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The Last Town on Earth: A Novel

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Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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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.


DESCRIPTION:

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780812975925
ISBN: 0812975928
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: 2007-07-31
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: 2007-07-31
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks


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CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Customer Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Comment: This is a great piece of historical fiction, taking place during WWI and the Spanish Flu outbreak. It is set in a rural milling town in Washington called Commonwealth, which was established to be a self-sustaining haven for lumber workers and their families. When the flu descends upon the world, the people of Commonwealth decide to quarantine themselves to avoid getting infected. The results of that quarantine set in motion a chain of events that force the people of Commonwealth to face their worst fears.

Mullen's voice is surprisingly assertive considering this is his first novel. His narration, mainly from the perspective of 16-year-old Philip, is constantly moving forward, never slowing down or becoming tedious. The descriptiveness establishes an authentic atmosphere, especially the chilling images of the disease itself. Mullen addresses some poignant issues regarding patriotism, family, and duty (even a hint of socialism). Overall, though, it was about the choices these people made to defend themselves and their families and the repercussions. The incredible scale of this book, its originality, and its grasp of history is commended and I highly anticipate Mullen's next release in 2010.

Customer Rating:
Summary: ok
Comment: with swine flu I thought I might like this book more. But the story dose not give into the fear as much as I wanted. But that is just me. A good read.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A grey and satisfying novel
Comment: I bought this book on a recommendation after I'd mentioned enjoying Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" - the apocalyptic themes and examinations of family are just a couple of the similarities between the two novels.

But where McCarthy's book is more consistently black, this book is a much lighter tone of grey. Perhaps it is the fact that it is set in a town of 500 facing an epidemic and not a lonesome world already devastated and barren. Perhaps it is the youth of the protagonist. Whatever makes the novel lighter, it works well.

While the novel may not be as consistently devastating as The Road, it is moving in its own right. The exploration of morality and self-interest that takes place on nearly every page is fascinating and it is impossible to not place yourself in the shoes of Phillp or Graham or several other important players.

The book had minor inconsistencies in mood which, while reading, I did not take to. However, at the close of the book I came to appreciate each part.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Could the political bent be more obvious? No.
Comment: So, I almost put this book down about halfway through because of the ridiculous amount of political pandering. The setting is a town populated by card carrying socialists, unionists, far left feminists,(the author's words, not mine) and other assorted activist types, all terribly wronged by "the man" and looking for a little slice of heaven. They find this in the collectivist enclave of Commonwealth.

Now, in the interview at the end of the book, the author attempts to convince readers that his reason for choosing this setting is a convincing town to impose a reverse quarantine. I might believe this assertion if the first hundered pages were not spent with internal monologues of the various characters about what drove each of them to their progressive political views. The stories are all sad, and undoubtedly have some basis in fact, but are almost comically unbalanced. The most ridiculous is a recollection by one of the characters of the kind, generous hoboes that he met while riding the rails as a drifter!!!!!

The author tries to do justice to his antagonists by exposing the horrors of the loss of sons in WW1, family members to flu, etc. But it is quite obviously lip service. All of the antagonists are motivated by disingenuous motives, greed, and a general lack of sympathy for their fellow man. They fit neatly into the businessman/ success/ military = evil equation. Sloppy, shoddy, self-serving plot, with no challenge to the assumptions of what are undoubtedly the authors' deeply held political beliefs.

Overall, not worth the read. It did get better in the second half, but never redeemed itself. I will steer clear of this writer until he has a chance to learn that the men and women who built our nation did not fit so neatly into "good" and "bad" categories. This was supposed to be the theme of the book, but only the progressive characters were capable of self reflection. The owners of the capitalist businesses were not even capable of minimal self doubt, except in the last chapter for about 1 page.

It is worth remembering that America was first a socialist country (Mayflower compact) until we realized that human nature is not suited to that particular system of government.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A good read from a promising new author
Comment: "The Last Town on Earth" is Thomas Mullen's first published book. It is an historical novel, set in and around the fictional lumber town of Commonwealth, in the wilds of the American North West during the beginning of the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918. This was a particularly difficult time in America's history, with the rise of radical trade-unionism leading to labour unrest, general strikes and consequent violent conflict throughout the Pacific North-West (exacerbated by fears of the world-wide spread of socialism following the recent Russian Revolution). The country was also wracked with economic and social tensions resulting from America's entry into the First World War with, amidst mounting casualties, the drafting of four million young men into that conflict and the passing of the Sedition Act, forbidding any from speaking out against the US government or its armed forces. Adding to the nation's woes, an the outbreak of a particularly virulent strain of influenza that was ultimately to kill more people than the war led to widespread fear and panic, as well as the prohibition of public gatherings of any kind, hit the country in the late autumn of 1918 and soon reached epidemic proportions. Some isolated towns even going to the length of declaring themselves closed to outsiders and posted armed guards in order to ensure that their communities remained free of the contagion.

This backdrop provides rich picking-grounds for dramatic incident and Thomas Mullen exploits this fully. He has clearly conducted a lot of research and he draws on this well, seamlessly blending historical fact with narrative invention to construct a flow of dramatic scenarios that are both believable and consistent with reality; his understanding of human nature and ability to portray it means that the book contains well fleshed-out characters, most of whom come across as more real than stereotypical and whose actions and reactions to unfolding events sit fully in character at all times. The overall story arc is well constructed and delivered, making the book an excellent and rapid page turner, with the play of tensions being especially well handled. It is a very good read and would probably make a great screenplay.

The book is not, however, without its flaws. Firstly, there is the issue of the author's writing style, which although by no means bad, nevertheless at times betrays his lack of formal writing training; a firmer editorial hand could easily have rectified this by trimming Mullen's overuse of clichés and hackneyed phrases as well as curbing his tendency towards lazy adjectives. His over-indulgence in pathos could have benefited from some gentle reining back too. I can't help feeling also that the author needed to work through some of his ideas a little more. Some aspects of Commonwealth, for instance, didn't quite fit right to me. I can't quite put my finger on why but it just doesn't feel rough or raw enough to be entirely creditable as a North Western frontier town; it comes across to me more like a New England community of the period transplanted into the wilds of the Pacific coast lumber forests and without suffering any of the consequences that the diminished infrastructure would impose. Similarly, the idea that actions as large as the committing of murder can be reduced to the level of mere moral dilemma for individuals to resolve for themselves (and without any judicial and social consequences of the action itself) is simply untenable and is just one aspect to the book which ultimately completely undermines its ending.

Flaws aside, however, this is a highly promising first effort with a great deal to commend it. This is one of those cases where I wished Amazon used more than five stars in their reviewing system as this book deserves more than the 3 stars I've given it; just not quite the full 4! I just hope Thomas Mullen is given the encouragement to improve and develop his writing and so fulfil much of the promise that he so evidently holds.

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