Elizabeth R. (esjro) - , reviewed on 4/16/2021 + 913 more book reviews

This is a surprisingly sweet story that takes place when the world is rebuilding after a flu pandemic has killed much of the population. Most books with similar setups focus on survival, with scenes of people clubbing each other over the head for engine parts or packets of Oh Boy! Oberto. Surely that sort of thing happened in the world of A Beginning at the End, but the book is set during a time when society is rebuilding and violence is mostly kept from the populated areas.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so suffice it to say that the book starts with the stories of three individuals, but by the end their lives have intersected and become intertwined.

The book was published in January 2020, and the acknowledgements section indicates that the author had been working on the story for quite some time. Reading this book in early 2021 must be a very different experience from reading the book was first published: the descriptions of people wearing masks in public, social distancing (though the latter term is not used) and struggling with post quarantine and pandemic anxiety alone and in goverment-sponsored support groups feel very plausible. In Chen's world scientists struggle to stay ahead of mutations in order to avoid another mass quarantine and to maintain what fragile infrastucture has been rebuilt.

Don't let our current situation be a deterrent to reading this book though, because ultimately the story is uplifting and hopeful, and presents a fictional example of how people can find hope and happiness again by connecting with others.

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