Wild Abandon

by Joe Dunthorne

Kate and Albert, sister and brother, are not yet the last two human beings on earth, but Albert is hopeful. The secluded communal farm they grew up on is - after twenty years - disintegrating, taking their parents' marriage with it. They both try to escape: Kate, at seventeen, to a suburbia she knows only through fiction and Albert, at eleven, into preparations for the end of the world - which is coming, he is sure.

And then there is Don: father of the family, leader and maker of elaborate speeches. Faced with the prospect of saving his community, his marriage, his son from apocalyptic visions and his daughter from impending men, he sets to work on reunifying the commune by bringing it into the modern age, through self-sufficiency, charisma and a rave with a 10k soundsystem.

The last day on earth is coming. Bring your own booze.

• ISBN10: 1400066840
• ISBN13: 9781400066841
• Publish Date: 27 January 2012 (first published 4 August 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

This book was completely different from anything I've ever read and not what I was expecting. However, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I thought the writing was interesting, very evocative and laden with metaphors. The characters were also intriguing, their relationships with each other especially of interest to me. The community was described brilliantly and I really got a feel for that sort of life, as well as the strain it placed on Patrick, Freya, and Kate.

I never got a fantastic feel for any of the characters, unfortunately, and I wish there has been more in the way of a character-driven plot. The story dragged in some places as the plot wasn't particularly thrilling, and it would have been easier to get into had the characters been more well-developed.

Overall a very interesting, well-constructed book.