The novel explores the world after an epidemic has wiped out ninety nine percent of the population but, focuses upon the life of one man who passes on the night the epidemic begins in earnest. His story simultaneously connecting those who endure the end of the world in a way that they do not realize. It is a story about survival against numerous odds, but also the acknowledgement that "Survival is insufficient." With the death of the world as we know it, what will remain? How will we choose to remember the past? 
 This is one of the most beautifully written novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The post-apocalyptic setting of this novel is merely a back drop to a story that gives words to what it means to live and be remembered. There is no attempt to explain and understand every single aspect of the new world the characters in the novel are living in, but to demonstrate the variety in experience. The prose is simply elegant and poetic. It found ways to communicate huge existential questions into single moments and lines that translate to an emotional reaction. This is a must read and my words cannot do justice to the beauty of this novel.