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Cargando... Last Town on Earth, The (2006 original; edición 2006)por Thomas Mullen
Información de la obraThe Last Town on Earth por Thomas Mullen (2006)
  
Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro.  calenmarwen | May 29, 2023 |   Mullen uses events of the time in his story, which takes place in the fictional town of Coronation, Washington that isolated itself as protection against the virulent flu. Labour unions and conscientious objectors are added to the mix of patriotism, fear and superstition. Keeping the townspeople quarantined meant they were also prevented from buying anything when supplies began to run low, which led to rampant theft. This slow story deals more with contemporaneous issues that almost overtake the account of Spanish Flu. But the paucity of information about the epidemic makes this unsurprising. Slow in parts but worth reading. (  ) VivienneR | Feb 23, 2023 | Aber auch die Teile des Buches, die nicht direkt mit der Spanischen Grippe zu tun hatten, fand ich hochinteressant. Die Situation der Arbeiter, der Kampf der relativ jungen Gewerkschaften um bessere Arbeitsbedingungen, die Stimmung im Hinblick auf den Kriegseintritt und der Umgang mit Kriegsdienstverweigerern oder Männern, die sich nicht in den Rekrutierungsbüros gemeldet haben, haben für mich interessante Aspekte der Gesellschaft der USA zu der Zeit beleuchtet. Für einen Debütroman finde ich dieses Buch extrem gut gelungen. (  ) Ellemir | May 25, 2022 | ) richardSprague | Mar 26, 2022 | ( ) Rockhead515 | Jan 11, 2022 |
Mullen’s debut novel is as upright, square-jawed and serious as the people he writes about and, alas, as wooden. He has a good story to tell, weaving together the flu epidemic, America’s entry into the First World War and its pioneering history of labour organisation. He has done his research thoroughly and developed his characters carefully. What he has failed to do is successfully embed his work in the fiction. Under siege, the virtuous city — a symbol of freedom and safety — instantly becomes a prison. Step by step, the citizens divide into the guards and the guarded. Outward physical health comes to seem more and more like a sign of inward moral corruption. A progressive community buckles under a double whammy: the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and the hatreds stirred by American participation in WWI.... Mullen’s debut gets mileage out of the gruesome epidemic and contains some interesting historical nuggets, but it fails to mesh its grim subject matter with convincing individual narratives. ...what Mullen supplies in terms of historical context, he lacks in storytelling; though the novel is set in 1918, it was written in a post 9/11 world where fear of bird flu regularly makes headlines, and the allegory is heavy-handed (the protagonist townie, after all, is named Philip Worthy). The grim fascination of the narrative, however, will keep readers turning the pages. Pertenece a las series editorialesbtb (73846)
Fiction.
Literature.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:A town under quarantine during the 1918 flu epidemic must reckon with forces beyond their control in a powerful, sweeping novel of morality in a time of upheaval ??An American variation on Albert Camus?? The Plague.???Chicago Tribune NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY USA TODAY AND CHICAGO TRIBUNE ? WINNER OF THE JAMES FENIMORE COOPER PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION Deep in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small mill town called Commonwealth, conceived as a haven for workers weary of exploitation. For Philip Worthy, the adopted son of the town??s founder, it is a haven in another sense??as the first place in his life he??s had a loving family to call his own. And yet, the ideals that define this outpost are being threatened from all sides. A world war is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, another shadow has fallen across the region in the form of a deadly virus striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities. When Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against contagion, guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town, and Philip Worthy is among them. He will be unlucky enough to be on duty when a cold, hungry, tired??and apparently ill??soldier presents himself at the town??s doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value??love, patriotism, community, family, friendship??not to mention the town??s very survival, is imperiled. Inspired by a little-known historical footnote regarding towns that quarantined themselves during the 1918 epidemic, The Last Town on Earth is a No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Expecting more of the grusome details behind the Spanish Flu, that figures heavily in the good, I was relieved to find that, although enough was mentioned to give you a real sense of the terrifying nature of the illness, the horrific details were left out.
The book is well written, and easy to read. The short chapters encourage you to read more and at a faster pace, and indeed once the story really gets going, it is hard to put down. Characters are portrayed realistically and great depth and development.
The Last Town on Earth explores the darker side to human nature that may come to rise in very stressful situations, without becoming moralistic. A great read if looking for something a little bit different, and learning more about a topic that has had a huge impact in history but been largely forgotten.
3.5-4 out of 5 (