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After the Flood
A little more than a century from now, our world has been utterly transformed. After years of slowly overtaking the continent, rising floodwaters have obliterated America’s great coastal cities and then its heartland, leaving nothing but an archipelago of mountaintop colonies surrounded by a deep expanse of open water.
Stubbornly independent Myra and her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, fish from their small boat, the Bird, visiting dry land only to trade for supplies and information in the few remaining outposts of civilization. For seven years, Myra has grieved the loss of her oldest daughter, Row, who was stolen by her father after a monstrous deluge overtook their home in Nebraska. Then, in a violent confrontation with a stranger, Myra suddenly discovers that Row was last seen in a far-off encampment near the Arctic Circle. Throwing aside her usual caution, Myra and Pearl embark on a perilous voyage into the icy northern seas, hoping against hope that Row will still be there.
On their journey, Myra and Pearl join forces with a larger ship and Myra finds herself bonding with her fellow seekers who hope to build a safe haven together in this dangerous new world. But secrets, lust, and betrayals threaten their dream, and after their fortunes take a shocking—and bloody—turn, Myra can no longer ignore the question of whether saving Row is worth endangering Pearl and her fellow travelers.
A compulsively readable novel of dark despair and soaring hope, After the Flood is a magnificent, action packed, and sometimes frightening odyssey laced with wonder—an affecting and wholly original saga both redemptive and astonishing.
Stubbornly independent Myra and her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, fish from their small boat, the Bird, visiting dry land only to trade for supplies and information in the few remaining outposts of civilization. For seven years, Myra has grieved the loss of her oldest daughter, Row, who was stolen by her father after a monstrous deluge overtook their home in Nebraska. Then, in a violent confrontation with a stranger, Myra suddenly discovers that Row was last seen in a far-off encampment near the Arctic Circle. Throwing aside her usual caution, Myra and Pearl embark on a perilous voyage into the icy northern seas, hoping against hope that Row will still be there.
On their journey, Myra and Pearl join forces with a larger ship and Myra finds herself bonding with her fellow seekers who hope to build a safe haven together in this dangerous new world. But secrets, lust, and betrayals threaten their dream, and after their fortunes take a shocking—and bloody—turn, Myra can no longer ignore the question of whether saving Row is worth endangering Pearl and her fellow travelers.
A compulsively readable novel of dark despair and soaring hope, After the Flood is a magnificent, action packed, and sometimes frightening odyssey laced with wonder—an affecting and wholly original saga both redemptive and astonishing.
448 pages, ebook
First published September 3, 2019
About the author
Kassandra Montag
6 books375 followersKassandra Montag grew up in rural Nebraska and now lives in Omaha with her husband and two sons. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature and her award-winning poetry and short fiction has appeared in journals and anthologies, including Midwestern Gothic, Nebraska Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and Mystery Weekly Magazine. After the Flood, her debut novel, will be published in over a dozen languages and has been optioned for a television series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,293 reviews
April 23, 2022
Hey, my new nickname is FOUCAULT PENDELUM after finishing this book because when it came to give the stars, I started swing back and forth between THREE AND FOUR, THREE AND FOUR… Oh, this churning in my stomach would have killed me! I should have eaten something strong! Best choice was meeting in the middle. THREE POINT FIVE! Rounded up or down? UP OR DOWN! So you may call me SEESAW now! Okay, I gave my decision before throwing up: ROUNDED UP FOUR STARS…TA…TA…
I am personally addicted to the post-apocalyptic thriller/sci-fi books. The one and only King’s “The Stand”, Max Brooks’ “World War Z” , Cormac McCarthy’s “Road”, Robert McCammon’s “Swan Song” , P.D. James’ “The Children of Men”, Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven” kind of masterpieces gave me more reason to believe the miracles could be seen on genius authors’ creative minds.
When they got harsher, more vulgar, darker, more realistic, heart throbbing, your addiction grew more and more and you wanted to flip the pages faster before your mind was completely blown!
But on this book: There is no darkness. No harshness. There is no heart throbbing, nail biter, arm eater, brain cell fryer kind of mind bending elements in this book. So before starting to read it, consider this one as a mother’s emotional journey to find her lost child story takes place at the post-apocalyptic world book. It has more a biblical perspective of the worst case of the world’s ending scenarios. But the action scenes are gripping and giving you some part of thrills you craved for. But not so much if you expect something like Zombie invasion!
It hooked me from the first page as Myra abandoned by her husband who was leaving her pregnant wife and taking their five years old daughter with him, jumping on a boat and hit the water not to come back no more no more no more. Yes what a mother f…..and definitely he deserved my slaps at the first chapter. This is a record for me to start hating a character!
So seven years passed. Myra gave birth to little Pearl. The world is decimated by intense water level rising force the last survivors live in the boats or ships, trying to survive by fishing, bartering their stuffs as Myra does to keep herself and daughter safe and alive.
As Myra learns her other daughter was taken from her is alive, she sets off her dangerous, long journey to find and bring her back.
This book starts slow paced and I honestly left it behind a few days to flirt with my other books. But the beginning of the story haunted me and my heart didn’t allow me to put it on my dnf list. So I grabbed it back, after passing a few chapters, its pace getting faster. This is not shaking you to core kind of book but it hurts your heart. It makes you feel like your emotions are all over the place.
Being a mother is not about only responsibility, it is about putting a child in front of your own needs and not only feeding her or raising her, it is also teaching her the real life and protecting her against the dangers, vagueness of the world. It’s about to be their spiritual guardian. The hardest thing about the motherhood job, you can never quit or be sacked, or retired, you gotta be ready to do your obligations till you leave this earth. This book makes you think what a real mother should do when her child is lost and out somewhere.
Maybe I didn’t get the horrifying post-apocalyptic story I expected but I got amazing emotional story and well rounded, memorable characters and smart, realistic, gripping words of the writer so I’m happy not to give up on this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this heart-wrecking, emotional ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.
I am personally addicted to the post-apocalyptic thriller/sci-fi books. The one and only King’s “The Stand”, Max Brooks’ “World War Z” , Cormac McCarthy’s “Road”, Robert McCammon’s “Swan Song” , P.D. James’ “The Children of Men”, Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven” kind of masterpieces gave me more reason to believe the miracles could be seen on genius authors’ creative minds.
When they got harsher, more vulgar, darker, more realistic, heart throbbing, your addiction grew more and more and you wanted to flip the pages faster before your mind was completely blown!
But on this book: There is no darkness. No harshness. There is no heart throbbing, nail biter, arm eater, brain cell fryer kind of mind bending elements in this book. So before starting to read it, consider this one as a mother’s emotional journey to find her lost child story takes place at the post-apocalyptic world book. It has more a biblical perspective of the worst case of the world’s ending scenarios. But the action scenes are gripping and giving you some part of thrills you craved for. But not so much if you expect something like Zombie invasion!
It hooked me from the first page as Myra abandoned by her husband who was leaving her pregnant wife and taking their five years old daughter with him, jumping on a boat and hit the water not to come back no more no more no more. Yes what a mother f…..and definitely he deserved my slaps at the first chapter. This is a record for me to start hating a character!
So seven years passed. Myra gave birth to little Pearl. The world is decimated by intense water level rising force the last survivors live in the boats or ships, trying to survive by fishing, bartering their stuffs as Myra does to keep herself and daughter safe and alive.
As Myra learns her other daughter was taken from her is alive, she sets off her dangerous, long journey to find and bring her back.
This book starts slow paced and I honestly left it behind a few days to flirt with my other books. But the beginning of the story haunted me and my heart didn’t allow me to put it on my dnf list. So I grabbed it back, after passing a few chapters, its pace getting faster. This is not shaking you to core kind of book but it hurts your heart. It makes you feel like your emotions are all over the place.
Being a mother is not about only responsibility, it is about putting a child in front of your own needs and not only feeding her or raising her, it is also teaching her the real life and protecting her against the dangers, vagueness of the world. It’s about to be their spiritual guardian. The hardest thing about the motherhood job, you can never quit or be sacked, or retired, you gotta be ready to do your obligations till you leave this earth. This book makes you think what a real mother should do when her child is lost and out somewhere.
Maybe I didn’t get the horrifying post-apocalyptic story I expected but I got amazing emotional story and well rounded, memorable characters and smart, realistic, gripping words of the writer so I’m happy not to give up on this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this heart-wrecking, emotional ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.
October 18, 2022
"Children think we make them, but we don't. They exist somewhere else, before us, before time. They come into the world and make us. They make us by breaking us first."
After sitting on this review for a couple of days, I realize I'm no closer to finding the proper words to describe how much I adore Kassandra Montag's debut novel, After the Flood. I'm basking in the afterglow of emotion the narrative provides, and while I feel this novel will find a level of appreciation highest among mothers, the fast-paced plot captures the attention of anyone willing to give this story a shot. The book is completely different than any other post-apocalyptic fiction I've read to date, yet I did receive the same sense of growing dread and compulsive page turning as experienced upon reading Bird Box, but where the latter is more of a creepy, almost horror story, After the Flood lends itself to a deeper level of character exposition, without skimping on the thrilling action scenes.
"Before the Six Year Flood, earthquakes erupted and tsunamis struck constantly. The ground itself seemed heavy with energy. I'd hold out my hand and feel the heat in the air like the pulse of an invisible animal. On the radio we heard rumors that the seafloor had split, water from within the earth seeping into the ocean. But we never knew for certain what happened, only that the water rose around us as if to swallow us up in a watery grave."
At heart, After the Flood is a tale about grief, a mother's love, and how that love will drive a woman to sail to the ends of the earth to find her lost child. We meet a colorful, diverse cast along the way, and I respect how Montag chooses to show how, if our world flooded and we lost 95% of land mass, we would all be equalized in our desperation for survival. The dynamics are ever-changing as Myra and Pearl float from one group to another, and the front seat view we receive into Myra's downward spiral is an interesting case study on what happens to our moral compass once we lose the structure of society as we know it.
"There were times I didn't even want to be a mother," I whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a hollow ache in my bones. "I didn't want to be responsible for other lives. There were times I wished them away."
I had feared losing them, but there were moments that desire lurked right at the edge of that fear. Set loose from them, I could give up, I told myself. I could slip away into the water, no longer fighting, no longer pretending to be strong."
Obviously the events of After the Flood portray an extreme end of the world scenario of biblical proportions, but I found that the truths that Myra learns along this devastating journey are the same ones that you and I can apply in the real world. Parenting can simultaneously be the greatest joy and the heaviest burden upon those who choose to become caregivers, and the portrayal of the level of responsibility that is present for the remainder of your life is given much consideration here. As a person who has struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember, becoming a parent was a mixed bag of feelings, and I wholly appreciate the author showing what a delicate balance this job requires. I highly recommend this book to fans of suspenseful literary fiction, and while it's a little heavier on the suspense than it is the literary aspects, there are enough deep, thought-provoking moments that are sure to satisfy even the pickiest of readers.
After sitting on this review for a couple of days, I realize I'm no closer to finding the proper words to describe how much I adore Kassandra Montag's debut novel, After the Flood. I'm basking in the afterglow of emotion the narrative provides, and while I feel this novel will find a level of appreciation highest among mothers, the fast-paced plot captures the attention of anyone willing to give this story a shot. The book is completely different than any other post-apocalyptic fiction I've read to date, yet I did receive the same sense of growing dread and compulsive page turning as experienced upon reading Bird Box, but where the latter is more of a creepy, almost horror story, After the Flood lends itself to a deeper level of character exposition, without skimping on the thrilling action scenes.
"Before the Six Year Flood, earthquakes erupted and tsunamis struck constantly. The ground itself seemed heavy with energy. I'd hold out my hand and feel the heat in the air like the pulse of an invisible animal. On the radio we heard rumors that the seafloor had split, water from within the earth seeping into the ocean. But we never knew for certain what happened, only that the water rose around us as if to swallow us up in a watery grave."
At heart, After the Flood is a tale about grief, a mother's love, and how that love will drive a woman to sail to the ends of the earth to find her lost child. We meet a colorful, diverse cast along the way, and I respect how Montag chooses to show how, if our world flooded and we lost 95% of land mass, we would all be equalized in our desperation for survival. The dynamics are ever-changing as Myra and Pearl float from one group to another, and the front seat view we receive into Myra's downward spiral is an interesting case study on what happens to our moral compass once we lose the structure of society as we know it.
"There were times I didn't even want to be a mother," I whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut and felt a hollow ache in my bones. "I didn't want to be responsible for other lives. There were times I wished them away."
I had feared losing them, but there were moments that desire lurked right at the edge of that fear. Set loose from them, I could give up, I told myself. I could slip away into the water, no longer fighting, no longer pretending to be strong."
Obviously the events of After the Flood portray an extreme end of the world scenario of biblical proportions, but I found that the truths that Myra learns along this devastating journey are the same ones that you and I can apply in the real world. Parenting can simultaneously be the greatest joy and the heaviest burden upon those who choose to become caregivers, and the portrayal of the level of responsibility that is present for the remainder of your life is given much consideration here. As a person who has struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember, becoming a parent was a mixed bag of feelings, and I wholly appreciate the author showing what a delicate balance this job requires. I highly recommend this book to fans of suspenseful literary fiction, and while it's a little heavier on the suspense than it is the literary aspects, there are enough deep, thought-provoking moments that are sure to satisfy even the pickiest of readers.
November 11, 2019
"From the water we came and to the water we will return, our lungs always hungering for air, but our hearts beating like waves."
I really enjoyed this novel based on what the world could be like when sea levels rise and the Earth begins flooding. People are fleeing inland, or building boats and taking to the high seas.
We follow Myra and pearl, and soon after, Daniel; on their small boat. Myra's oldest daughter Row was taken by her husband and Row's father - Jacob, and Myra is determined to find her, no matter what.
When Myra and Pearl get into some trouble at sea and their boat sinks, they are saved by a crew planning to find somewhere to settle, away from slavers and raiders.
The world Montag has created is truly frightening. It's like The Purge - where the usual rules don't apply and people will take whatever they want, however they can. Be warned - there is violence in here, it is terrifying what human beings will do to one another when they are desperate.
But there is also real hope in this novel. The world has we know it has completely changed, and will never be the same again. People rely on each other like never before, it really does put into perspective what may happen if we don't start taking care of our planet.
"I saw myself in my ocean grave, underwater light bluing my skin, my hair floating like seaweed, coral sprouting from my bones."
I really enjoyed this novel based on what the world could be like when sea levels rise and the Earth begins flooding. People are fleeing inland, or building boats and taking to the high seas.
We follow Myra and pearl, and soon after, Daniel; on their small boat. Myra's oldest daughter Row was taken by her husband and Row's father - Jacob, and Myra is determined to find her, no matter what.
When Myra and Pearl get into some trouble at sea and their boat sinks, they are saved by a crew planning to find somewhere to settle, away from slavers and raiders.
The world Montag has created is truly frightening. It's like The Purge - where the usual rules don't apply and people will take whatever they want, however they can. Be warned - there is violence in here, it is terrifying what human beings will do to one another when they are desperate.
But there is also real hope in this novel. The world has we know it has completely changed, and will never be the same again. People rely on each other like never before, it really does put into perspective what may happen if we don't start taking care of our planet.
"I saw myself in my ocean grave, underwater light bluing my skin, my hair floating like seaweed, coral sprouting from my bones."
June 18, 2019
A promising premise that does not deliver.
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, suicide, and drug use.)
DNF at 76%.
Thirty-something Myra lives in a future that could one day very well be our own. Flooding fueled by climate change gradually claimed the coasts before she was born; and, when she just a young woman, the Hundred Year flood reached her doorstep - the plains of Nebraska - sweeping her mother away in a tidal wave. The family - her migrant husband, Jacob; daughter Row; and Grandfather - retreated to the second floor of the house, as Grandfather raced against time to build them a boat on which to navigate this terrifying new world. But before he could finish, Jacob fled with a neighbor, taking Row with him...and leaving a pregnant Myra behind.
It's been seven years since Row was kidnapped. Without Grandfather and his boat, Bird, Myra would not have survived. Grandfather is gone, though, having passed mercifully in his sleep; and if she and her younger daughter are to survive, Myra has reached the dispiriting conclusion that she must abandon her search for Row. However, a chance encounter with a raider suggests that Row may not only be alive, but in imminent danger: held captive on a colony in Greenland and at risk of being sent to a breeding ship (it's exactly what it sounds like).
Bird is too small to make such as a treacherous passing - but the Sedna, which comes to their aid, is just perfect. Can Myra convince its inhabitants to make the journey? Should she? Is it okay to sacrifice their lives for that of their daughter? To sacrifice Pearl for Row?
If this sounds like Mad Max: Fury Road, but with too much water instead of not enough, then you understand my initial excitement. I devoured the first 25% or so of the book; the early world building is promising:
The remnants of humanity either live in crowded slums wedged into the sides of what used to be mountain ranges, but are now more like islands; the rest risk weather, starvation, dehydration, and pirate-raiders (the descendants of private military outfits, natch) at sea. Human trafficking is prevalent, as is colonizing, now with the biological warfare!
Sadly, After the Flood breaks down like this: 40% pointless whining about ethical dilemmas (Myra's gonna Myra, am I right?), 30% boat talk, 10% cringy sex scenes, and maybe, generously, 20% intriguing world building and poetic prose about the natural world.
The characters are either unlikable or not fully fleshed out (or both) - and when I say "unlikable," I don't mean in that love to hate 'em, Gone Girl kind of way. Unlikable characters can be super-entertaining, but this is not the case here. Myra is unrelentingly irritating; her internal conflicts are dull and repetitive, and the umbrage she takes at discovering that other people also have their own, sometimes hidden agendas would be laughable if it wasn't so annoyingly self-absorbed and hypocritical. (Pot, meet kettle.) She flies into a rage with Daniel even though her deceptions are arguably worse; he's just floating along in the wake of destruction she's creating in her quest to rescue Row.
Daniel is wholly uninteresting, and Pearl is more of a brat than is reasonable in this world; idk how she could act like that and survive for so long. And for all her whining about how Myrna doesn't listen to her...didn't they just spend the better part of a decade trapped on a small boat together, with only each other (and, for a brief period, one other person) for company?
Abran, the captive of the Sedna, is not believable as a leader at all. He's a bossy, short-tempered alcoholic without the stones to make the hard decisions. I can't see anyone following him from one Grateful Dead concert to the next, let alone across the vast, empty ocean. Montag forces him into a love triangle with Daniel and Myrna and the whole thing is just yawn.
It hurts to see what could have been an engaging and prescient story go down like this, but it is what it is. Honestly, I'm puzzled at all the glowing early reviews. Were we reading the same book?
http://www.easyvegan.info/2019/09/02/...
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, suicide, and drug use.)
This is how the water takes us.
DNF at 76%.
Thirty-something Myra lives in a future that could one day very well be our own. Flooding fueled by climate change gradually claimed the coasts before she was born; and, when she just a young woman, the Hundred Year flood reached her doorstep - the plains of Nebraska - sweeping her mother away in a tidal wave. The family - her migrant husband, Jacob; daughter Row; and Grandfather - retreated to the second floor of the house, as Grandfather raced against time to build them a boat on which to navigate this terrifying new world. But before he could finish, Jacob fled with a neighbor, taking Row with him...and leaving a pregnant Myra behind.
It's been seven years since Row was kidnapped. Without Grandfather and his boat, Bird, Myra would not have survived. Grandfather is gone, though, having passed mercifully in his sleep; and if she and her younger daughter are to survive, Myra has reached the dispiriting conclusion that she must abandon her search for Row. However, a chance encounter with a raider suggests that Row may not only be alive, but in imminent danger: held captive on a colony in Greenland and at risk of being sent to a breeding ship (it's exactly what it sounds like).
Bird is too small to make such as a treacherous passing - but the Sedna, which comes to their aid, is just perfect. Can Myra convince its inhabitants to make the journey? Should she? Is it okay to sacrifice their lives for that of their daughter? To sacrifice Pearl for Row?
If this sounds like Mad Max: Fury Road, but with too much water instead of not enough, then you understand my initial excitement. I devoured the first 25% or so of the book; the early world building is promising:
We still called oceans by their former names, but it was really one giant ocean now, littered with pieces of land like crumbs fallen from the sky.
The remnants of humanity either live in crowded slums wedged into the sides of what used to be mountain ranges, but are now more like islands; the rest risk weather, starvation, dehydration, and pirate-raiders (the descendants of private military outfits, natch) at sea. Human trafficking is prevalent, as is colonizing, now with the biological warfare!
Sadly, After the Flood breaks down like this: 40% pointless whining about ethical dilemmas (Myra's gonna Myra, am I right?), 30% boat talk, 10% cringy sex scenes, and maybe, generously, 20% intriguing world building and poetic prose about the natural world.
The characters are either unlikable or not fully fleshed out (or both) - and when I say "unlikable," I don't mean in that love to hate 'em, Gone Girl kind of way. Unlikable characters can be super-entertaining, but this is not the case here. Myra is unrelentingly irritating; her internal conflicts are dull and repetitive, and the umbrage she takes at discovering that other people also have their own, sometimes hidden agendas would be laughable if it wasn't so annoyingly self-absorbed and hypocritical. (Pot, meet kettle.) She flies into a rage with Daniel even though her deceptions are arguably worse; he's just floating along in the wake of destruction she's creating in her quest to rescue Row.
Daniel is wholly uninteresting, and Pearl is more of a brat than is reasonable in this world; idk how she could act like that and survive for so long. And for all her whining about how Myrna doesn't listen to her...didn't they just spend the better part of a decade trapped on a small boat together, with only each other (and, for a brief period, one other person) for company?
Abran, the captive of the Sedna, is not believable as a leader at all. He's a bossy, short-tempered alcoholic without the stones to make the hard decisions. I can't see anyone following him from one Grateful Dead concert to the next, let alone across the vast, empty ocean. Montag forces him into a love triangle with Daniel and Myrna and the whole thing is just yawn.
It hurts to see what could have been an engaging and prescient story go down like this, but it is what it is. Honestly, I'm puzzled at all the glowing early reviews. Were we reading the same book?
http://www.easyvegan.info/2019/09/02/...
March 5, 2020
It has happened. The climate change the scientists have been warning us about for years. The incessant rain has eliminated all our coastal cities. Climate refugees are heading for the middle of the country. Soon though even those cities will be covered with water. Myra and her daughter live in the boat her grandfather built for them before he died. She is searching for the daughter her husband had left with, when the water kept rising..
A timely novel, climate change has been a topic much written about in recent years. An adventure story featuring a strong female character, a mamma bear who continually fights for the daughter she has, and the one that is lost. As in many disasters there are those people who will help, against those who take advantage. A fast moving story as there is so much action, though at times this was too much. Also eye rolling on my part accompanied some of the happenings. It was though an entertaining read. Definitely an "I am Woman hear me roar"type of book.
ARC from Edelweiss.
A timely novel, climate change has been a topic much written about in recent years. An adventure story featuring a strong female character, a mamma bear who continually fights for the daughter she has, and the one that is lost. As in many disasters there are those people who will help, against those who take advantage. A fast moving story as there is so much action, though at times this was too much. Also eye rolling on my part accompanied some of the happenings. It was though an entertaining read. Definitely an "I am Woman hear me roar"type of book.
ARC from Edelweiss.
October 4, 2019
I won this ARC in a Goodreads giveaway; many thanks to the publisher, author and Goodreads for this opportunity. This was a gut-wrenching read full of compelling, desperate, broken characters grappling with overwhelming grief and various personal traumas while having to dig deep to survive in an unforgiving post-apocalyptic, nightmarish world. I won't soon forget Myra, Pearl, Daniel or the crew of the Sedna or the bleak world they dare to hope can be remade.
September 14, 2019
Kassandra Montag’s debut was evocative, raw, and atmospheric. It is 100 years in the future and the world has flooded, the only habitable land are the mountain peaks. Myra and her daughter Pearl are living in a boat endlessly searching for the daughter she has lost. A violent encounter with a “raider“ leads her to believe that her daughter truly still is alive, but is far away in the north, and the journey to get there is treacherous. Myra is a fierce mama bear and nothing is going to stop her! This new world is desolate and full of danger. No rules. No laws. No hope?
I’ve been struggling with what to write in my review for this book. I think for me it was just a case of the right book at the wrong time. The story was action-packed, the writing was riveting, and the characters were well developed. But the book left me feeling empty. I realize this is a story about the end of the world and it was not meant to be uplifting, but I just needed some glimmer of hope. Maybe there was one, maybe I just missed it? Also Myra was unlikable and extremely selfish. I admired her strength and her determination to save her daughter, but at what cost? She was willing to put so many people’s lives in danger including her other daughters. Not to mention she was manipulative and a liar! I’ve read several reviews of this book, and people absolutely loved it. In fact I read one review and they stated this was the best dystopian they had ever read! So while this was not a good fit for me, it might be for you. It was definitely well written, well executed, and I will absolutely read another book from this author.
This book in three emoji’s: 🌊 🐍 ⛰
*** Big thanks to William Morrow for my copy of this book ***
I’ve been struggling with what to write in my review for this book. I think for me it was just a case of the right book at the wrong time. The story was action-packed, the writing was riveting, and the characters were well developed. But the book left me feeling empty. I realize this is a story about the end of the world and it was not meant to be uplifting, but I just needed some glimmer of hope. Maybe there was one, maybe I just missed it? Also Myra was unlikable and extremely selfish. I admired her strength and her determination to save her daughter, but at what cost? She was willing to put so many people’s lives in danger including her other daughters. Not to mention she was manipulative and a liar! I’ve read several reviews of this book, and people absolutely loved it. In fact I read one review and they stated this was the best dystopian they had ever read! So while this was not a good fit for me, it might be for you. It was definitely well written, well executed, and I will absolutely read another book from this author.
This book in three emoji’s: 🌊 🐍 ⛰
*** Big thanks to William Morrow for my copy of this book ***
September 18, 2019
"When I think of those days, of losing the people I've loved, I think of how my loneliness deepened, like being lowered into a well, water rising around me as I clawed at the stone walls, reaching for sunlight. How you get used to being at the bottom of a well. How you wouldn't recognize a rope if it was thrown down to you."
This book was utterly amazing. Beautifully written, bleak, tremendously poignant, and full of lyrical imagery and memorable characters, it is hard to believe that After the Flood is Kassandra Montag's debut novel. But the more you read, the more you become fully immersed in this story you realize that debut novel or not, this is one of those books you'll think about and talk about for years to come.
Just over a century from now, our world has been taken over by massive flooding which obliterated much of the landscape, leaving only mountains and random pieces of land scattered through our world, with whole cities left underwater. Myra and her young daughter Pearl live off their small boat, fishing and salvaging to make ends meet, finding people to trade with in the few outposts that are left. It's a bleak existence and Myra always exercises an abundance of caution, because the floods left many lawless people in their wake.
For seven years, Myra has mourned her older daughter, Row, every single day. Row was taken from Myra by her husband just before a massive flood hit their home in Nebraska. Myra had wanted to wait until her grandfather finished building the boat they would use to keep them safe; Myra's husband was afraid and impatient, so he took Row and never came back. Myra knows the chances that Row is still alive are very slim, and she should just focus all of her energy on keeping Pearl safe and happy, but she can't stop dreaming of the moment when she might have both of her girls together for the first time.
"The world will break you, but it's when you break yourself that you feel you really can't heal."
When Myra hears that Row (or at least someone resembling her) was spotted recently at a settlement near Greenland, she is desperate to risk everything to bring about a potential reunion with her daughter. She connects with Daniel, a troubled yet kind man with secrets and regrets of his own, and then they have to find another ship on which to make the perilous journey. When they meet Abran and his crew, she knows she has to hide her real reasons for wanting to travel so far, but she has no choice but to deceive them in order to rescue her daughter.
But there is no guarantee the ship will make it all the way there, because along the way they must battle the elements, bands of raiders bent on revenge for earlier slights, and the uncertainty of whom among them should be trusted. What will they find when they arrive at this colony? Will there be disease, killers, a lack of resources, or, perhaps worst of all, no trace of humanity?
After the Flood certainly is bleak and I kept waiting for things to completely fall apart, yet there certainly is an element of hope in the book as well—hope that Myra will be able to find Row, hope that the ship will make it where it needs to go relatively unscathed, hope that they can perhaps build a new community when they arrive. I honestly couldn't get enough of this story.
This reminded me a lot of Cormac McCarthy's The Road in its exquisite telling of how far a parent would go for their children, but Montag's imagery, her language, and her weaving of present and past made the story unique at the same time. The pacing may seem a little slow at times but it worked well for me.
Simply put, this book is worth all the hype it will get. I won't be able to put it out of my mind anytime soon.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
This book was utterly amazing. Beautifully written, bleak, tremendously poignant, and full of lyrical imagery and memorable characters, it is hard to believe that After the Flood is Kassandra Montag's debut novel. But the more you read, the more you become fully immersed in this story you realize that debut novel or not, this is one of those books you'll think about and talk about for years to come.
Just over a century from now, our world has been taken over by massive flooding which obliterated much of the landscape, leaving only mountains and random pieces of land scattered through our world, with whole cities left underwater. Myra and her young daughter Pearl live off their small boat, fishing and salvaging to make ends meet, finding people to trade with in the few outposts that are left. It's a bleak existence and Myra always exercises an abundance of caution, because the floods left many lawless people in their wake.
For seven years, Myra has mourned her older daughter, Row, every single day. Row was taken from Myra by her husband just before a massive flood hit their home in Nebraska. Myra had wanted to wait until her grandfather finished building the boat they would use to keep them safe; Myra's husband was afraid and impatient, so he took Row and never came back. Myra knows the chances that Row is still alive are very slim, and she should just focus all of her energy on keeping Pearl safe and happy, but she can't stop dreaming of the moment when she might have both of her girls together for the first time.
"The world will break you, but it's when you break yourself that you feel you really can't heal."
When Myra hears that Row (or at least someone resembling her) was spotted recently at a settlement near Greenland, she is desperate to risk everything to bring about a potential reunion with her daughter. She connects with Daniel, a troubled yet kind man with secrets and regrets of his own, and then they have to find another ship on which to make the perilous journey. When they meet Abran and his crew, she knows she has to hide her real reasons for wanting to travel so far, but she has no choice but to deceive them in order to rescue her daughter.
But there is no guarantee the ship will make it all the way there, because along the way they must battle the elements, bands of raiders bent on revenge for earlier slights, and the uncertainty of whom among them should be trusted. What will they find when they arrive at this colony? Will there be disease, killers, a lack of resources, or, perhaps worst of all, no trace of humanity?
After the Flood certainly is bleak and I kept waiting for things to completely fall apart, yet there certainly is an element of hope in the book as well—hope that Myra will be able to find Row, hope that the ship will make it where it needs to go relatively unscathed, hope that they can perhaps build a new community when they arrive. I honestly couldn't get enough of this story.
This reminded me a lot of Cormac McCarthy's The Road in its exquisite telling of how far a parent would go for their children, but Montag's imagery, her language, and her weaving of present and past made the story unique at the same time. The pacing may seem a little slow at times but it worked well for me.
Simply put, this book is worth all the hype it will get. I won't be able to put it out of my mind anytime soon.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
November 24, 2019
3.5 stars
In this remarkable debut, most of the earth is covered by water after years of devastating flooding. Livable land is minimal and raider ships, along with breeding ships, are a constant danger. Civilization has collapsed and there are no basic amenities. Myra and her daughter Pearl survive by fishing and trading for basic necessities. When Myra hears her older daughter, Row, who was taken from her 7 years ago, was seen alive in a northern community, they leave on a dangerous journey by sea to search for her. After running into trouble, Myra combines forces with the crew of a larger ship, and she will stop at nothing in order to find her daughter, regardless of the danger or consequences.
This is an adventure tale of survival I won’t soon forget. The world building was well-crafted and the image of this new world was terrifying. Yet this book is so much more than a survival story. It’s a story of survival, but also a story about grief and holding onto hope against all the odds. It’s about strength of character and sacrificing for those you love. It’s about opening up and trusting people when your life normally depends on the mistrust of people.
I did enjoy this story but it is a bleak one and is overly long with some repetitiveness. This novel will appeal to those who don’t require their characters to be likable. There are moral ambiguities and I was left with much to ponder after I turned the last page.
Marialyce and I deviated from our usual genres with this post-apocalyptic book and there was much to discuss.
For our duo review of this book and others please visit https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres...
In this remarkable debut, most of the earth is covered by water after years of devastating flooding. Livable land is minimal and raider ships, along with breeding ships, are a constant danger. Civilization has collapsed and there are no basic amenities. Myra and her daughter Pearl survive by fishing and trading for basic necessities. When Myra hears her older daughter, Row, who was taken from her 7 years ago, was seen alive in a northern community, they leave on a dangerous journey by sea to search for her. After running into trouble, Myra combines forces with the crew of a larger ship, and she will stop at nothing in order to find her daughter, regardless of the danger or consequences.
This is an adventure tale of survival I won’t soon forget. The world building was well-crafted and the image of this new world was terrifying. Yet this book is so much more than a survival story. It’s a story of survival, but also a story about grief and holding onto hope against all the odds. It’s about strength of character and sacrificing for those you love. It’s about opening up and trusting people when your life normally depends on the mistrust of people.
I did enjoy this story but it is a bleak one and is overly long with some repetitiveness. This novel will appeal to those who don’t require their characters to be likable. There are moral ambiguities and I was left with much to ponder after I turned the last page.
Marialyce and I deviated from our usual genres with this post-apocalyptic book and there was much to discuss.
For our duo review of this book and others please visit https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres...
October 22, 2019
You wouldn't want to be stranded at sea with this snooze-fest
Bleak, bland, and pointless!
So apparently the seafloor split, and water from beneath the earth slowly rose up, and over the next estimated 100 years, covered the world in water. But even that's wishy-washy, because even though they only lost communications – internet, TV, radio – thirteen years beforehand, there is no concrete record of exactly what occurred, and it's also unclear how much time has passed since the flood began?
For seven years Myra has been relentlessly searching for her daughter Rowena (Row), kidnapped by the child's father. Just when she's about to give up hope, Myra receives information regarding Row's last known whereabouts. And the journey begins – a very long and tedious one.
A major issue I had with After the Flood was the main character, Myra. I did not feel an ounce of sympathy for her, she was unlikable and a bad mother to boot. Her obsession with finding Row, came at the expense of the safety of her youngest daughter Pearl, who she constantly put in danger situations, and didn't seem to care about at all. This was clear from the first chapter, as the boat containing Row was sailing away, a heavily-pregnant Myra jumped into the treacherous floodwaters, risking one child in an attempt to save the other. And this was the theme throughout, poor Pearl didn't stand a chance.
I'm still perplexed over why Myra's husband/partner? Jacob took Row in the first place? There was a weak explanation given, but it just didn't ring true. Even more puzzling was why Myra still had feelings for Jacob as not only did he possess not a single redeeming quality but he stole her daughter, and left her behind, pregnant with his child!
Added to this the book dragged, and there was too much telling and not enough showing. The prose was poetic and there were a lot of action scenes, but since I wasn't emotionally invested, it was hard to care who lived or died. There was a heap of gratuitous violence as well. As a fan of the movie Waterworld and dystopian, I was very excited to read this, but it just didn't measure up.
I'd like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins Australia, and Kassandra Montag for the e-ARC.
Available Now!
Bleak, bland, and pointless!
So apparently the seafloor split, and water from beneath the earth slowly rose up, and over the next estimated 100 years, covered the world in water. But even that's wishy-washy, because even though they only lost communications – internet, TV, radio – thirteen years beforehand, there is no concrete record of exactly what occurred, and it's also unclear how much time has passed since the flood began?
For seven years Myra has been relentlessly searching for her daughter Rowena (Row), kidnapped by the child's father. Just when she's about to give up hope, Myra receives information regarding Row's last known whereabouts. And the journey begins – a very long and tedious one.
A major issue I had with After the Flood was the main character, Myra. I did not feel an ounce of sympathy for her, she was unlikable and a bad mother to boot. Her obsession with finding Row, came at the expense of the safety of her youngest daughter Pearl, who she constantly put in danger situations, and didn't seem to care about at all. This was clear from the first chapter, as the boat containing Row was sailing away, a heavily-pregnant Myra jumped into the treacherous floodwaters, risking one child in an attempt to save the other. And this was the theme throughout, poor Pearl didn't stand a chance.
I'm still perplexed over why Myra's husband/partner? Jacob took Row in the first place? There was a weak explanation given, but it just didn't ring true. Even more puzzling was why Myra still had feelings for Jacob as not only did he possess not a single redeeming quality but he stole her daughter, and left her behind, pregnant with his child!
Added to this the book dragged, and there was too much telling and not enough showing. The prose was poetic and there were a lot of action scenes, but since I wasn't emotionally invested, it was hard to care who lived or died. There was a heap of gratuitous violence as well. As a fan of the movie Waterworld and dystopian, I was very excited to read this, but it just didn't measure up.
I'd like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins Australia, and Kassandra Montag for the e-ARC.
Available Now!
September 19, 2019
This book is an excellent read! I like the idea of a post apocalypse flood because, to me, it seems like there were a lot of bad weather this year that caused so much flooding in USA. I can’t help but noticed how real people are being portrayed in this story. There are good and bad people in this world right now while we have everything to live on and the same goes after post apocalypse. There are people that always want more like the raiders in this story comparing to China wanting to control smaller locations such as Hong Kong. It’s great to read about mother/daughter survivors. I like Pearl and I like her actions when she let the seagull go because I dislike how Wayne and Jessa were so readily wanting to eat Pearl’s catch when they themselves could’ve tried to catch their own birds. It’s the same as people not willing to put effort into work but wanting their fair share.
This book begins with a prologue, told in the first person point of view following a pregnant Myra folding laundry while her 5 year-old named Row is being taken away from her by her husband, Jacob via a boat. Her home in Nebraska is flooded all around up to mailboxes while states in the coast were all underwater. Then the book started 7 years later, after another Six Year Flood, this is after the Hundred Year Flood, where the remaining inland states are underwater and survivors reside up in the mountains and on their boats. Myra now live with her second daughter named Pearl, 7, on a boat built by her deceased Grandfather. She has been searching for Row ever since. One day when a man came to kidnap Myra and Pearl to increase his colony’s population, by Row’s necklace worn on the man’s wrist, she learned that Row is still alive and where she lives, but the journey to rescue is dangerous and she could risk Pearl’s life.
After the Flood is well written and developed. I can easily imagine how the world looks like with vast water every which way I look because the author did a fantastic job describing the scenes. This story has it all: fear of attack from raiders, hope to settle at a safe place, loss of the past, afraid of the future, etc. I have a love/hate relationship with the main character Myra. On one side she is strong and independent with a strong devotion and loyalty to her family/friends but on the other side she makes rash decisions that potentially put others in danger. Since I don’t enjoy the main character all the time, I feel tired following her thoughts sometimes. Would’ve been great if there’s another point of view. I like that Myra gets to face off with the person who ruined her but I don’t like that Myra mess with Daniel’s confrontation with the person that ruined him. Life after the flood seems to be a dangerous one, always at risk both on land and on the open sea, so those parts are an adrenaline rush read. Despite me not loving the main character, the story is still an enjoyable read and I do recommend everyone to read this book!
Pro: post apocalypse, page turner, mother/daughter survival, flood, mother’s devotion, family, teamwork, mother’s love
Con: I don’t enjoy the main character all the time
I rate it 4.5 stars!
***Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway. Many thanks to William Morrows for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
This book begins with a prologue, told in the first person point of view following a pregnant Myra folding laundry while her 5 year-old named Row is being taken away from her by her husband, Jacob via a boat. Her home in Nebraska is flooded all around up to mailboxes while states in the coast were all underwater. Then the book started 7 years later, after another Six Year Flood, this is after the Hundred Year Flood, where the remaining inland states are underwater and survivors reside up in the mountains and on their boats. Myra now live with her second daughter named Pearl, 7, on a boat built by her deceased Grandfather. She has been searching for Row ever since. One day when a man came to kidnap Myra and Pearl to increase his colony’s population, by Row’s necklace worn on the man’s wrist, she learned that Row is still alive and where she lives, but the journey to rescue is dangerous and she could risk Pearl’s life.
After the Flood is well written and developed. I can easily imagine how the world looks like with vast water every which way I look because the author did a fantastic job describing the scenes. This story has it all: fear of attack from raiders, hope to settle at a safe place, loss of the past, afraid of the future, etc. I have a love/hate relationship with the main character Myra. On one side she is strong and independent with a strong devotion and loyalty to her family/friends but on the other side she makes rash decisions that potentially put others in danger. Since I don’t enjoy the main character all the time, I feel tired following her thoughts sometimes. Would’ve been great if there’s another point of view. I like that Myra gets to face off with the person who ruined her but I don’t like that Myra mess with Daniel’s confrontation with the person that ruined him. Life after the flood seems to be a dangerous one, always at risk both on land and on the open sea, so those parts are an adrenaline rush read. Despite me not loving the main character, the story is still an enjoyable read and I do recommend everyone to read this book!
Pro: post apocalypse, page turner, mother/daughter survival, flood, mother’s devotion, family, teamwork, mother’s love
Con: I don’t enjoy the main character all the time
I rate it 4.5 stars!
***Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway. Many thanks to William Morrows for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
November 5, 2019
This one has so many glowing reviews. I've seen it called the best book of 2019, the best dystopian novel of all time, and other great things.
While I did think it was well-written and I spoke about what I saw that I did like and others liked on my blog, this was just not the right book for me. I found it not exactly sad, but definitely bleak. SUPER bleak, if I’m being honest. I struggled to pick it back up sometimes.
There are some interesting characters, though none were likable to me. That said, I saw so many say how amazing this was and I do agree, there were some sentences that were so vivid, I felt like I was looking at a picture rather than reading it.
But the story just didn't click... I found this odd flatness when I read that I struggled to shake off. I didn’t want to go back to it.
Did you love it? Hate it? I want to know!
While I did think it was well-written and I spoke about what I saw that I did like and others liked on my blog, this was just not the right book for me. I found it not exactly sad, but definitely bleak. SUPER bleak, if I’m being honest. I struggled to pick it back up sometimes.
There are some interesting characters, though none were likable to me. That said, I saw so many say how amazing this was and I do agree, there were some sentences that were so vivid, I felt like I was looking at a picture rather than reading it.
But the story just didn't click... I found this odd flatness when I read that I struggled to shake off. I didn’t want to go back to it.
Did you love it? Hate it? I want to know!
October 29, 2019
An exquisitely written novel showing the lengths one woman will go to rescue her daughter, After the Flood is set a century in the future. Climate change has caused the oceans to rise and water now covers most of the earth; only the mountain tops remain above the deep blue seas. (Let's just get this out of the way now --- A world-wide flood is impossible. There are not enough water molecules on earth for this to happen, no matter what the bible says about the Noah's Ark story. Can't happen and didn't happen. Period. That doesn't take away from the story, however; it's fiction and doesn't have to be possible, but we should still be aware of what is and isn't in the realm of possibilities and this is not. So don't go worrying that you need to find a modern-day Noah to build you a boat. A lot of bad stuff could happen with climate change, but a world-wide flood won't be one of them.)
Myra and her young daughter Pearl live on the fishing boat her grandfather built before his death, catching fish which they trade for other goods. Myra's other daughter Row was kidnapped and she wants nothing more than to find her. Life, as you can expect, is difficult in this new world, fraught with danger from the water and from other people, and Myra constantly risks Pearl's life and her own by searching for the missing Row. Is it worth it to even try when she doesn't know if Row is even still alive?
After the Flood is an exhilarating story, gritty and raw and introspective. I enjoyed this beautifully written novel so much that I devoured it in one day; I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.
August 15, 2019
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange of an honest review!
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
“I am not the shards of a broken glass, but the water let loose from it.”
🌟 This is not the type of books that I usually read but I do not regret the experience at all! It is also a little bit tricky to write a review for something out of my experience.
🌟 As the name implies, it is the story of a post-apocalyptic world where there was a flood that changed the world and hence the name of the book and the book is supposed to explore this world and how it was affected. I had a different kind of expectations than the reality of the book, I expected more action and more world building but what I found fascinating was the human behavior in the story and how it was written.
🌟 Speaking of writing, the author has a good writing style, not too serious but not sarcastic, it fits the themes and atmosphere of the story and I think that is the word I am looking for, the writing was atmospheric! I think the author did a great job in researching water and sea-life and I even thought the she was an expert in that field at one point, I learned some terminology of boats and sea and this stuff but it was not overwhelming. If you as a reader like the sea-life then this would be an added bonus!
🌟 Myra, Pearl, Row, Daniel and Abran. I did not go crazy (yet?) but I still remember the character's names and I finished two books after this one so that should mean something for someone who always forget the names as soon as he is done with the book.
🌟 The pacing was slow at first and it took me like 20% to get into the story but after that, I found myself thinking about the characters and the world and wanting more! I finished it in almost 3 days which is very good for a story with this depth (Pun not intended!).
🌟 Summary: There was actually action and drama and everything, I don't want people to think it is just full of blabber. I think it has a mix of everything with a focus on the human nature and instinct to survive. I can recommend this for anyone looking for a post-apocalyptic story!
🌟 You can get the book from here: Book Depository
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
“I am not the shards of a broken glass, but the water let loose from it.”
🌟 This is not the type of books that I usually read but I do not regret the experience at all! It is also a little bit tricky to write a review for something out of my experience.
🌟 As the name implies, it is the story of a post-apocalyptic world where there was a flood that changed the world and hence the name of the book and the book is supposed to explore this world and how it was affected. I had a different kind of expectations than the reality of the book, I expected more action and more world building but what I found fascinating was the human behavior in the story and how it was written.
🌟 Speaking of writing, the author has a good writing style, not too serious but not sarcastic, it fits the themes and atmosphere of the story and I think that is the word I am looking for, the writing was atmospheric! I think the author did a great job in researching water and sea-life and I even thought the she was an expert in that field at one point, I learned some terminology of boats and sea and this stuff but it was not overwhelming. If you as a reader like the sea-life then this would be an added bonus!
🌟 Myra, Pearl, Row, Daniel and Abran. I did not go crazy (yet?) but I still remember the character's names and I finished two books after this one so that should mean something for someone who always forget the names as soon as he is done with the book.
🌟 The pacing was slow at first and it took me like 20% to get into the story but after that, I found myself thinking about the characters and the world and wanting more! I finished it in almost 3 days which is very good for a story with this depth (Pun not intended!).
🌟 Summary: There was actually action and drama and everything, I don't want people to think it is just full of blabber. I think it has a mix of everything with a focus on the human nature and instinct to survive. I can recommend this for anyone looking for a post-apocalyptic story!
🌟 You can get the book from here: Book Depository
August 24, 2019
When I stumbled across Kassandra Montag's debut novel,
After the Flood
, I was hesitant. I feel like 2019 is the year that killed thrillers, so authors are branching out to other genres, and dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels are popping out all over. After being told by the lovely Chelsea that this book is unputdownable, I decided to give it a go. Folks, she has never been more right in her life. Montag's debut novel is dripping with action, but it's also a beautifully tragic character study about peoples' will to survive after a chaotic natural disaster.
With the Amazon Rainforest currently burning up in flames, it's no shocker to anyone that climate change is very real. Without diving too much into the past of how and why, After the Flood takes place in the future where a majority of the world is now decimated by intense water level rising. With only the highest points of mountains left as fertile and inhabitable land, many survivors live on boats or ships, trying to survive with the basic necessities. With all dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels, this new world is far from perfect, with crime and corruption running rampant. Our main character, Myra tries to take care of her young daughter Pearl, while also providing a life where the two can not just survive, but try to flourish. Years back, her husband and oldest daughter were taken from her and she's still not ready to give up the search. When she gets information about the possible whereabouts of her family, Myra will stop at nothing to find them. Will this new world allow Myra to reunite with her family or does she have to give up hope and just accept this reality?
After the Flood is the best dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel that I've ever read. There I said it. It's heartbreaking, real, dark, and truly mesmerizing. It's over 400 pages and I finished the entire book in less than 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down! If there's one book that I could tell you to put on your radar this fall, it's After the Flood . I can totally see this becoming a Netflix film and I see big things coming for Kassandra Montag!
With the Amazon Rainforest currently burning up in flames, it's no shocker to anyone that climate change is very real. Without diving too much into the past of how and why, After the Flood takes place in the future where a majority of the world is now decimated by intense water level rising. With only the highest points of mountains left as fertile and inhabitable land, many survivors live on boats or ships, trying to survive with the basic necessities. With all dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels, this new world is far from perfect, with crime and corruption running rampant. Our main character, Myra tries to take care of her young daughter Pearl, while also providing a life where the two can not just survive, but try to flourish. Years back, her husband and oldest daughter were taken from her and she's still not ready to give up the search. When she gets information about the possible whereabouts of her family, Myra will stop at nothing to find them. Will this new world allow Myra to reunite with her family or does she have to give up hope and just accept this reality?
After the Flood is the best dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel that I've ever read. There I said it. It's heartbreaking, real, dark, and truly mesmerizing. It's over 400 pages and I finished the entire book in less than 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down! If there's one book that I could tell you to put on your radar this fall, it's After the Flood . I can totally see this becoming a Netflix film and I see big things coming for Kassandra Montag!
March 15, 2020
This is an odyssey story set in a post-apocalyptic world. Myra is a strong female protagonist in a first-person point of view. The new world is covered in water with very little land and resources left. Myra goes in search of her lost daughter while trying to protect the one in her control. This story has plenty of conflict with Man/woman vs. The nature and Man/Woman vs. Man/woman. Another layer of conflict is a microcosm of societal issues. There is a smattering of romance, and tasteful sex. This book is a solid four stars. I’d give it a five if the story moved along a little faster. Sometimes the introspective of the character overburdened the prose/story in a minor attempt to be something it’s not.
The writing craft is strong, and I was engaged with every page. Can’t ask for more than that.
I will definitely purchase the author’s next book.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
The writing craft is strong, and I was engaged with every page. Can’t ask for more than that.
I will definitely purchase the author’s next book.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
September 16, 2019
I don't know if I'm missing something big here or not but this book was SO BORING to me. I've heard such amazing reviews and when it came in from the library I was so excited - such a disappointment.
After the Flood follows a mom and her daughter in a dystopian world where global warming has caused the oceans to overtake most of the land. To be fair, the world Kassandra Montag's is remarkable. This is one of the greatest post-apocalyptic worlds I have ever read about. The imagery, the realness, the possibility that this could one day happen were all incredibility well done and I loved her writing style. But the storyline... I haven't been this bored in a while! I found the main character to be selfish and vapid, the plot predictable, the romances unbelievable and often cringeworthy, and just overall not entertaining.
I wish I would have dnf this one but I kept hoping it would get better since the rave reviews. Lesson learned: trust your gut.
Plot: 2
Characters: 1
Setting: 5
Ending: 1
Overall: 2 1/2 stars for me
Side note: A lot of people really seem to love this one, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
After the Flood follows a mom and her daughter in a dystopian world where global warming has caused the oceans to overtake most of the land. To be fair, the world Kassandra Montag's is remarkable. This is one of the greatest post-apocalyptic worlds I have ever read about. The imagery, the realness, the possibility that this could one day happen were all incredibility well done and I loved her writing style. But the storyline... I haven't been this bored in a while! I found the main character to be selfish and vapid, the plot predictable, the romances unbelievable and often cringeworthy, and just overall not entertaining.
I wish I would have dnf this one but I kept hoping it would get better since the rave reviews. Lesson learned: trust your gut.
Plot: 2
Characters: 1
Setting: 5
Ending: 1
Overall: 2 1/2 stars for me
Side note: A lot of people really seem to love this one, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
October 25, 2019
I have been seeing that the reviews of this book are all over the place but personally I loved it! I am a big fan of post apocalyptic and dystopian books in general, but I loved the mother daughter relationship aspect of this one.
It has strong moral and ethical elements, especially focusing around how quickly these can change when we or someone we love are faced with survival situations and how far we will go for the ones we love. Is it okay to deceive people or put people's lives in danger if it is to save someone else? Is it okay to put one daughter's life in danger to potentially save another? I couldn't imagine a worse nightmare for a mother than having to choose between to kids. I think as a mother of young kids it made the emotions Myra felt seem very real. When I think about how hard it is to raise children in today's world, I cant even imagine the strength it took for Myra to raise Pearl in that situation. The strength of a mother's love is beautiful!
Although the book is very suspenseful and kind of grim there are strong messages around forgiveness, understanding, perseverance, strong women and hope.
This book is very fast paced and the short chapters kept me wanting to read just one more. I definitely recommend this book and I feel like adults who are fans of YA will really enjoy this.
It has strong moral and ethical elements, especially focusing around how quickly these can change when we or someone we love are faced with survival situations and how far we will go for the ones we love. Is it okay to deceive people or put people's lives in danger if it is to save someone else? Is it okay to put one daughter's life in danger to potentially save another? I couldn't imagine a worse nightmare for a mother than having to choose between to kids. I think as a mother of young kids it made the emotions Myra felt seem very real. When I think about how hard it is to raise children in today's world, I cant even imagine the strength it took for Myra to raise Pearl in that situation. The strength of a mother's love is beautiful!
Although the book is very suspenseful and kind of grim there are strong messages around forgiveness, understanding, perseverance, strong women and hope.
This book is very fast paced and the short chapters kept me wanting to read just one more. I definitely recommend this book and I feel like adults who are fans of YA will really enjoy this.
November 17, 2022
“Our world has been utterly transformed”
Global warming has run its course. Catastrophic climate change is a reality. The ice caps are gone and the continental land masses as we once knew them have been obliterated. All that remains are a series of islands, once the peaks of the greatest mountain ranges in the world, and now little but scattered remnants separated by vast expanses of open ocean. The survivors, and there appear to be precious few of those, have been reduced to a warlike lifestyle of stealing, scavenging, salvaging and surviving. The path to renewed civilization is a distant hope and fraught with dangers and obstacles.
AFTER THE FLOOD is the thrilling, intriguing, innovative, and poignant tale of Myra and her daughter Pearl’s such for Pearl’s older sister and the father who kidnapped her after a deluged destroyed their Nebraska home. If Ms Montag’s imaginative post-apocalyptic tale of survivalist struggles prompts you to consider the reality, the dangers, and the social impact of the current levels of human-caused global warming and climate change, then I expect Ms Montag will be well pleased with the results of her efforts.
AFTER THE FLOOD is a gripping, readable and enjoyable story of survival and resilience under impossible duress. But, be warned, there is very little to like about what people are forced to do and to become under such conditions. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
Global warming has run its course. Catastrophic climate change is a reality. The ice caps are gone and the continental land masses as we once knew them have been obliterated. All that remains are a series of islands, once the peaks of the greatest mountain ranges in the world, and now little but scattered remnants separated by vast expanses of open ocean. The survivors, and there appear to be precious few of those, have been reduced to a warlike lifestyle of stealing, scavenging, salvaging and surviving. The path to renewed civilization is a distant hope and fraught with dangers and obstacles.
AFTER THE FLOOD is the thrilling, intriguing, innovative, and poignant tale of Myra and her daughter Pearl’s such for Pearl’s older sister and the father who kidnapped her after a deluged destroyed their Nebraska home. If Ms Montag’s imaginative post-apocalyptic tale of survivalist struggles prompts you to consider the reality, the dangers, and the social impact of the current levels of human-caused global warming and climate change, then I expect Ms Montag will be well pleased with the results of her efforts.
AFTER THE FLOOD is a gripping, readable and enjoyable story of survival and resilience under impossible duress. But, be warned, there is very little to like about what people are forced to do and to become under such conditions. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
October 9, 2019
The cover of this novel does not reveal the real despair hidden in these pages. As a matter of fact, the cover should have been a bit more foretelling of the treacherous disaster that awaits. So, jumping into reading and not checking the blurb first, it had me wondering at first, and later not expecting it to be what it is. Because it became so much more!
Meet Myra, mother of two girls left alone in an Alaskan (-ish) landscape fending to trade goods for basic living necessities. She's been alone with Pearl ever since her husband took off with her first daughter Row, and her father committed suicide in despair of the living conditions.
Raised by her grandfather who had all the stories to tell of life before the 100 Year Flood that destroyed their area, he passed down many of his handy skills to Myra, like fishing, making, fixing and restoring boats and rafts and handy skills to fix living quarters and woodworks. A local old lady at the nearest trading post had watched her since she was little and taught her the tricks of the trade, in bartering.
Imagine a landscape where living is so dire, that people take a chance on rafts and boats to escape. There are no phones, cars or other aids that make life comfortable. Trees and animals are gone and only fish, birds and snakes are to be had. Humanity has been forced to live a simpler but far more dangerous life albeit the knowledge of modern age. Resources are scarce and the flood keeps creeping up the coastline taking away more and more land. Many are forced to risk an exit of the area in boats or end their lives in despair. The pirates and raiders out at sea are who they all fear.
Myra's husband took her daughter away in a boat as she was left to watch and fear. There are breeder ships that will take young girls to produce offspring for trade and pirate gangs. As time passes and Pearl has become a great companion to her mother, Myra makes a discovery that might lead her to her missing daughter.
Taking a risk with new friends, Myra sets out fiercely to go on the long journey to rescue Row. Not without deceit and or being deceived. As the treacherous way becomes more and more deadly, she has to decide if holding on to the imagination of holding her older daughter again in her arms, hasn't been an illusion that she risked Pearls' and her lives for.
In the end, there's nothing stronger than the call of a child a mother must find. Will it be too late?
***
Yes, uff-da, I know! I had no idea this book was going to be like this. The cover deceived me ;) but I am not unhappy about it at all. Montag did a great job to make this entire story linger with nuggets of riveting moments and despair. I enjoyed how people were presented going back to the basics as we know it from history. Making fires, using skins, building boats, making something out of nothing.
The writing bode a sense of historical fiction for an apocalyptic novel and I dug it. It made it really approachable to read, not like some Sci-Fi style books I've read with a futuristic take on the apocalypse.
The plot unfolded slowly but was unpredictable. This kept the reader reminded of the struggles of the day to day living and developed the characters thoroughly. The scope and places this novel took were almost epic. So many things that went wrong, so many moments that changed everything. Three steps forward, two steps back!
This book doesn't end very clearly nor unsatisfying. It feels like a continuation of it all is to be interpreted by the reader. It does lend room for thoughts of the what-if questions, but also to the characters encountered and their decisions. Would I have done what Myra did?
This may have given a glimpse into what I meant with "so much more". It's an adventurous epic journey that kept me reading riveted as if the flood was near!
Give it a try :)
More of my reviews can be found here:
https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
Meet Myra, mother of two girls left alone in an Alaskan (-ish) landscape fending to trade goods for basic living necessities. She's been alone with Pearl ever since her husband took off with her first daughter Row, and her father committed suicide in despair of the living conditions.
Raised by her grandfather who had all the stories to tell of life before the 100 Year Flood that destroyed their area, he passed down many of his handy skills to Myra, like fishing, making, fixing and restoring boats and rafts and handy skills to fix living quarters and woodworks. A local old lady at the nearest trading post had watched her since she was little and taught her the tricks of the trade, in bartering.
Imagine a landscape where living is so dire, that people take a chance on rafts and boats to escape. There are no phones, cars or other aids that make life comfortable. Trees and animals are gone and only fish, birds and snakes are to be had. Humanity has been forced to live a simpler but far more dangerous life albeit the knowledge of modern age. Resources are scarce and the flood keeps creeping up the coastline taking away more and more land. Many are forced to risk an exit of the area in boats or end their lives in despair. The pirates and raiders out at sea are who they all fear.
Myra's husband took her daughter away in a boat as she was left to watch and fear. There are breeder ships that will take young girls to produce offspring for trade and pirate gangs. As time passes and Pearl has become a great companion to her mother, Myra makes a discovery that might lead her to her missing daughter.
Taking a risk with new friends, Myra sets out fiercely to go on the long journey to rescue Row. Not without deceit and or being deceived. As the treacherous way becomes more and more deadly, she has to decide if holding on to the imagination of holding her older daughter again in her arms, hasn't been an illusion that she risked Pearls' and her lives for.
In the end, there's nothing stronger than the call of a child a mother must find. Will it be too late?
***
Yes, uff-da, I know! I had no idea this book was going to be like this. The cover deceived me ;) but I am not unhappy about it at all. Montag did a great job to make this entire story linger with nuggets of riveting moments and despair. I enjoyed how people were presented going back to the basics as we know it from history. Making fires, using skins, building boats, making something out of nothing.
The writing bode a sense of historical fiction for an apocalyptic novel and I dug it. It made it really approachable to read, not like some Sci-Fi style books I've read with a futuristic take on the apocalypse.
The plot unfolded slowly but was unpredictable. This kept the reader reminded of the struggles of the day to day living and developed the characters thoroughly. The scope and places this novel took were almost epic. So many things that went wrong, so many moments that changed everything. Three steps forward, two steps back!
This book doesn't end very clearly nor unsatisfying. It feels like a continuation of it all is to be interpreted by the reader. It does lend room for thoughts of the what-if questions, but also to the characters encountered and their decisions. Would I have done what Myra did?
This may have given a glimpse into what I meant with "so much more". It's an adventurous epic journey that kept me reading riveted as if the flood was near!
Give it a try :)
More of my reviews can be found here:
https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
Read
May 24, 2020
Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
I actually tried to read this an eternity ago... aka in September. I personally went into this searching for an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller. Though there is bits and pieces that contain that, it was more of a harrowing tale of a mother searching for her child.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great concept and very well written. It just wasn't what I was looking for in that moment and I'm not particularly interested in picking it up again.
So, if you're looking for a story about a mother being brave with a smidge of sci-fi, check this one out!
------------
tried to take a fancy picture with water. now my book is wet. 😑
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September 4, 2019
This story is set in the future at a time when most of the Earth is covered with water.
People live high up on the mountains or on boats on the water. Food, drinking water and other goods are scarce and people barter to stay alive. There are many pirate ships and they take what they want even people to use as slaves.
Seven years before Myra's husband fled the flood taking their five year old daughter with him. Myra was left pregnant but had her parents to help her.
Now alone with her seven year old daughter Pearl, Myra is finding it hard to stay alive and catches fish to barter with.
When Myra finds out that her older daughter is still alive she sets off to find her.
This is an adventure story with plenty of action and some great characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
People live high up on the mountains or on boats on the water. Food, drinking water and other goods are scarce and people barter to stay alive. There are many pirate ships and they take what they want even people to use as slaves.
Seven years before Myra's husband fled the flood taking their five year old daughter with him. Myra was left pregnant but had her parents to help her.
Now alone with her seven year old daughter Pearl, Myra is finding it hard to stay alive and catches fish to barter with.
When Myra finds out that her older daughter is still alive she sets off to find her.
This is an adventure story with plenty of action and some great characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read
May 6, 2023I love the way this book navigates loss and grief. I love the prose. I love Pearl. I didn’t expect to get so attached so quickly, but I’m very glad I did because it made every defeat and triumph these characters experienced that much more impactful. this was such a great read.
January 24, 2020
Review to come. (Side Note: Beautiful cover!!)
Shelved as 'dnf'
December 29, 2019DNF at 50%
Usually I try not to abandon books after reaching the halfway point but reading After the Flood is turning out to be an extremely frustrating experience.
First of all Montag's writing is far too full of flowery metaphors for my liking. I kept becoming distracted by the way the narrator's heart would pound, shrink, whittle, drop, and sink. And no, these were not used to describe a heart attack.
I also quickly grew tired of phrases such as: “Some dark feeling washed over me that felt like rage or fear or grief, something all sharp corners in my gut, like I’d swallowed glass”. There were so overused as to become void of any meaning...they used an array of words to illustrate sensations that didn't always necessitate such over-describing. And these flowery descriptions don't necessarily expand or add any depth to the main character's feelings but rather they seem little more than colourful and distracting adornments.
Myra's inner monologue was repetitive to the extreme. In spite of her selfish and manipulative behaviour she seemed to posses no distinct personality. As Kelly wrote in her review of this book unlikable characters can be very compelling....and yet Myra was as interesting and complex as a sheet of A4 paper. She does these horrible things without any particular 'feeling' behind her actions.
The first half of this book is mostly dedicated to Myra's self-pitying inner monologue in which she sort of wonders if she 'should' or 'shouldn't' do certain things but ends up doing them without a thought or care. Her daughter Pearl seemed relegated to background, appearing once or twice in order to whine. While I know for a fact that a lot of children can and will be whiny I'm starting to grow tired of adult books portraying children in such a one-sided way. Children happen to have their own individual personality....Pearl wasn't a believable character. Her 'unique' upbringing should have shaped her in a much more significant way (having her kill a snake seems like a cheap way to emphasise that she is 'not like other children') and given that this book promised a focus on motherhood I hoped that we would see more of her.
It seemed a bit too convenient that Myra only bumps into people who either have information regarding her missing daughter Rowe or say something that will help her 'advance' her search.
Lastly, this book features one of the most unnecessary and cringiest sex scenes I've ever read.
Reading the first half of this book wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience: the story seems to get bogged down by Myra's repetitive, and limited, narration, the other characters are not convincing, and the writing was cheesy (“Every surface of me is hardened and rubbed raw. ”.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
Usually I try not to abandon books after reaching the halfway point but reading After the Flood is turning out to be an extremely frustrating experience.
First of all Montag's writing is far too full of flowery metaphors for my liking. I kept becoming distracted by the way the narrator's heart would pound, shrink, whittle, drop, and sink. And no, these were not used to describe a heart attack.
I also quickly grew tired of phrases such as: “Some dark feeling washed over me that felt like rage or fear or grief, something all sharp corners in my gut, like I’d swallowed glass”. There were so overused as to become void of any meaning...they used an array of words to illustrate sensations that didn't always necessitate such over-describing. And these flowery descriptions don't necessarily expand or add any depth to the main character's feelings but rather they seem little more than colourful and distracting adornments.
Myra's inner monologue was repetitive to the extreme. In spite of her selfish and manipulative behaviour she seemed to posses no distinct personality. As Kelly wrote in her review of this book unlikable characters can be very compelling....and yet Myra was as interesting and complex as a sheet of A4 paper. She does these horrible things without any particular 'feeling' behind her actions.
The first half of this book is mostly dedicated to Myra's self-pitying inner monologue in which she sort of wonders if she 'should' or 'shouldn't' do certain things but ends up doing them without a thought or care. Her daughter Pearl seemed relegated to background, appearing once or twice in order to whine. While I know for a fact that a lot of children can and will be whiny I'm starting to grow tired of adult books portraying children in such a one-sided way. Children happen to have their own individual personality....Pearl wasn't a believable character. Her 'unique' upbringing should have shaped her in a much more significant way (having her kill a snake seems like a cheap way to emphasise that she is 'not like other children') and given that this book promised a focus on motherhood I hoped that we would see more of her.
It seemed a bit too convenient that Myra only bumps into people who either have information regarding her missing daughter Rowe or say something that will help her 'advance' her search.
Lastly, this book features one of the most unnecessary and cringiest sex scenes I've ever read.
Reading the first half of this book wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience: the story seems to get bogged down by Myra's repetitive, and limited, narration, the other characters are not convincing, and the writing was cheesy (“Every surface of me is hardened and rubbed raw. ”.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
November 20, 2019
This begins with a mother’s worst nightmare. As she gazes out the window the mother, Myra, sees her daughter being forced into a boat while screaming no, no not without mommy. In a flash she is gone and Myra’s mission to find her begins. Myra and her 7 year old daughter Pearl depart in their small boat facing life on the floodwaters. Myra must learn fast using her intelligence, hyper vigilance and when needed, manipulation. She is plagued with anxieties. She fears Pearl might be abducted or lost. She is distressed that she may have to sacrifice one child to save the other. Lucidity is sporadic. Yet together they are unstoppable, willing to learn, to grow strong and find the missing girl, Row. Myra trusts no one. Pearl, a lively and bright child, seems to have an innate sense of who she can trust. Along the way they encounter many others in this apocalyptic world. As expected some are vile and dangerous while others are simply doing what they can to survive. The trick is to make a quick and hopefully astute assessment of each person along the way and to be prepared for the possibility of good or bad. All the while Myra can’t lose sight of her goal. At times, she looks at her youngest daughter, her tiny figure dashing about and becomes almost half mad with confusion and fear. A story of survival, loss, and learning to understand yourself and others. To truly shine one must find the strength within them. Where will their courage, creativity and sheer determination take them? The path towards finding what they seek is rarely easy. Journey along with Myra and Pearl as together they learn the meaning and importance of keeping one’s heart open in their search for family.
November 19, 2019
After the Flood is set in a world where catastrophic flooding has left behind only mountain peaks as livable land. Sometime during this flooding, a pregnant woman named Myra is forcibly separated from her daughter Row. Seven years later, we follow the story of her and her second daughter Pearl as they chase down the only lead they have to Row’s whereabouts.
First- let me say that this book was not at all what I expected. I thought it would lean more towards the literary rather than science fiction. I wasn’t expecting a lot of action. I wasn’t expecting such a fantastic story.
But I think within a single chapter I was proved wrong. The story dug it’s hooks in me and didn’t let go. Myra is a kick ass woman – the kind of strong female protagonist I always say I want more of. She’s not perfect though. In reading some other reviews after finishing, I saw her described as unlikeable. A risk taker. Someone who didn’t always have Pearl’s safety in mind.
Those reviewers aren’t wrong. Myra doesn’t always make the best decisions for Pearl. Her relationship with her remaining daughter is sometimes difficult to witness. Pearl needs more attention then she is often given. But at the same time, I often felt like I understood Myra. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a daughter out there in unknown or dangerous circumstances and just giving up on her. Pearl’s circumstances were known. Myra’s imagination wasn’t running wild with a thousand horrible things Pearl might be enduring.
Anyway- mother/daughter relationships aside, the book was pretty exciting. From naval battles to terrifying sea storms and shark attacks, my fingers just kept turning pages and I had a very hard time putting it down. Some of the scenes might have been a little over-the-top in terms of believability, but I didn’t mind because I was having so much fun with it otherwise.
That being said- I did feel the middle of the book was a little more slow going than the some of the other parts. Part of advancing the plot was Myra scheming to win people to her side, and she struggles a lot with the ethics and morality of what she does. I think it was all important to her character building, but some of those parts did move a little slower than the rest of the book.
After the Flood is really dark. It isn’t a feel good, heart warming story that’s going to make you feel all fuzzy inside. Plan for it to do the opposite of that. Still- I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I’ll be on the lookout for more from this author in the future.
First- let me say that this book was not at all what I expected. I thought it would lean more towards the literary rather than science fiction. I wasn’t expecting a lot of action. I wasn’t expecting such a fantastic story.
But I think within a single chapter I was proved wrong. The story dug it’s hooks in me and didn’t let go. Myra is a kick ass woman – the kind of strong female protagonist I always say I want more of. She’s not perfect though. In reading some other reviews after finishing, I saw her described as unlikeable. A risk taker. Someone who didn’t always have Pearl’s safety in mind.
Those reviewers aren’t wrong. Myra doesn’t always make the best decisions for Pearl. Her relationship with her remaining daughter is sometimes difficult to witness. Pearl needs more attention then she is often given. But at the same time, I often felt like I understood Myra. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a daughter out there in unknown or dangerous circumstances and just giving up on her. Pearl’s circumstances were known. Myra’s imagination wasn’t running wild with a thousand horrible things Pearl might be enduring.
Anyway- mother/daughter relationships aside, the book was pretty exciting. From naval battles to terrifying sea storms and shark attacks, my fingers just kept turning pages and I had a very hard time putting it down. Some of the scenes might have been a little over-the-top in terms of believability, but I didn’t mind because I was having so much fun with it otherwise.
That being said- I did feel the middle of the book was a little more slow going than the some of the other parts. Part of advancing the plot was Myra scheming to win people to her side, and she struggles a lot with the ethics and morality of what she does. I think it was all important to her character building, but some of those parts did move a little slower than the rest of the book.
After the Flood is really dark. It isn’t a feel good, heart warming story that’s going to make you feel all fuzzy inside. Plan for it to do the opposite of that. Still- I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I’ll be on the lookout for more from this author in the future.
September 4, 2019
After the Flood is a dystopian novel by debut author Kassandra Montag. The story starts a century into the future after a six-year flood.
𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: Pregnant Myra, her young daughter Row, and her husband, Jacob planned to sail away on a boat that her grandfather is building in the attic of their flooded home. Then one day, Jacob leaves on a motorboat with young Row without Myra. Myra and her grandfather set sail with Myra giving birth to her daughter Pearl along the way. Life reverts to basic survival and Myra has one goal in mind, to find Row. Seven years later with her grandfather dead, Myra finally gets a glimmer of hope that Row is yet alive. Will Myra put Pearl’s life at stake in order to find Row?
So the story takes off from here. This book reminded me of Bird Box & The Great Alone. It’s essentially an adventure book with great character development. I think it was a great decision on the author’s part NOT to delve into the reasons for the flood, which I think would’ve led to many plot holes. It’s fast paced & well written. Anybody that picks this book apart is just looking to be a dick. The writing is fantastic for a debut. It’s not perfect but overall it’s pretty damn good. I read this in less than 24 hours. If you’re trying to decide between the book & audiobook, you may want to listen to the sample if you’re not already familiar with Hilary Huber’s work. She isn’t bad but there’s something about her voice that sounds robotic to me sometimes. I think I would normally have rated this 4.5 ⭐️ but when I read a fantastic debut novel I usually bump up my rating so that’s why I went with 5 ⭐️. I think this is going to be popular because it appeals to such a vast age range. I highly recommend!!
𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: Pregnant Myra, her young daughter Row, and her husband, Jacob planned to sail away on a boat that her grandfather is building in the attic of their flooded home. Then one day, Jacob leaves on a motorboat with young Row without Myra. Myra and her grandfather set sail with Myra giving birth to her daughter Pearl along the way. Life reverts to basic survival and Myra has one goal in mind, to find Row. Seven years later with her grandfather dead, Myra finally gets a glimmer of hope that Row is yet alive. Will Myra put Pearl’s life at stake in order to find Row?
So the story takes off from here. This book reminded me of Bird Box & The Great Alone. It’s essentially an adventure book with great character development. I think it was a great decision on the author’s part NOT to delve into the reasons for the flood, which I think would’ve led to many plot holes. It’s fast paced & well written. Anybody that picks this book apart is just looking to be a dick. The writing is fantastic for a debut. It’s not perfect but overall it’s pretty damn good. I read this in less than 24 hours. If you’re trying to decide between the book & audiobook, you may want to listen to the sample if you’re not already familiar with Hilary Huber’s work. She isn’t bad but there’s something about her voice that sounds robotic to me sometimes. I think I would normally have rated this 4.5 ⭐️ but when I read a fantastic debut novel I usually bump up my rating so that’s why I went with 5 ⭐️. I think this is going to be popular because it appeals to such a vast age range. I highly recommend!!
November 19, 2019
Ahoy there mateys! I thought the world-building of this one was great fun and liked a lot of the writing style. I just couldn't stand the main character, Myra. She just seemed to make ridiculous and stupid choices. The annoyance grew too great and so I abandoned ship. Arrrr!
July 11, 2019
AFTER THE FLOOD takes place in a post-apocalyptic future (2130) when the Earth has been permanently flooded. The main character (Myra) and her eight year-old daughter (Pearl) survive by fishing from a small boat Myra’s grandfather built. Myra’s husband took their other daughter (Row), jumped in a neighbor’s boat, and abandoned her when she was heavily pregnant with Pearl. When Myra learns Row may still be alive, she sets out to find her.
I was completely captivated by the first 50 pages, but then my interest started to wane. While I loved reading about the new world and what people had to do to survive, I couldn’t stand Myra. She was so self-absorbed and annoying at times, I could almost understand why her husband left her! It was as if the world revolved around her and everyone else (grandpa, mother, a family friend, etc.) was just there to help her with Pearl or to help her find Row.
For example, she acted like her grandpa’s only role was to build a boat for her, fish and find food for her while she breastfed Pearl, and look for her husband and Row since she couldn’t because she was OMG breastfeeding. Poor Grandpa unexpectedly passed away in his sleep after doing so much work, and she didn’t even seem to care - she was just sad that now she had to raise Pearl all on her own. Another example is when her mother died collecting apples while she stood watching out the window with a hand on her belly thinking about all the things that “could go wrong with her pregnancy.” Luckily for her, her mother was a nurse and could help deliver the baby. Too bad mother was literally swept away by the rising water as she desperately tried to dash back to the house. Gee, maybe mother would have made it back if Myra had actually tried to help instead of just standing there clutching her bump and pounding on the window.
It got to the point, I really didn’t care if she found Row or not. The premise of this book was fascinating; searching for one daughter while protecting the other one on the journey could have been incredibly interesting, but the execution was severely lacking. I’m sure this book will be wildly popular, but I write honest reviews and refuse to praise a book simply because it has a female character who will do anything for her children. Nonmothers would do the very same for the ones they love as would men - Myra’s grandfather is a fantastic example.
Disclaimer: I won an advanced reading copy through a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.
I was completely captivated by the first 50 pages, but then my interest started to wane. While I loved reading about the new world and what people had to do to survive, I couldn’t stand Myra. She was so self-absorbed and annoying at times, I could almost understand why her husband left her! It was as if the world revolved around her and everyone else (grandpa, mother, a family friend, etc.) was just there to help her with Pearl or to help her find Row.
For example, she acted like her grandpa’s only role was to build a boat for her, fish and find food for her while she breastfed Pearl, and look for her husband and Row since she couldn’t because she was OMG breastfeeding. Poor Grandpa unexpectedly passed away in his sleep after doing so much work, and she didn’t even seem to care - she was just sad that now she had to raise Pearl all on her own. Another example is when her mother died collecting apples while she stood watching out the window with a hand on her belly thinking about all the things that “could go wrong with her pregnancy.” Luckily for her, her mother was a nurse and could help deliver the baby. Too bad mother was literally swept away by the rising water as she desperately tried to dash back to the house. Gee, maybe mother would have made it back if Myra had actually tried to help instead of just standing there clutching her bump and pounding on the window.
It got to the point, I really didn’t care if she found Row or not. The premise of this book was fascinating; searching for one daughter while protecting the other one on the journey could have been incredibly interesting, but the execution was severely lacking. I’m sure this book will be wildly popular, but I write honest reviews and refuse to praise a book simply because it has a female character who will do anything for her children. Nonmothers would do the very same for the ones they love as would men - Myra’s grandfather is a fantastic example.
Disclaimer: I won an advanced reading copy through a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.
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