 2009), 336 pages.
Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.
December 14, 2009
Blech. Another book I had to read for work. Starts out so horribly with one of those lame-o romances for which I usually avoid contemporary women's fiction. Whatever-her-name-is main character marries dashing pilot only to find that everything is not what it seems.
So lame up to that point.
But then it gets slighly better - when everyone starts dying from THE FLU! That's right, a book about a pandemic flu during the swine flu. Kasischke would have been better off leaving out the romance and sticking to the apocalyptic trying to survive a pandemic part.
A strange book with a split personality.
So lame up to that point.
But then it gets slighly better - when everyone starts dying from THE FLU! That's right, a book about a pandemic flu during the swine flu. Kasischke would have been better off leaving out the romance and sticking to the apocalyptic trying to survive a pandemic part.
A strange book with a split personality.
December 25, 2022
omg c’était terrifiant….. et d’actualité 😶
February 27, 2010
While some dystopian books take place in an imagined future where things are very different from our own world (like The Hunger Games series), In A Perfect World takes place right in our here and now. There are no fantasy elements to this book at all—everything seems utterly believable and possible, which made it a more effective and scarier book for me.
Our glimpse into a world that encompasses nothing less than a complete breakdown of our society is Jiselle, a flight attendant who has "landed" the handsome and charismatic pilot Mark Dorn. In her 30s and tired of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride, Jiselle is ready to settle down and imagines a perfect little world with her ready-made family. (Mark has three children whose mother died a few years before.) Jiselle leaves her job and moves into the idyllic little town where Mark has a picture-perfect home. Anxious and excited to be the stepmother, Jiselle is eager to meet her new family. What she finds is three children who are less than thrilled—with the exception of the young boy (gotta love those boys!)—with their new stepmother. With Mark away for a good portion of time, Jiselle struggles to make the transition into her new life.
In the background of Jiselle's life, there are rumblings of another kind—a mysterious Phoenix Flu is causing troubles through the country. Even celebrities seems to be getting it and dying. (OK...a little editorial note here: I just loved that Kasischke killed off Britney Spears with the flu! Take that, Ms. I'm A Terrible Singer Yet Have Achieved Huge Success!)
As the story progresses, Mark is away more and more often, and Jiselle finds out some disturbing information about her new husband. And as the Phoenix Flu begins to become more and more of a problem, Jiselle's focus begins to shift from getting adjusted to family life to surviving—a skill she finds herself to be more adept at than she ever imagined.
As conditions worsen and society begins to fall apart, Jiselle is thrust into a nightmarish world where isolation, survival, sickness and death become a part of everyday life. Yet the worse things get, the more Jiselle's world actually becomes "a perfect world." With an ending that will leave readers who need things tied up at loose ends, this book surprised me in how it shifted and turned and twisted and changed into something that I can't quite describe. Consider it an uplifting story about the end of society as we know it.
Reading this right after The Hunger Games, I think this book came out on top for me. Where The Hunger Games is flashy and showy with its tantalizing premise, this book is more subtle and slow and deep. Written in an almost distant, chilly type of prose, Kasischke has created a dystopian book that truly scared and disturbed me yet also made me feel good about the world at the same time. As I said, this isn't a book that ties things up in a nice little package for you, but I thought it suited the story well. If you're looking for an adult book on the opposite side of the dystopian spectrum, then this book is for you.
The Bottom Line: I'm giving the book 4 stars. I was drawn into Jiselle's world in an almost hypnotic way. Each page brought me closer to horror but also to goodness. This is a book that I could envision happening in our lifetime, and I think Kasischke did a wonderful job of keeping it from falling into a run-of-the-mill "Oh No...There's An Epidemic" type thriller. This book has a vibrant beating heart if you take the time to look for it.
Our glimpse into a world that encompasses nothing less than a complete breakdown of our society is Jiselle, a flight attendant who has "landed" the handsome and charismatic pilot Mark Dorn. In her 30s and tired of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride, Jiselle is ready to settle down and imagines a perfect little world with her ready-made family. (Mark has three children whose mother died a few years before.) Jiselle leaves her job and moves into the idyllic little town where Mark has a picture-perfect home. Anxious and excited to be the stepmother, Jiselle is eager to meet her new family. What she finds is three children who are less than thrilled—with the exception of the young boy (gotta love those boys!)—with their new stepmother. With Mark away for a good portion of time, Jiselle struggles to make the transition into her new life.
In the background of Jiselle's life, there are rumblings of another kind—a mysterious Phoenix Flu is causing troubles through the country. Even celebrities seems to be getting it and dying. (OK...a little editorial note here: I just loved that Kasischke killed off Britney Spears with the flu! Take that, Ms. I'm A Terrible Singer Yet Have Achieved Huge Success!)
As the story progresses, Mark is away more and more often, and Jiselle finds out some disturbing information about her new husband. And as the Phoenix Flu begins to become more and more of a problem, Jiselle's focus begins to shift from getting adjusted to family life to surviving—a skill she finds herself to be more adept at than she ever imagined.
As conditions worsen and society begins to fall apart, Jiselle is thrust into a nightmarish world where isolation, survival, sickness and death become a part of everyday life. Yet the worse things get, the more Jiselle's world actually becomes "a perfect world." With an ending that will leave readers who need things tied up at loose ends, this book surprised me in how it shifted and turned and twisted and changed into something that I can't quite describe. Consider it an uplifting story about the end of society as we know it.
Reading this right after The Hunger Games, I think this book came out on top for me. Where The Hunger Games is flashy and showy with its tantalizing premise, this book is more subtle and slow and deep. Written in an almost distant, chilly type of prose, Kasischke has created a dystopian book that truly scared and disturbed me yet also made me feel good about the world at the same time. As I said, this isn't a book that ties things up in a nice little package for you, but I thought it suited the story well. If you're looking for an adult book on the opposite side of the dystopian spectrum, then this book is for you.
The Bottom Line: I'm giving the book 4 stars. I was drawn into Jiselle's world in an almost hypnotic way. Each page brought me closer to horror but also to goodness. This is a book that I could envision happening in our lifetime, and I think Kasischke did a wonderful job of keeping it from falling into a run-of-the-mill "Oh No...There's An Epidemic" type thriller. This book has a vibrant beating heart if you take the time to look for it.
March 25, 2020
I have no idea why I decided to read a novel about a global pandemic while living through an actual global pandemic. Masochistic, I suppose? Anyway. I think I'm craving all kinds of different stories right now, and one of them happens to be the doomsday kind of story. Maybe to show myself just how bad it can get ... and remind myself that if it DOES get that bad, we can get through it somehow? The point is, I read In a Perfect World over the course of two days while being stuck in my home/backyard. It was really good! Not good as in enjoyable, really. But good as in well-written, interesting characters, plot that really worked for me. I am glad I read it.
One fascinating thing about this novel is that in this particular pandemic, the government didn't seem to concern itself much with what was going on. It was so strange reading about how celebrities were dying and things were rapidly changing in the world around them, yet the characters in the novel didn't think much about it ... their government was encouraging them to go about their lives as if everything was normal. It was a tiny parallel to what is happening now, although it is clear that the world is taking COVID-19 MUCH more seriously than how the book dealt with its pandemic. But it was interesting nonetheless.
The main character in this novel, Jiselle, was interesting to me. On the one hand, she was naive, really unaware of what she was getting herself into when she decided to marry a man she didn't know very well with three children she hadn't even met yet. On the other hand, when things quickly spiral out of control as her husband is quarantined in another country and she is stuck at home with the aforementioned children (two teenage girls and a younger boy), she rapidly became the kind of can-do, figure shit out, take charge kind of person that I love reading about in books like this. She annoyed me at the beginning of the book, but as it went on I really grew to like her.
In a Perfect World is interesting and was the kind of book I couldn't put down. I like these literary apocalyptic type books ... another book that this reminded me a lot of was Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven. I also find it fascinating how, in this novel, we watch as the world changes, slowly at first and then all at once. What an interesting way to tell the story, and one that I'll be thinking about a lot. In these crazy times I will be looking out for more books like these.
One fascinating thing about this novel is that in this particular pandemic, the government didn't seem to concern itself much with what was going on. It was so strange reading about how celebrities were dying and things were rapidly changing in the world around them, yet the characters in the novel didn't think much about it ... their government was encouraging them to go about their lives as if everything was normal. It was a tiny parallel to what is happening now, although it is clear that the world is taking COVID-19 MUCH more seriously than how the book dealt with its pandemic. But it was interesting nonetheless.
The main character in this novel, Jiselle, was interesting to me. On the one hand, she was naive, really unaware of what she was getting herself into when she decided to marry a man she didn't know very well with three children she hadn't even met yet. On the other hand, when things quickly spiral out of control as her husband is quarantined in another country and she is stuck at home with the aforementioned children (two teenage girls and a younger boy), she rapidly became the kind of can-do, figure shit out, take charge kind of person that I love reading about in books like this. She annoyed me at the beginning of the book, but as it went on I really grew to like her.
In a Perfect World is interesting and was the kind of book I couldn't put down. I like these literary apocalyptic type books ... another book that this reminded me a lot of was Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven. I also find it fascinating how, in this novel, we watch as the world changes, slowly at first and then all at once. What an interesting way to tell the story, and one that I'll be thinking about a lot. In these crazy times I will be looking out for more books like these.
January 15, 2021
In many respects, I enjoyed reading this book. Each day I looked forward to "reading time", so that I could pick up the book and see what happened next. Unfortunately, this author quickly takes you directly to the peak of the book, holds you there the entire book and then just ends the book without really wrapping anything up. The ending would have been fine if the author had slowly built the story adding layer upon layer to get to the peak, created a sense of resignation and then ended the book. As it was, at the end I put the book down and literally thought "Are you kidding me?". Ugg!
Another difficulty with this book was the lack of character development. The character's where well defined when they were introduced and you sensed that there was a transformation going on, because based on the circumstances the characters had to transform. However, the author failed to provide dialogue or actions that painted the changing picture for the reader.
The storyline itself is very interesting and had great potential. I think with more time and more critical eyes reading this prior to publication, this could have been a fantastic book.
Another difficulty with this book was the lack of character development. The character's where well defined when they were introduced and you sensed that there was a transformation going on, because based on the circumstances the characters had to transform. However, the author failed to provide dialogue or actions that painted the changing picture for the reader.
The storyline itself is very interesting and had great potential. I think with more time and more critical eyes reading this prior to publication, this could have been a fantastic book.
December 19, 2009
This is the book Mom brought to Italy. I read it before mine in just over a night (thank you jet-lag). It's set in a similar world to our, or ours in the near future, that gets overcome with an avian flu but is mostly about being a stepmother. Nothing remarkable about it, I don't think I would say I hated it. But the ending was completely worthless. It left key things up in the air which was infuriating as getting resolution to these things was the only reason I kept reading. The author is a poet and I think she thought her text was beautiful enough that she didn't need to finish character arcs but she was totally wrong. This is similar to how I felt at the end of "The Little Friend", but worse because I have a lot more love for Donna Tartt than this woman. Don't be tricked, this book isn't even worth starting. We left it in Italy but hopefully no one will pick it up because we don't need another reason for Europeans to despise us.
January 13, 2010
Unexpectedly good. I thought I would hate the main character, Jiselle, when I got through the first few chapters, yet something indefinable made me keep reading, and the realization as to what was going on, and the true nature of her, was deliciously slow. It could have been so predictable, and it was amazing how it managed to not be, and to throw off my expectations. My daughter, at 13, also loved this book, oddly enough, because I don't see it as a YA book at all. I guess good writing is good writing!
May 19, 2017
I really liked this unusual story about a woman and her stepchildren during a global pandemic. The author uses wonderful language to describe feelings and observations. I met this author when I was teaching at the same community college as she was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is very humble and nice!
January 18, 2010
I'm proud to have a blurb on this book. One of my very favorites of the year.
March 16, 2016
This book was just silly. I listened to the audio version (the option for that edition was not available to select). I picked this book based on the high reviews thinking it was a relationship book. And in a way it was, but it was also an apocalypse book (because isn't everything these days?).
I thought the relationship story held promise and was curious about where it would go. New relationships and the blending of families are inherently interesting and complicated. Jiselle's back story added poignancy to her new love with Captain Mark Dorn. There were of course a great number of red flags, but that gave the story bite. The story line here played out just as one would have expected and there was a great deal of tenderness and love there that had a lot to recommend it. Captain Dorn lived up to all of the reader's expectations of him.
I am honestly not at all sure what the Phoenix Flu added to all of this. It did highlight what a ninny Jiselle was, so maybe that's something. I know she was in love and that Captain Dorn was dreamy, but she seemed utterly oblivious to the threats of a worldwide pandemic. Even after her new husband had been quarantined in Germany she was slow to get with the program. The descriptions of societal decay as the pandemic progressed were farcical. The power is intermittent, school is cancelled, people are dying left and right, but the supermarket is still open? Chicago is burnt out, people are attacking vehicles for gas, but Jiselle can still drive there unhindered?
While the relationship between Jiselle and her step children developed nicely and was sweet, I am pretty sure they all would have starved in short order and long before the end of the book because they were clueless. The apocalypse story line is so popular right now, but it's not instant cake mix, you cannot just add it to any old tale and hope for something tasty. Tasty this was not.
I thought the relationship story held promise and was curious about where it would go. New relationships and the blending of families are inherently interesting and complicated. Jiselle's back story added poignancy to her new love with Captain Mark Dorn. There were of course a great number of red flags, but that gave the story bite. The story line here played out just as one would have expected and there was a great deal of tenderness and love there that had a lot to recommend it. Captain Dorn lived up to all of the reader's expectations of him.
I am honestly not at all sure what the Phoenix Flu added to all of this. It did highlight what a ninny Jiselle was, so maybe that's something. I know she was in love and that Captain Dorn was dreamy, but she seemed utterly oblivious to the threats of a worldwide pandemic. Even after her new husband had been quarantined in Germany she was slow to get with the program. The descriptions of societal decay as the pandemic progressed were farcical. The power is intermittent, school is cancelled, people are dying left and right, but the supermarket is still open? Chicago is burnt out, people are attacking vehicles for gas, but Jiselle can still drive there unhindered?
While the relationship between Jiselle and her step children developed nicely and was sweet, I am pretty sure they all would have starved in short order and long before the end of the book because they were clueless. The apocalypse story line is so popular right now, but it's not instant cake mix, you cannot just add it to any old tale and hope for something tasty. Tasty this was not.
September 17, 2009
Mish. Mosh. Mess!
This book has a fascinating premise, an interesting set-up, and a rather good cast of primary and secondary characters. The problem is that it simply tries to do so much that it comes across as a confused, jarring muddle. Now, I have to admit, I love jarring books, books that can stop me in my tracks with the literary equivalent of "WTF?" This book, however, was just unwieldy, untidy, and unfulfilling.
This book has a fascinating premise, an interesting set-up, and a rather good cast of primary and secondary characters. The problem is that it simply tries to do so much that it comes across as a confused, jarring muddle. Now, I have to admit, I love jarring books, books that can stop me in my tracks with the literary equivalent of "WTF?" This book, however, was just unwieldy, untidy, and unfulfilling.
March 26, 2020
One of the most disappointing reads in a long time. I don’t even want to grace it with a detailed review. So many plot holes, lack of development, and just a ridiculous and boring story. It was like the author couldn’t decide if she wanted to write a love story, psychological thriller, or post-apocalyptic drama - so she included elements of all, and none of them well. Don’t waste your time.
December 31, 2009
I thought this book was a love story and it is but is really about the love of children and people. It really took me for a surprise! Still not sure how I feel about the ending, but I couldn't put the book down
April 20, 2020
I kept waiting for it to get better...nope. Definitely NOT the book to read during our COVID pandemic. :(
December 19, 2015
The writing was wonderful. I enjoyed the story. Not the type I usually read.
April 30, 2024
This, was not fun. Not the worst book I've read this year (see my review on Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl.. yikes) but this is definitely only a few steps above it!
What had me starting it was the potential for disaster, with motherhood and survivalist instincts needing to kick in for a main character who was not familiar with either in a not too distant future from our own, suffering with some hybrid bird flu epidemic that no one knows what is going on, how to prevent it from happening, or when it will end.
But instead we get a very flat main character in Jiselle with little growth and side characters in the children, her mother, her husband, and the neighbors that all leave me feeling more annoyed or confused than anything.
The premise is very good, and the writing is clearly that of a poet turned novelist, so it's interesting and in some parts more detailed than you'd expect, but it's not well done.
I wanted more of the why. Why is this happening? Why did Jiselle even marry this guy? Like sure her life seems headed nowhere but she put herself there. Why does she put up with how strange he acts, sure sometimes he's romantic, but he lies about why his wife died, he cares little about his kids as it is, why not really give it to him? Shes so flat she couldn't even imagine giving him a piece of her mind. And when once were in the apocalypse, why does it take Jiselle what seems like months to make good decisions that any later could have cost the whole family their lives? Like not looting the neighbors house completely once the neighbor lady moved in, or not conserving more items from the stores when they still had the opportunity to do that. Or even taking all the money out the bank when they still needed it!
Also am I the only one who has no clue what was in the box from Sara the Christmas before Mark got detained? We get all this build up and then seemly no clue what she actuallu put in it.. No idea why the author wrote it that way but this happens several times in the book, where there's things that go unwritten and I'm left confused, plus there's continuity errors several more times!
The ending also left me annoyed, as seemly they're supposedly happy even with their situation clearly still headed in a worse stare and surely more bad news as time continues but it's kind of a fade to black roll credits sort of ending. Boring.
Luckily, I am able to donate this book elsewhere because I don't want it anymore. I also wouldn't reccomend it to anyone and I'm not interested in anything else this author has wrote.
What had me starting it was the potential for disaster, with motherhood and survivalist instincts needing to kick in for a main character who was not familiar with either in a not too distant future from our own, suffering with some hybrid bird flu epidemic that no one knows what is going on, how to prevent it from happening, or when it will end.
But instead we get a very flat main character in Jiselle with little growth and side characters in the children, her mother, her husband, and the neighbors that all leave me feeling more annoyed or confused than anything.
The premise is very good, and the writing is clearly that of a poet turned novelist, so it's interesting and in some parts more detailed than you'd expect, but it's not well done.
I wanted more of the why. Why is this happening? Why did Jiselle even marry this guy? Like sure her life seems headed nowhere but she put herself there. Why does she put up with how strange he acts, sure sometimes he's romantic, but he lies about why his wife died, he cares little about his kids as it is, why not really give it to him? Shes so flat she couldn't even imagine giving him a piece of her mind. And when once were in the apocalypse, why does it take Jiselle what seems like months to make good decisions that any later could have cost the whole family their lives? Like not looting the neighbors house completely once the neighbor lady moved in, or not conserving more items from the stores when they still had the opportunity to do that. Or even taking all the money out the bank when they still needed it!
Also am I the only one who has no clue what was in the box from Sara the Christmas before Mark got detained? We get all this build up and then seemly no clue what she actuallu put in it.. No idea why the author wrote it that way but this happens several times in the book, where there's things that go unwritten and I'm left confused, plus there's continuity errors several more times!
The ending also left me annoyed, as seemly they're supposedly happy even with their situation clearly still headed in a worse stare and surely more bad news as time continues but it's kind of a fade to black roll credits sort of ending. Boring.
Luckily, I am able to donate this book elsewhere because I don't want it anymore. I also wouldn't reccomend it to anyone and I'm not interested in anything else this author has wrote.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2024
This book was written pre-Covid19 pandemic, but I've read it for the first time just this past week. It was so interesting to read about what this author imagined the world would become. There were so many aspects to compare and contract to reality. Spot on with the "this was made in a lab" conspiracies, the racist accusations, the desperate need to point fingers, etc. I think she really did a great job at capturing both the monstrous and compassionate behaviors that revealed themselves during the pandemic.
The main character is a meek, desperate woman who marries a man who actively pawns off his children on women and then eventually abandons them. The "but maybe he'll change for me" attitude, while definitely accurate and you see this all the time irl, will have you rolling your eyes with frustration. I felt this author did a great job handling these personalities and making them believable (albeit frustrating lol).
I loved the character development and really every component of this book, except for how Jiselle handled the realization of their abandonment. I didn't feel like she had real enough emotions for that situation. It was just a brief shrug of the shoulder, although I get that she had bigger fish to fry in this apocalyptic situation. I just didn't feel any genuine frustration or pain of abandonment coming from her at all.
The main character is a meek, desperate woman who marries a man who actively pawns off his children on women and then eventually abandons them. The "but maybe he'll change for me" attitude, while definitely accurate and you see this all the time irl, will have you rolling your eyes with frustration. I felt this author did a great job handling these personalities and making them believable (albeit frustrating lol).
I loved the character development and really every component of this book, except for how Jiselle handled the realization of their abandonment. I didn't feel like she had real enough emotions for that situation. It was just a brief shrug of the shoulder, although I get that she had bigger fish to fry in this apocalyptic situation. I just didn't feel any genuine frustration or pain of abandonment coming from her at all.
August 31, 2017
This was recommended to me for a book swap months ago (summer got away from me this year).
This was a pleasant, easy read. It was a slow start for me because I didn't much care for the characters at the beginning. But they and the story line grew on me.
If you're looking for an easy, light, feel good in the end read, this book fits that bill.
This was a pleasant, easy read. It was a slow start for me because I didn't much care for the characters at the beginning. But they and the story line grew on me.
If you're looking for an easy, light, feel good in the end read, this book fits that bill.
April 9, 2024
I wanted to like it more than I did. Writing was great but the story was so lackluster and just didn’t go anywhere. Hardly any plot to speak of. Left feeling empty.
February 23, 2025
Written pre-Covid this pandemic like story started off ok. I wanted to like all the characters but I struggled to really like any of them.
July 13, 2020
J’avais littéralement l’impression de lire un roman écrit pendant la pandémie tellement la maladie décrite dans ce roman est semblable à la Covid-19. Laura Kasischke à un talent fou et on dirait qu’elle a vu l’avenir avec ce roman.
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