“"The sun poked out briefly, evidence of a universe above them, of watchful things-- planets, and stars and vast galaxies of infinite knowledge-- and just as suddenly it retreated behind the clouds."
I began reading The Last Town on Earth the same day that news of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was on the radio. It was a surreal experience reading about the horrors of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 and hearing/reading about the current flu scare at the same time. This novel is set in the fictional town of Commonwealth, Washington, 1918. World War I is still being fought, people are frightened. Their sons are dying overseas; they see spies everywhere, and the terrible flu epidemic is killing millions of people - in the end more than died in the war. Commonwealth, an isolated mill town, decides to quarantine itself to prevent the spread of illness among its inhabitants. Then things go terribly wrong.
This is a dark novel, posing many moral questions. What is the best way keep one's family, community, and country secure and safe? What should the responsibility of the individual be compared to the larger group? What cruelties are people capable of in the name of the public good? I was fascinated by both the descriptions of labor issues, public response to World War I, and the flu outbreak itself. I'm not sure I was satisfied by how fully the characters were developed, or even by how the plot was resolved, but I still am glad I read The Last Town on Earth.”
sthurner wrote this review Friday, May 8 2009.
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