Great writing about a little known time period

books:


	• The Last Town on Earth: A Novel Thomas Mullen Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 73 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great writing about a little known time period

I enjoyed this book. Our book club read it. It was informative with regards to the flu epidemic, the wobblies, the war. Little is written about this time period as opposed to WWII era. Although I don't agree with some of the politics of the characters, I felt it was fair about showing different sides.Bottom line for me was that Utopia doesn't exist. Humans can have great intentions and ideas. However, fear and greed always manage to creep in during times of stress and tragedy. These human traits that make a utopian society impossible. Tragedy happens and evil exists on a very real level. All we can do is try to stay on the right side even when the line gets blurry.That is what I took from this book.

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great historical fiction

Really presents an interesting scenario with situations that make you ponder what YOU would do in those situations. Enjoyed it very much.

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You Can't Hide From The Flu...

Before starting this book I read most of the reviews here. I was expecting the first few chapters to be fantastic, then waited for the author to drop the ball, as a bunch of reviewers here said he did. However, I don't think he did. Yes, after the first few chapters, things slow down for a while, but stick with it. About the middle of the book is when things really start to get good.

I can't help but wonder if the reviewers who admitted to never finishing this book, yet still rated it poorly, would have given it the same rating if they'd actually READ it. Now, I'm not going to summarize the story here, as it's already been done many times, but if you're interested in reading this, I absolutely recommend it. It's a fascinating, and scary look at what can happen to a town, to friends and neighbors, when tragedy and illness hit. The fingers that start pointing, the accusations that are tossed around, and people showing their true colors when they feel their lives are being threatened.

I think Mr. Mullen did a wonderful job with this book. I found it to be well written, and the few main characters were very well developed. Don't let yourself be swayed by negative reviews from folks who didn't even finish the book, like I almost was. Just read it for yourself, and you'll see what a great story this is. I definitely look forward to more from this talented author.

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Great debut

Very good style of writing and fast-pace for a novel that explores an unknown period of history. Likeable characters and a unique story really draw the reader in. I recommend it.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced?the 1918 flu epidemic?Thomas Mullen?s powerful, sweeping first novel is a tale of morality in a time of upheaval.

Deep in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small mill town called Commonwealth, conceived as a haven for workers weary of exploitation. For Philip Worthy, the adopted son of the town?s founder, it is a haven in another sense?as the first place in his life he?s had a loving family to call his own.

And yet, the ideals that define this outpost are being threatened from all sides. A world war is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, another shadow has fallen across the region in the form of a deadly illness striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities.

When Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against contagion, guards are posted at the single road leading in and out of town, and Philip Worthy is among them. He will be unlucky enough to be on duty when a cold, hungry, tired?and apparently ill?soldier presents himself at the town?s doorstep begging for sanctuary. The encounter that ensues, and the shots that are fired, will have deafening reverberations throughout Commonwealth, escalating until every human value?love, patriotism, community, family, friendship?not to mention the town?s very survival, is imperiled.

Inspired by a little-known historical footnote regarding towns that quarantined themselves during the 1918 epidemic, The Last Town on Earth is a remarkably moving and accomplished debut.

From the Hardcover edition.

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