For Episode 9 of THE MANHATTAN MILLENNIAL BOOK REVIEW, Host Anuja Jaiswal covers Ling Ma’s 2018 dystopian bestseller "Severance."  The novel tells the story of a young millennial living in New York as a global pandemic sweeps across the world and changes life as she knows it (sound familiar?).  Although published two years before the unforeseen actual worldwide pandemic (Effects on NYC are quick and devastating – streets emptied, subways/public transport shut down), "Shen Fever," turns people into shells of themselves – those affected endlessly repeat banal actions from their daily lives, like folding clothes or setting a table.  The novel alternates between two timelines – the months leading up to the protagonist’s departure from the city, and the present, where she travels with a group of survivors trying to make sense of the world. As a globetrotting Manhattan millennial book reviewer, Ma’s prescient tale may hit Anuja a little close to home, but she manages to break it down in her usual style, letting you know why it’s an important and satisfying read.

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