My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football.
My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs.
Then the thief came.
There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you.
Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point?
Like a moth to a flame, I once again find myself hopelessly drawn towards my favourite sub-genre of fiction. I’m not sure what you would call someone who enjoys apocalyptic fiction, I guess apocalist is as good a label as any? Regular visitors to The Eloquent Page will be well-aware of my obsession when it comes to all things cataclysmic. I’ve been stupidly lucky over the last few years. There have been some genuinely exceptional novels released in this category. The good news is that there is another to add to the list. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World, the latest novel by C.A. Fletcher, joins the ranks of thoughtful, introspective writing that explore the end of all things.
The main character, Griz, has grown up on a small island off the coast of Scotland. Griz’s family live quietly on their own, their nearest neighbours are another family four islands away. This isolation makes their home feel like a protective bubble. There is little in the way of excitement, and for the most part everyone in the family is safe. Since “The Gelding”, an event that has triggered the fall of humanity, fewer and fewer children are being born. Within decades the population of the planet has dwindled dramatically.
An unexpected visitor to the island sets off a chain of events that forces Griz on a journey into the unknown.
Fletcher offers real insight into the thoughts and feelings Griz experiences. As an avid reader, Griz has learned of our lifestyle via books that have been scavenged over the years. Griz often daydreams about the world pre-Gelding, filling a notebook with letters to an imagined friend living in our time period. These keenly observed insights perfectly capture the thoughts of a young person try to comprehend a way of life almost entirely alien to them. I was impressed by how many poignant moments I found throughout the text. Griz’s journey through the ruins of our lives uncovers a host of personal, almost intimate, moments that have been consigned to the rubble. There are a handful of chapters that take place in an isolated house in a forest that are particularly heart-breaking. There is evidence everywhere of what society once was. Even Blackpool Tower manages to become a monument to the old world.
There is an additional layer to the plot that is also worthy of mention, especially if you are an animal lover. Griz’s determination to recover his lost dog feels almost palpable. I can appreciate the sentiment, there is pretty much nothing I wouldn’t do for my pets. In fact, calling them pets is a doing them a disservice. They are family, and if I’m honest, I would do anything for them. In the apocalypse, life has become more precious than ever, human or otherwise.
Griz is not completely alone on the mainland. Humanity may be all but gone, but there are still a few pockets of society that exist. These groups have devolved into something that few of us would recognise. As we go slowly into the night there are still those who are driven by greed and the need to dominate. It’s sad to see people reverting to form. There was part of me that felt our impending disappearance could be more than justified.
The thing that struck me most about this novel is the beautiful bittersweet note that runs through the entire narrative. Griz is experiencing the harsh realities of life for the first time and it is far from easy. Subtle and affecting, it feels like you are experiencing the death knell of the human race. There is a delicate counterpoint to this as Fletcher does also manage to imbue his writing with just the tiniest glimmer of hope. It makes for an utterly engrossing read.
Fans of Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, The Ship by Antonia Honeywell, The Last by Hannah Jameson or Children of Men by P D James will love this novel. This is first rate apocalyptic fiction with brains as well as heart. I have an admission to make, whenever I read a novel, I normally rattle through it pretty quickly. There are situations however, when I am really enjoying a story, I find my pace slows. I took my time with A Boy and his Dog. I wanted to eke out the experience for as long as possible, it was most definitely worth it.
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is published by Orbit Books and is available from 25th April. Highly recommended.
For a post-apocalyptic novel, it seems only appropriate there should be a post-apocalyptic soundtrack recommendation. I recently watched a wonderful apocalypse movie called I Think We’re Alone Now*. There is a sense of quiet inevitability that drifts throughout this soundtrack by Adam Taylor. This is an ideal musical companion for A Boy and His Dog at The End of the World. I can heartily recommend checking it out.
*I know what some of you are thinking. No, it has nothing to do with eighties pop classic by Tiffany at all. Check out the movie on Netflix if you get the chance, it’s great.
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