Review: The After Days by Amy Ginsburg is a contemporary fiction novel with a dystopian twist.
Title: The After Days
Author: Amy Ginsburg
Publisher: The AG Group
Genres: American Horror Comedy, Dystopian, Contemporary Fiction
Print Length: 256 pages
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Synopsis and edition information is from Goodreads and Amazon.
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Review: The After Days by Amy Ginsburg
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Synopsis:
In a world without power, you need the power of friendship and love to survive.
Middle-aged suburbanites Rachel and Zach team with their friends to battle not only the predators and scavengers who lurk around every corner but also empty pantries, boredom, despair … and sometimes each other. How far are they willing to go to survive the Big Blackout?
This gripping dystopian twist on contemporary fiction about a woman who must find within herself the strength and ingenuity to endure a world suddenly without electricity is both terrifyingly real and astonishingly tender.
Perfect for book clubs, The After Days explores the ethical quandaries and logistical problems of ordinary suburbanites – people whose most recent problems were dodgy Wi-Fi and cranky bosses – in their struggle to survive in the increasingly treacherous suburbs of Washington, DC.
From the Author
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[socialpug_tweet tweet=”Gina reviews The After Days by @AmyGinsburg. The thrilling story of ordinary suburbanites surviving in a world-wide power outage. Thought-provoking & terrifying! #BookReview #Dystopian #BookClub ” display_tweet=”Please click to share with your Twitter friends. The After Days is a unique, thought-provoking story we all need to read. Book clubs will love it.”]
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My Review: The After Days by Amy Ginsburg
“The After Days” is a chilling story that hooked me from the opening page. The tale could be drawn straight from today’s headlines. I didn’t have to stretch my imagination to believe it was actually happening.
Yes, the four main characters are incredibly unlikeable much of the time. That just proves this is a well-written story. How likable would anyone be in those circumstances? Through it all, Rachel tries to maintain her quirky humor.
It was appalling how quickly life fell apart in a world-wide power outage. However, I have no doubts that would happen in real life. We are just a simple convenience away from anarchy at any given moment.
I spent a lot of my time while reading this book, visualizing how prepared I am for that type of disaster. If you sign up on the author’s blog, you can get a free checklist of preparation items.
I appreciate the fact the main characters are ordinary, middle-aged people. There are no bulked up macho warriors to save the day, no uber-intelligent teens to overwhelm you with sarcasm, these are everyday citizens doing what they must to cope with a terrifying situation.
Lovers of dystopian novels, doomsday prepping, and great fiction must read this book. It would make an excellent book club discussion book.
Ms. Ginsburg is a breath of fresh air in the dystopian genre.
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The After Days: A dystopian...Shop on Amazon
The After Days: A dystopian...Shop on Amazon
The After Days: A dystopian...Shop on AmazonThe After Days: A dystopian...Shop on Amazon
The After Days by Amy Ginsburg is also available here:
Review: The After Days by Amy Ginsburg
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Comments are greatly appreciated. Please scroll to the bottom to find the comment section!
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An interview with Amy Ginsburg, author of The After Days
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing all my life – as a third-grader, I wrote a story about one of my stuffed animals called Puppy-Pup. I’ve been lucky that writing has been a part of my career as a nonprofit executive, fundraiser, and marketer.
What inspired you to write in this genre?
I simply love dystopian novels. Pandemics, power outages, cyborgs, capitalism run amok, theocracies, societies based on misogyny – I love them all…as long as the plots are plausible and characters are interesting.
If your life story was fictionalized, in which genre would it belong?
Romance, humor, and tragedy entwined in literary fiction.
Do you have a set writing schedule?
Nope!
Do you need silence to write, or can you work in any environment?
Any environment. In fact, I often play classical, blues, or jazz music as I write or have a seen-it-twenty-times-already TV show playing for background noise
What is your most unusual writing quirk?
I feel like I’m merely writing depictions of the scenes I am seeing in my mind. They feel so real to me that I have to force myself to remember I can change the scene, plot, or characters because they actually exist only in my mind, not in real life.
Were you an avid reader growing up?
Yes – I read voraciously. Some of my favs were all the Nancy Drew books, A Little Princess, Harriet the Spy, and Phantom Tollbooth.
If you could form the ultimate writers’ group, which authors past or present would you invite to join you?
Any author who loves the craft of writing … as long as she or he isn’t arrogant, pompous, or convinced you need an MFA to write.
Do you snack while writing?
Actually, no. I snack whenever I’m not writing.
Who has influenced your writing the most?
There isn’t one person – every author I read, every beta reader, every editor influence my thinking and writing.
Is there anything you would like my readers to know about you and your book?
I wanted to explore how a dystopian world becomes a dystopian world. Often, these sorts of books start years or decades or even centuries after the precipitating event and all we see as readers in the end game. I also wanted to feature ordinary, middle-aged folks who are almost universally ignored in books of any genre
Author’s contact info:
Website: www.AmyGinsburg.com
Email: amy@amyginsburg.com
Twitter: amy_ginsburg
Facebook: Amy Ginsburg
LinkedIn: Amy Ginsburg
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The After Days: A dystopian...Shop on Amazon The After Days: A dystopian...Shop on Amazon
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More reviews by Gina
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- In the Shadow of the House of God by Jeffrey G. Roberts
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- Always Gray in Winter by Mark J. Engels
- A Thousand Years to Wait by L. Ryan Storms
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[…] The After Days by Amy Ginsburg […]
Nnniiiccceeeee…I wanna read this book now. I have seen the other online reviews and it looks cool to begin the weekend with.
Thanks. It’s such an interesting book. Let me know what you think if you read it.
This is a great Review..I love getting to know the author and your honest and open review..sounds like a book I would like to read! Thank you!
It’s a book that makes you think, my favorite kind. Let me know what you think, if you read it.
Great review. And I live learning about the writers! Will be checking out the book soon!
Thank you!