Every now and then, I stumble on a book that makes me question how far my capacity for empathy will go and I come to realize that at some point in time, I'll probably die of it. This book is a horror. Not the writing - the premise that could quite possibly be a reality in a messed up timeline.

I have to wonder about the psychology of these survival stories that persist with sustenance in the form of cannibalism. Mass suicides in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event really seems rational to me as someone who has danced the devil's tango with seasonal depression. The thought of going on in a world as bleak as the deep void of depression seems like cruel punishment. The though of becoming ...this, this family - the survivor's instinct seems like it's just too much of a drain to bother to even go down that route. Like depression is exhausting enough now add cannibalism and incest - I CANT be bothered.

Still, I want to understand what happens in the brains of the ones who have a stronger grasp on their mental faculties - like Brother - he seems like he was "normal" or rather typical at one point. He wants to survive, but he wrestles with everything that takes place. Father I feel could have already been an underlying sociopath - or maybe I'm just grasping at some latent brain chemistry anomaly to explain away what they did to each other and other people.

Either way, as much as this book HORRIFIED me, it is now stuck with me.

If the Mad Russian chose to hit the switch tomorrow - I know I'd choose to go out the same way that elderly couple in the abandoned house did.

Plot/Storyline: written so bloody well I couldn't will myself to look away as it got progressively more damned
Characters: I wish all of them could have been spared their turn toward monstrous. I fear Father most but Mother gave me the heebie jeebies just as well.
Favorite scene: NONE
Favorite Quote/Concept: I wish we could blame everything on the radiation, I really do.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Horror Books by 2025