The illness in Ma's work also originated in a Chinese economic center (Shenzhen rather than Wuhan) and features a respiratory illness chillingly similar to Covid-19 plus the resulting global upheaval. The piece explores more common instances as well, such as breakups, grief, and immigration, not to mention a global pandemic, which became ubiquitously relatable just a year after the novel was first published, eerily enough, in 2018. Candance Chen's life is full of sudden cutoffs and transitions outside of the office as well, including the end of society itself. The book's title is a clever reference to the sudden end of our protagonist's career as well as a theme of the entire work. In the same way that it seamlessly merges genres, Severance manages to maintain a tart sense of humor while facing the absurdities of living through an age of planned obsolescence as well as its ensuing demise. In each scenario, our protagonist has to figure out how to survive and find meaning in a world that is overcome by routine, leaving its citizens brain-dead at work and unaware that they're dying. In her debut novel, Ling Ma contemplates whether a world plagued by global capitalism is that different from one plagued by zombies. SEVERANCE IS A zombie apocalypse tale, a workplace comedy, and a classic coming-of-age story all in one.
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