From Publishers Weekly
In the years following nuclear war, writer Mary Hope and painter Rachel Morrow eke out an existence on the Oregon coast, occasionally confronting Christian fundamentalist survivors known as the Arkites. "Unsparing but ultimately hopeful," said PW . "Wren's post-nuclear world rings true, as do her compelling depictions of the subsistence-level daily life."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Would the survivors of nuclear holocaust have any reason to go on living? That is the question that must be answered by two women who have lived through the final conflict and now face the devastating nuclear winter that follows it. Mary and Rachel, the only survivors in their area, believe that choice makes us human, and they choose to affirm their humanity by preserving whatever knowledge can still be saved. Desperately longing for companionship, they hope eventually to meet other survivors. But when contact finally comes, more hard choices come with it. Wren's novel is thought-provoking in its consideration of ordinary people forced to confront the unthinkable. While the plot is not without cliches, and characters are not always fully developed, the author's passionate concern with what gives life meaning carries the novel. Recommended for fiction collections.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
