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Not sure if this revelation was meant to be so predictable or not. Regardless, really interesting set of chapters showing life 15+ years after the collapse when things have kinda settled down. Life seems depressingly boring at this point but there are fleeting moments of beauty scattered throughout

Interesting to read about how quickly everyone at the airport found a semblance of normalcy after how abruptly civilization collapsed. Oddly a really hopeful take on 99% of the people on earth dying, with it being framed more as the beginning of a new era of humanity as opposed to the end of the world. Also it seems like everything we knew about Clark’s life up to this point is completely irrelevant now. Word limit

Refraining from saying too much on this last part to avoid spoilers. Very haunting little segment considering we know a decent amount about the life of the character involved. Damn. Very tragic and bleak close to a heartfelt scene established way earlier in the book.

Arthur was a fake ass motherfucker. Semi-sweet moment with an abrupt reminder of tragedy at the end of the chapter. Also a very beautiful little segment of the characters theorizing lives the could have lived

Bummer section. Im very glad jeevan’s story is being touched on more and I love how insignificant it seems to the present day characters, who don’t even know his name when discussing an old newspaper that briefly mentions him. So so so so so good holy shit.

This is the best book ever written and I won’t hear arguments to the contrary

Very heartbreaking glimpse of the old world. The last chapter told a whole story of the family dead in their beds just by giving a glimpse into their abandoned home. Hard to read in the car with my parents

Read a little bit more. Hell is the absence of the people you long for. Goodness gracious

Such immersive depictions of life before and after the collapse, it almost seems like 2 entirely different worlds and storylines. Remembering that everything does in fact take place in the same timeline adds a really depressing tone to the before parts of the story, especially with how realistically the characters think and act. Thoroughly enjoying this one so far

God fucking damn this is fire. Every scene is set up so vividly without being over explained. The parts of the story that take place pre-collapse are so beautiful in such a melancholic way, with Miranda’s life being described a way that paints it as eventful yet insignificant since the almost whole world has ceased to exist by the present. The last section made me feel like nothing really matters but so hopefully.

Read a chapter, thoughts later

I haven’t had more than like an hour to read at any given point this week, mostly my own fault, but every time I read it goes by so fast. I find myself being more interested in the pre-collapse storyline so far, the author has a way of making mundane activities seem so beautiful. In the car with my parents rn, can’t focus on my thoughts with all this rambling

Quick session, not much happened, creepy little town with something amiss, very good visualization

This is gonna take me 300 years to read. After roughly an hour I just got through 30 pages. So good so far though, lots of strong characterization and a standout chapter with a beautiful view on little things in life that are taken for granted. This author is fantastic at setting up immersive scenes even if something mundane is going on.

Damn. Quick little session of the first two chapters and golly gee what an opening. A theater actor dies on stage during a performance and life goes on after the chaos has settled, with an extremely foreboding statement on just how long life would be going on normally at the end of the 2nd chapter. Scenes are set up and described so vividly. I may be in the early stages of reading a banger here

The narrator is seemingly more willing to accept accountability for his wrongdoings now that he has absolutely nothing left to live for. But does he even need to take accountability? Howard has been so many different versions of himself that I think not even he knows what cause he was truly serving. His whole life has been stripped down to just playing characters that he thinks will keep him alive. Character limit.

FUCK I forgot to update im ballparking the page # but thoughts later

Getting really good, had to go over the part about werner hanging again because it was so fire. Noticing how everything feels fake with the narrator, like he really doesn’t feel for anything or anyone except his wife. He comes off as quite the hollow individual but somehow is pretty likable. Kinda delusional about his own wrongdoings though.

This book has some fucking bars goddamn. Im roughly around where I put it down a few years ago and it didn’t inspire anywhere near the same amount of thoughts then as it is now. Still in love with the characterization of everyone, particularly the absurdity and contradictory nature of a lot of their beliefs that are shared in such an earnest way. Really unique take on the idea of “just following orders” so far.

Started this a couple years ago but never finished it, now that im a grown ass 22 year old man I feel a spark of dedication to stick with it. One thing that’s sticking out so far is how human this feels; so much is said about the characters in such brief interactions. The doctor who grew up in Auschwitz, his mom, the prison guards, all have like a page dedicated to each of them but so much is learned.

While still interesting, I didn’t quite expect the cheesy ending that seems to be coming. The whole book has been mysterious and foreboding with a strong atmosphere of something, albeit vague, being seriously wrong. Now that it’s known and explained in full detail what exactly is wrong I feel that a lot of what drew me to keep reading has went away. There were definitely better routes to take this story

They could have prevented all of this by getting an abortion. The story is kinda starting to get a little goofy in some aspects but when it’s focused on the drama and unraveling mysteries I am still thoroughly enjoying. I hope more context on the massacre that’s been mentioned throughout the whole book is finally given soon

Read earlier, forgot to mention. Thoughts soon

Rudely interrupted from this session by my dog barking. A little confused about how much time has passed in the book so far. Interesting that the loosely mentioned character Lauren from early in the book returns to actually add to the story but she’s totally gonna fucking die.

Not sure how I feel about the turn the story is seeming to take. Sort of seems like something was revealed too early that dampens the mystery of why all this started, but then again everyone in this book is in deep psychosis at this point so maybe I shouldn’t take everything they see and find at face value.

So… THAT just happened
I’ve reached the point where once I start reading its hard to stop. Each main character is overwhelmed with their own uniquely stressful situation that all started from the same compulsion to dig (Markert 2026). One is obsessed with the islands history of violence, one is ignoring his newly abundant police duties to catch his wife cheating, and this app has a letter limit

So much drama. Want to keep reading, big revelations seem inevitable for every character. Very anxious and dreadful tone throughout every chapter, never any reprieve. Thoroughly enjoying.

Gonna be at page 200 by Thursday. Fishy shit is going on, I can’t tell who’s trustworthy. Once again little kids do not talk like that. Very nice sense of dread and uncertainty is being painted in my recent reading, the dialogue is kinda lackluster but that is my only complaint thus far.

Poor Nate coming back to his home 8 years after his brother killed like 12 people only to witness a murder within 5 fucking minutes. Shit is horrible for everyone involved why are they still on this island. Very interesting how trauma from the same event impacts everyone differently

Brief little session tonight since I was rudely interrupted earlier. Slightly uneventful stretch but new mysteries are being introduced. Don’t know if im looking too hard for symbolism that isn’t there or if it’s flying over my head.