Despite his wide-ranging mind, he spent his adult life cohabiting with his mother in Paris. When she died in , he wrote this raw and anguished diary, originally on scraps of paper, about how it feels to inhabit the world when the cherished other, the loved one, has gone for good.

As a young woman, she spent years in a mental hospital after a breakdown was misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. There she was given rounds of electro-shock therapy, and only released when her first collection of short stories won a national award. She wrote this spare, poetic, immensely distressing novel a few years later, while living in London. It was based closely on real events, and at her request not published in her lifetime. It deals with a single weekend in the life of Grace: Grace is mortified by her own sense of ugliness and absolutely incapable of ordinary social demands.

I don't think I've ever read anything that deals so beautifully with extreme self-consciousness and the isolation it produces. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. One of the most enduring is The Tombs of Atuan , the second book in the Earthsea series, about a young priestess who traps the titular wizard, Ged, in a labyrinth where prisoners are habitually starved to death.

D. Gideon -Journey- Sunfall, Book 1- clip1

The Tombs of Atuan is concerned with magic and myth, yes, but also with loneliness and the dreadful consequences of self-isolating behaviour — and the way kindness can act to dissolve it. Ice by Anna Kavan - Anna Kavan was a British novelist who wrote electrically strange and weirdly beautiful novels. A middle-class heroin addict, 's Ice was her masterpiece. Some kind of unexplained apocalyptic event has taken place, bringing with it an ice shelf that is engulfing the planet.

In nameless frozen cities and across dangerously militarised borders, three people struggle with the bonds they inflict on one another. None of it makes sense, exactly; instead, it creates indelible landscapes and scenarios of paranoia and threat, where nobody connects or finds what they need. Chilling, in all senses of the word. I Love Dick by Chris Kraus - The cultural critic and filmmaker Chris Kraus's semi-fictionalised s novel is having a moment right now.

It's about unrequited love, female abjection, desire and power: In it, Kraus sets out her "lonely girl phenomenology", exploring the connections between her own intimate disappointments and the glaring power disparities between the sexes. Along the way, she turns the spotlight on several extraordinary female artists who were sidelined or disparaged, among them Hannah Wilke and Katherine Mansfield.

An essential book, especially for those who have not yet realised that loneliness and isolation are political as well as personal. Happy Days by Samuel Beckett - All of Beckett's work deals with isolation and language, the way words don't quite bridge the spaces between us. Buried up to her waist in earth, rooting in her handbag beneath a dazzling spotlight, Winnie is an tragicomic emblem of the human condition: Desperate for company, she chatters away to her taciturn husband Willie, telling him nervously: To subscribe, click here.

Simply close and relaunch your preferred browser to log-in. If you have questions or need assistance setting up your account please email pw pubservice. New York Rights Fair. The Best Books of Books of the Week. Stay ahead with Tip Sheet! Parts of this site are only available to paying PW subscribers. It's about surviving so that the human race can rebuild. It's a kind, hopeful story with an ambiguous ending. Most Americans can probably relate.

Nov 04, Nancy Preston rated it really liked it. Realistic Apocalypse This book had just the right amount of terror and violence balanced with a realistic approach to surviving an apocalypse. The island group applied their skills to survive Their enemies were of the humankind and their problems were ongoing with with no easy fixes.

The only small criticism I have is the time line. Some complicated tasks were too easily solved. For example planting a garden and harvesting it require Realistic Apocalypse This book had just the right amount of terror and violence balanced with a realistic approach to surviving an apocalypse. For example planting a garden and harvesting it requires more time than what was indicated. That being said, I would still definitely buy the next book in this series. I d like to know. Did they stay or go? Sep 21, Michael rated it really liked it. Before you read this one, please note it is the second book of a series: The author picks the story up right where book one ended.

The ending did leave it open for a seuquel, but it did have enough of an ending for me that it could be complete if the author so desired. If a sequel is published, I would purchase it. Jun 08, Scott rated it it was amazing. Very good post-apocalyptic novel, the second in its series, that strikes the right balance between the technical aspects of "prepping" for a disaster and the human side of living through such an event. This book features great characters and just enough action interspersed with details about how this family with friends, too manages to survive in a world where disease has killed off a large percentage of humanity.

It ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I definitely want more, even moreso than Very good post-apocalyptic novel, the second in its series, that strikes the right balance between the technical aspects of "prepping" for a disaster and the human side of living through such an event. It ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I definitely want more, even moreso than after finishing Book 1.

Looking forward to future installments of the series. Apr 19, Cheryl Kottke rated it liked it. Wouldn't waste my time or money on this one Really didn't hold my attention as well as the first book. The first book had moments it dragged on but the second book dragged on and on without anything really important happening, basically boring. The book abruptly stopped. There was no climax and no ending, no resolution. Very disappointed with the way the book just stopped without an ending.

I wouldn't waste my time reading the third one. Feb 03, Hannelore Palmr rated it it was amazing. Apocalypse without the element of Mad Max Book 2 of the Sympatico Syndrome trilogy is better then the first. Almost nothing has happened in my life except reading since I started reading about this family and their challenges and triumphs of survival and even joy when a disease wipes out almost all of the human race.

May 08, Cherye Elliott rated it it was amazing. Book 2 I am still enjoying the series. When Piper made cinnamon rolls and said she wished she had powdered sugar It is just sugar ground up. Yes there is water. But they want to have a garden in the Spring? Better start it in January. They are moving to a desert. August it gets over degrees. So going from one extreme to another. Nov 06, Katie blakely rated it it was amazing. Loved this, great plot, characters and actually realistic scenarios It seems everyone has read a SHTF end of the world book lately and most have the characters doing stupid stuff or magically finding everything they need.

This pelt was well thought out, and I could actually picture people behaving as the author described.


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Picks right up from the first book, and I hope another will be released soon. I could easily see this as a television show: May 30, Douglas Talbott rated it it was amazing.

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Love this series I just love this series. The characters are well developed and the plot is good. I usually just read at bedtime but have been reading this book during the day and also the first one. Cant wait to read the next book. Aug 14, Belynda rated it really liked it. When, oh when will I learn to ensure the whole trilogy is out before I start reading one? Now, I have to wait for Desolation..


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  8. How long will I have to wait? Too long, that's how long! Great cliffhanger, looking forward to the next one. Jul 03, Shirley Gregory rated it really liked it. Great read I really enjoyed the first book and liked the second even more. It has great, realistic characters and a believable story that keep you reading way too late..

    Isolation: A Pandemic Survival Novel

    I can't wait for his next book. Very good books both one and two, but there needs to be a third. Is the baby born? Are the people safe? How was the wedding? Need answers please, I hope that another book is written in this series. Dec 01, Joan Barstad rated it it was amazing. I enjoyed this second book as much as I did the first one. The many trials and tribulations these people go through are fast and furious. I'm looking forward to more. I would recommend this series whole-heartedly. Feb 17, Donna G Smith rated it it was amazing. Don't put it down I tried to put it down and sleep but could sleep.

    Scarey and exciting the action doesn't stop. This seems both farfetched and realistic. The characters so real And the world as we know ended. How would you survive? Would you and your loved one survive? Jul 13, Debbie rated it really liked it. Good continuation of the story Good continuation of the story. Just wish he would have made this one book. I really dislike how independent authors keep publishing books in segments. May 30, Lawrence rated it really liked it. Fast moving survivalist adventure The continuation of the adventures of a group after an epidemic wipes out most of human kind.

    The story is action packed. If something can go wrong for these people, it will. Jul 09, Victoria Owens rated it it was amazing. I read both books in one weekend.

    10 Books About Loneliness

    I didn't want to put them down. Good writing and a good story. Leaves you wanting more. Jun 13, sherry park rated it it was amazing. Great story Book is good but hate not getting to finish the story. Was ok for 1 or 2 but now have to wait for the 3rd to come out. Oct 07, Norma Turner rated it it was amazing. Good Need to finish story.

    But very well written. But there are some places I yelled at characters to do something else! Jun 26, Mary Ann rated it really liked it Shelves: A family group decides to take chance on surviving on an island after a pandemic destroys the vast majority living on the North American continent. May 29, Patricia Fales rated it it was amazing.

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    Excellent book The story line is very good. Can't wait until I can get the next book. The storyline is very possible and I could see it happening. Jun 23, Joan Mahoney rated it it was ok.