Survival is insufficient 
 It isn't just technological advancement that's necessary for the advancement of the civilization. The cultural aspects are equally necessary for society to appreciate and love something that can be loved only by living it. 
 Mandel writes a gentle story after collapse of civilization where people simply want to adapt to the change and live their lives. Its marvelous how tenacious the will to live can be. The hope dwindles with time and old ways of living becomes a memory. With passing years (two decades), there is a predominant population that doesn't have a memory of post-collapse. This is where Mandel excels in her writing. She doesn't aggrandize about missing running water or electricity; she writes about loss of art, music, ability to travel thousands of kilometers...to connect with people. 
 Mandel subtly intertwines the characters, their fates and their outcomes. The characters evolve with time and are often introspective. This ability in the characters is what make them larger than life and they breath heart and soul to the story. A struggling actor turned famous star with three ex-wives, a child actress turned actress in a traveling symphony, a part time comic book writer, a prophet..and dozens of others who weigh in from time to time. The secondary characters add a dimension to the primary characters that shapes their actions and behaviors. The characters become larger than life - for one, they did survive the global apocalypse and second, some of them do manage to live for years after collapse. 
 The arrival of Prophet was an interesting turn of events. I believe it is quite natural for people to look for answers and when they don't find something satisfactory, its easy to make up an abstract one which requires faith and belief. And once that gets traction, its just a matter of time till there are bunch of them who will follow. 
 Its a book I will definitely go back to few months from now. I do have some reservations about certain things in this novel but after about hundred pages, it didn't matter. The scrutiny wasn't necessary as the intended byline is something else. 
 This story isn't really about fighting the disease or formulating societies or districts of factions. The story is about people, their hope, their relationships, social dynamics, the incredible ability to appreciate "King Lear" in the ruins of a collapsed civilization. 
 This book simply shows why we all are here. Survival is indeed, insufficient.