Offbeat, apocalyptic, and unforgettable, Severance is one of the most recognised books of our times.
"Severance is the best work of fiction I've read yet about the millennial condition-the alienation and cruelty that comes with being a functional person under advanced global capitalism, and the compromised pleasures and irreducibly personal meaning to be found in claiming some stability in a terrible world. I love how, in this novel, doom is inevitable, and yet it comes so slowly you might not even notice it." — Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror
"Ma's writing about the jargon of globalised capitalism has a mix of humour and pathos that reminded me a little of Infinite Jest and a little of George Saunders; it produced a sense of estrangement from my cosmetics, my clothes, and my iPhone. I finished it feeling sad and sensitive to the garbage all around us that comes at such a high cost to planetary and human welfare." — Emily Witt, The New Yorker
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: NPR * The New Yorker ("Books We Loved") * Elle * Marie Claire * The Paris Review (Staff Favourites) * Refinery29 * Bustle * Buzzfeed * BookPage * Bookish * Mental Floss * Chicago Review of Books * HuffPost * Electric Literature * A.V. Club * Jezebel * Vulture * Literary Hub * Flavorwire
Winner of the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award * Winner of the Kirkus Prize for Fiction * Winner of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award * Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel * A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 * An Indie Next Selection
Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine: her work, watching movies with her boyfriend, avoiding thoughts of her recently deceased Chinese immigrant parents.
So, she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps the world. As Shen Fever spreads, Candace joins a small group of survivors, led by the power-hungry Bob, on their way to the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew.
But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. Should she escape from her rescuers?
One of the most celebrated novels of our time, Severance is a send-up and takedown of the rituals, routines and missed opportunities of contemporary life. It is a moving family story, a deadpan satire and a heartfelt tribute to the connections that drive us to do more than survive.
