From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Children's Hospital

Chris Adrian

Why we're reading this: A hospital is preserved, afloat, after the Earth is flooded beneath seven miles of water. Inside, assaile…more
[close] A hospital is preserved, afloat, after the Earth is flooded beneath seven miles of water. Inside, assailed by mysterious forces, doctors and patients are left to remember the world they've lost and to imagine one to come. At the center, a young medical student finds herself gifted with strange powers and a frightening destiny.

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Feb 05, 2012 Zach rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, fantasy, religion

[This is as much an attempt on my part to puzzle some sort of meaning out of this book as it is a review, so beware of spoilers - not that this is really a plot-driven book, because everything that happens is pretty clearly telegraphed anyway, but you have been warned]

They say to write what you know, so Chris Adrian, a “lapsed atheist” divinity student pediatrician, wrote a story in which God breaks his covenant to never again flood the Earth and buries the world under seven miles of water, spar ...more

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Oct 23, 2007 Schnaucl rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, read_2009, fiction, march, post-apocalyptic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jemma is doing her residency at a children's hospital when the world is drowned in a flood. A preserving angel lifts up the hospital (with everyone in it) and they are the only survivors. The story tracks their progress as they try to care for the sick children, and after Jema develops the power to heal and that's no longer an issue, eventually form a new society.

One of the problems I had with this book was that the flashbacks were far more interesting than what was occurring in the present.

It ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 15, 2008 Michele rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia-apocalypse

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It's...extremely odd, a combination of surrealism, post-apocalypse, religious rapture, and a really really long, boring boat ride. It was published by McSweeney's, which should tell you something right there. There are so many things about this book that should have turned me off: it's overloaded with medical jargon, the main character is annoyingly passive and her fear that anyone she loves will die is completely irrational, every single thing about the ...more

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Apr 14, 2008 Blythe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: started-and-gave-up

What I have learned so far is that I should avoid anything associated with McSweeney's. Every time I pick up something that they've published it turns out to be horrifyingly self-indulgent. ...more

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