The Kindly Ones

Two wildly different groups fight to control an abandoned village in this atmospheric near-future dystopian novel from James (Life as a Kite). The fundamentalist Christian Mann family believe God punished the world’s sinners on the Last Day, when power stations went dark, global communications failed, the weather went haywire, and billions died. Now matriarch Marion Mann and her six children—stern eldest Enoch, her other god-fearing sons, and one scapegoat daughter, Ruth—scavenge for food and pray for safe haven. For determined women Fran, Ky, and Rhea, and the young boy, Lugh, whom they’ve taken in, the end wasn’t half so sudden. Climate change tore nations apart, leaving the survivors to hide from militia and eke out a subsistence existence. When the makeshift family discover an abandoned town deep in the woods, they start fixing it up, replanting gardens, and creating a home. Then the Manns arrive. Marion and her entitled brood have no intention of sharing anything with heathens, especially not freethinking women who welcome Ruth with kindness and encourage Lugh’s growing relationship with Abel, Marion’s youngest boy. Though marred by a predictable twist ending, the narrative raises pressing philosophical questions about ethics and altruism while conjuring fascinating characters and an eerie setting. It should be enough to please any fan of dystopian fiction. [em](Sept.) [/em]