Far North: A Novel

Written by Marcel Theroux

Narrated by Yelena Schmulenson

Far North is a 2009 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction.

My father had an expression for a thing that turned out bad. He'd say it had gone west. But going west always sounded pretty good to me. After all, westwards is the path of the sun. And through as much history as I know of, people have moved west to settle and find freedom. But our world had gone north, truly gone north, and just how far north I was beginning to learn.

Out on the frontier of a failed state, Makepeace—sheriff and perhaps last citizen—patrols a city's ruins, salvaging books but keeping the guns in good repair.

Into this cold land comes shocking evidence that life might be flourishing elsewhere: a refugee emerges from the vast emptiness of forest, whose existence inspires Makepeace to reconnect with human society and take to the road, armed with rough humor and an unlikely ration of optimism.

What Makepeace finds is a world unraveling: stockaded villages enforcing an uncertain justice and hidden work camps laboring to harness the little-understood technologies of a vanished civilization. But Makepeace's journey—rife with danger—also leads to an unexpected redemption.

Far North takes the reader on a quest through an unforgettable arctic landscape, from humanity's origins to its possible end. Haunting, spare, yet stubbornly hopeful, the novel is suffused with an ecstatic awareness of the world's fragility and beauty, and its ability to recover from our worst trespasses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Dec 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781427210197

Marcel Theroux

Marcel Theroux is a British American novelist and broadcaster who studied English literature at Cambridge University and international relations at Yale. He is the author of several novels, including The Sorcerer of Pyongyang and Far North, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. He lives in London.

Reviews for Far North

[Diane Hall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book and performance were excellent, however the last few chapters were out of order. Possible to fix?

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: As soon as I saw the words dystopian and post apocalyptic associated with the plot I was there. Those are favourite genres of mine. Comments: Makepeace lives a solitary life in the Russian/Asian North, the only survivor in a once thriving town of American settlers. This is a world sparsely populated, where occasional persons pass by on the road but only rarely these days. Groups have settled in different areas and Makepeace begins to see what the world is really like after a plane flies by overhead and a decision is made to find the fabled land where civilization is still running, where they still have planes. Makepeace sees native tribes who are friendly and living off the land proudly, native tribes who are brutal and take what they want leaving pillage and bodies behind, a society based on strict religious rule and more but ultimately Makepeace is captured by a slave camp where work is gruelling but at least food is readily and freely given.I really enjoyed this book. Makepeace is a very interesting character and while secondary characters come and go Makepeace is the one that is fully fleshed out and whose past is slowly revealed throughout the book. The atmosphere is dismal and bleak, as is the writing. I found it a slow read just as the trudging through snow and back breaking work would slow one down, it also slowed down my reading. Blurbs on this book use either the word dystopia or post apocalypse but I'm going to take a stand and say I would not apply the term dystopia to this book. The world is too large, there are too many societies, the scope is more global and there is no true oppressing force. Sure there is oppression but it is from various sources of different makings. The book is certainly post apocalyptic and as the reason is revealed, truly believable. When reading modern apocalypse books I'm always leery of how heavily they will rely on "global warming" (sorry "climate change") and I think the author's theory of our ultimate doom should be believable to those on either side of that particular fence.Religion is a strong theme in the story as well. Although the author is certainly against it. There are a lot of Biblical references in the narrative and yet the main character is agnostic (at the least) and all the Christian characters are villains or fools. The Muslim characters are shown as grouping in cliques and their religion makes them stand out, for various reasons, in the different societies encountered in the book. Being Christian myself, it is always disappointing when characters don't find redemption, but neither is the book offensive, in fact, it is quite thought-provoking. How would a truly Christian character or society have affected the outcome of Makepeace's story?A fascinating tale of self-preservation at all costs, perseverance that never ends, greed, love, friendship, betrayal. Most of all though it is a desolate, frightening tale of our possible future which still manages to leave a feeling of hope for the future of mankind.

[caimanjosh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A powerful, compelling read for me. Recommended to read in the dark days of winter.

[ken5me5old5mate · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, a really good post-apocalyptic cowboy novel. Yes, you read that correctly. Coherent in style and content even if the intellectual concept is not. Contains the essential elements of all these tropes, the wild brutality of the post apocalypse, the mythical history of the gone world and the simple morals of the cowboy. All woven together with such skill that it soon takes shape in your head as a post-apocalyptic cowboy story.

YeeHaa

[mrgan-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A solid postapocalyptic novel, very readable, but with enough of its own spirit to stand out among many similar works. It has a memorable and likable protagonist: Makepeace, a strong-willed woman whose pragmatism is easy to envy. And it's a harsh book, often as bleak and violent as The Road; without too much romance, but made bearable by its heroine's spirit.

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dark but relentlessly interesting post-apocalyptic fiction set in Siberia. Makepeace, a town's lone resident and a constable, rides the town's perimeter each day. One day a small plane crashes in the forest nearby, and buoyed by the possibility of civilization returning somewhere, Makepeace heads out on horseback to see whether there is any hope for the future, or if this solitary existence is truly a life lived at the end of everything. Makepeace is a character with enormous courage and spirit; the story is thoughtful and realistic, and disturbing in its portrait of humanity in extreme circumstances. Not for the faint of heart, but very rewarding.

[mkunruh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Extremely tight, well plotted and thoughtful post-apocalypse novel.

[muskurov · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a very beautiful, bleak and rather instructional (in a probable dystopian future) book.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Makepeace's family originally moved to a settlement in Siberia to remove themselves from the modern world. But now, due to climate change, modern civilization has collapsed, and Makepeace patrols the frontier alone, where the greatest danger is from other people.This was a simply written book, but the narrator has such a unique voice that I found it very compelling. Essentially, this story is a Western. Even though the setting is unusual, it is still the wild frontier, and Makepeace's guns are her most important possession. Makepeace herself is a self-appointed sheriff who patrols her deserted town and tries to deny her loneliness and her longing for some sign that civilization has not broken down completely. When she gets that sign--a plane crashing in the woods nearby as she is on the verge of committing suicide--she leaves her home and embarks on a journey, but where she ends up is entirely unexpected. Makepeace is a subtle and fascinating character, marked by lye burns on her face, androgynous, self-reliant, so closed that even in her own narrative she doesn't reveal everything about herself, at least not directly. This book is a musing on the world that humankind is making, whether such a world is inevitable, and how it might be salvaged. Despite its bleakness, I found it quite beautiful.

[imyril · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sparse, raw tale of survival in a dying world. Makepeace Hatfield, sheriff and last resident of a remote northern settlement, decides to set out in search of civilisation after seeing a plane crash in the woods. Driven by the desire for better circumstances and haunted by fears of savage inadequacy, Hatfield is blunt, brash and determined in the face of overwhelming odds: aggressive tribesmen, religious mania, slave camps, the irradiated Zone and the harsh environment. The physical and emotional odyssey is gripping and often unexpected. Cleverly told from the start, Theroux reveals extra details gradually to uncover the full scope of his tale. Intriguing stuff, well-written, and ultimately leaving it entirely to the reader to decide whether you still have faith in humanity.

[hayduke_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This beautifully written post-apocalyptic tale tends to get lost among the tales of cannibals and zombies, but I would rank it right up there with McCarthy's The Road or Crace's The Pesthouse. One refreshing difference in this novel is that the main character, Makepeace -- sheriff of a dead town -- is a woman. Her trials and travails are harsh, but her will to survive and sense of hope brighten an otherwise dark landscape.

[mjennings26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it. Interesting ideas, settings, character, and story. If you are into speculative fiction at all, this is an excellent read.

[veeralpadhiar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Powerful book. Powerful, magnificent, but brutal and bleak. Makepeace is one of the most resilient of characters that I have ever come across while reading fiction.

I have noticed that many reviews here give away too much of the plot. I would advice against reading them as the magnificence of this book comes out through Marcel Theroux's ingenious writing. He tells you the story by Makepeace's point of view but everytime Theroux holds something back and reveals it finally in a single sentence as if it was of no consequence whatsoever to start with and we (the reader) would have already guessed that fact by ourselves. Marcel kept surprising me right till the end. And I liked the ending too.

The post-apocalyptic scenario is also very well realized as there are no sword-wielding weirdos which is a major cliché of so many post-apocalyptic novels.

But the thing is, it's bloody brutal, right up there with Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" but with one major difference. Here, punctuation marks have survived the apocalypse.

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To talk about this book at all I have to be a little spoilery. Makepeace was a child born to Quakers who resettled in the far north, in Siberia. How this happened is told within the novel in a non-linear fashion. Thus, any details I mention spoil a little. Our story is a memoir from the future told primarily as a first-person narrative. I thought for a time that this might be an alternate history, but decided not. This is a sometimes beautifully written novel of a sad dystopian future set in the "Far North" and our 'heroine' is Makepeace. Sad might be an understatement. The story can't be described as a happy one, although post collapse stories rarely are. Every glint of something better gets trashed or twisted. Society has collapsed fairly recently, within the lifetime of our main character. What happened is slowly revealed, although why, who knows exactly, although global warming, overpopulation, pestilence, plagues and globalization seems to be part of it. The very few people who remain must try to live off the land as much as possible. I found it unusual that our lead character is a woman, which is not the norm for these types of stories. When the story begins Makepeace is the sole remaining resident of her town, a once thriving Quaker settlement of 30,000 residents in Siberia. She is not the dainty helpless sort, not a girly girl and never was. The story is lacking in some details when told that were surprises when later revealed. The strength here is the main character, our narrator. There were quite a few secrets, twists and surprises in this book that some readers may or may not enjoy. There is also something of a stoic, flat affect present.Overall this was probably worth the read but I hesitate to give it an endorsement. I liked a lot of the writing especially the descriptions of the landscape and habitat of Siberia, and some of the thoughtful contemplations that arise from time to time, but to my mind there are some problems with this story. The story never really got going for me, continuously losing momentum. I felt like I was doing a jigsaw puzzle with some missing pieces. On the other hand, some things were right because I really cared for the main character - the story itself is what failed to deliver on it's promise.

[justablondemoment · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Almost a five star so very very close. Why wasn't it? Honestly..I don't know. There were parts that just didn't do it for me. Not very many but a 5 star book has NO yawns in it for me and this one did. I think it would make a real good movie though.

[katlb82 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Far North was on my wishlist for about two years when it came up as a Group Read for a group on Goodreads that I belong to. It was the perfect excuse to finally buy it and I was really looking forward to it – post-apocalyptic, a solitary character who decides to reconnect with the remnants of humanity and set in harsh landscape. Should have been my cup of tea. This book is beautifully written in a bleak, harsh and short way, full of twists that I didn’t see coming, and gradually reveals its secrets at the right parts of the story. Without giving away too many twists and secrets, I just found this book a pretty hard slog – I didn’t find the character of Makepeace interesting in the least, the secondary characters seemed two-dimensional with little substance to even make me curious about them and found the ending unsatisfactory apart from the fact that it meant I was finally finished. As I said at the beginning, perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this book. Of course that does not make it a bad book, and as one friend said ‘it’s written like a western’ (thanks Alison!), which is spot-on – so if that type of writing appeals to you, then you should just ignore me and try it for yourself.

[janesteen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Where I got the book: my own selection, from the library.Makepeace is a survivor in an age where drought and famine have wiped out most of the population. A remnant of a religious community that settled the farthest northern reaches of Asia, Makepeace struggles with the choice between isolated self-sufficiency and reaching out to other humans in an age where brutality is the norm.Far North is a compelling book. I've always loved end-of-days novels, and if you've ever read John Wyndham's 1950s classic The Chrysalids (and if you haven't, you're missing out on a great book) you would probably, as I did, place Makepeace's society a couple of hundred years before the farming communities of that story, and find an echo of the older book in Theroux's novel.What kept me turning the pages of Far North was the writing. Theroux's descriptions are wonderfully evocative, his writing crisp and unadorned. This keeps the story moving along at a fast pace, and I stayed up late because I just had to finish the last hundred pages.Far North is a little short on plot, in my opinion, and the narrative takes sudden, unexpected turns that are both frustrating and intriguing. So if you're the sort of reader that likes all loose ends woven in and tied with a neat bow, you won't find that here. If you're of the camp that believes a novel should reflect life's untidiness, you'll love the meandering action. I hope that, like me, you'll grow fond of the unlovely Makepeace and find yourself projecting the character into the future.I'm giving Far North four stars for the writing and the author's imagination. It stopped short of rocking my world, but I'll be looking out for more books by this author.

[nbmars · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The world has become a very dreary, dangerous place by the time we meet Makepeace Hatfield on horseback patrolling a deserted town in the far north that is home. The town is deserted because of apocalyptic events to the south that have brought civilization to an end. Makepeace was once the constable of the town, but now is the only permanent resident. While on patrol, Makepeace encounters another human being with a shaved head, apparently stealing books from the town library, probably to burn for warmth. When the thief drops the books and reaches for what might be a gun, Makepeace shoots him, only to discover that the “gun” was a dull knife “that you’d struggle to cut cheese with.” Makepeace nurses the thief, named Ping, back to health, and then the surprises start coming. We learn that both Makepeace and Ping are not who they seem. Further, we learn just how tough Makepeace is during a trade deal with some Tungus - caribou herders – who live five days ride to the north. After Makepeace’s guns and ammunition get stolen, Makepeace tracks down the thieving herder and sets his tent on fire when he sleeps. He survives the fire, but finds himself in -40 degree weather with no coat. It takes him 2 hours to freeze to death, but Makepeace gets the guns back. Makepeace and Ping develop a strong friendship even though they do not speak each other’s language, but after awhile, Makepeace is alone again. The rest of the book covers Makepeace’s efforts to make contact with other humans. The search is not very productive in that Makepeace is soon captured by slavers and wastes years in debilitating servitude. The outlook for slaves is bleak, and the reader cannot be sure of Makepeace’s continuing survival. Jim’s Evaluation: Theroux's writing is terse and clear. However, the plot is very reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and that’s a very tough act to follow. This book is not as concise and not nearly as scary as The Road. In addition, Theroux’s work contains two story line cheats in the form of scientifically unexplained impossible technology, one of which is only tangentially necessary for the plot. The book contains some implied observations about religion: the Evangelical “preachers” are phony and the Muslims are sincere, but benighted. All in all, this is a pretty grim book with a pretty grim view of human nature. Perhaps most of us are as beastly as Theroux portrays us when we are in circumstances as adverse as he describes. In The Road, the terror comes from the anticipation of the bad things that threaten to happen; in Far North, those bad things actually happen (enslavement, beatings, friends die, etc.), but that just isn't as scary. Nonetheless, the final message is uplifting—Makepeace is a mensch, in spite of everything. Jill’s Evaluation: I would rename the main character (and also the narrator) Meh-kepeace. The character was sort of blah and not really well developed. Subjects that might have revealed more about Makepeace were dispensed with by sentences like: "I can't dwell on what happened next, because it pains me too much to write it…” You’ve got to be kidding! Moreover, that was about as close as the character ever came to expressing any emotions. "Far North" was far too one-dimensional for me, and the quality of the writing wasn't sufficient to compensate. Further, as Jim noted, there were some never-explained references - such as the mysterious blue flasks - that really played no big role in the story other than to serve as red herrings. For that matter, we don’t even know what caused this apocalypse, or even its extent. In the end, we get one final surprise that seems yet again to me to demonstrate cheating on the part of the author: cheap tricks to titillate the reader. I can’t see Makepeace not elaborating on this [surprise] earlier. Unlike Jim, I did not find the book uplifting; on the contrary, the message I got was that even generosity is more likely to inspire resentment than gratitude, and that the majority of people are basically evil. Bah, humbug.

[stang50logan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book very much and really didnt want to put the book down. I had one major problem with the book and that is the author didnt elaborate on why the population has demisished other than some flooding and warming. Really could have spent some more time with that area.

[readaholic12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A quick read with a northern twist on the post-apocalyptic novel. The setting and main characters are interesting, there were many beautifully crafted passages in the narrative. While there were several surpises in the plot, there were too many unlikely coincidences or predictable twists for me to rate it higher. Perhaps if I had read Far North before The Passage and A Canticle for Leibowitz, I might have been less critical.

[booklove2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"There's so many things worse than a solitary life." An apocalypse survivor, believing they are alone in the world, is given new hope when a plane falls from the sky. Makepeace eventually wishes to have never discovered where that plane came from. Makepeace's parents decided to leave city life in Chicago and "start over" in the wilderness, go back to the land, by leasing it from Russia. This apocalypse happens from climate change and overpopulation. Humans essentially become storms of locusts, roving around looking for anything to eat. The cities obviously were the first to collapse and the city dwellers tried to find food where they could, including Makepeace's town. 'Far North' speaks of the impending deterioration of the planet. I can only think of the Gulf oil spill disaster: more oil needed = more drilling = more accidents = more negative affects. Just like the world's reliance on the weather to stay the perfect climate so the farms can feed everyone. This book may sound too depressing to read, but Makepeace is a character you want to follow from page one and makes the subject matter worth it. You are captivated with Makepeace even more when the story of how the world ended starts to unravel.One disappointment: when Makepeace begins the journey to find the origins of the plane, it seems like a couple weeks journey but really surprised me after mentioning months have passed. What did Makepeace see in those months? The biggest disappointment in 'Far North' is the amount of simple typos, misplaced words, probably the most I've seen in a book that is an actual edition and not an advance reader's copy. The editing does a disservice to the writing of Marcel Theroux. If these typos weren't in the first edition, this is a definite example of how a book can change over time, just by having it republished. I have read many post-apocalypse books. This one has a classic and beautifully simple writing style, yet at the same time, not being too overly brutal. (Then again, I just finished reading Margaret Atwood's 'Oryx & Crake' which had a new depressing idea on every page, so maybe 'Far North' just seemed tamer than that one.) The image of Makepeace traveling while spring is arriving with the slushy snow clumps falling out of the trees is amazing. Add 'Far North' to the list of amazing post-apocalypse novels. I'm looking forward to what Marcel Theroux thinks up next.This book reminded me of many others. If you liked any of these, try 'Far North' (and if you like 'Far North', try these):Ishmael trilogy - Daniel Quinn (have a gorilla explain to you what could happen to the world)Drop City - T.C. Boyle (Makepeace and Drop City's Cecil Harder and Pamela are similar characters - also live in the wilderness)City of Thieves - David Benioff (journey to find a dozen eggs in WWII Russia)Post-apocalypse novels:Oryx & Crake - Margaret AtwoodThe Stand - Stephen KingDark Tower series - Stephen King (Makepeace reminds me of Roland)The Road - Cormac McCarthyAlas, Babylon - Pat FrankSwan Song - Robert R. McCammonAmnesia Moon - Jonathan Lethem

[jessicariddoch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting book with a character that I could really relate to. It seems unusual to me to find a main character (Makepeace) that is female and does not have the securing of a husband/family as the centre of thier life.This book was in direct contrast to that last book that i read in that the world in which this tale is taking place is only explaned to us in terms of what the main character sees and understand of the world in which she finds herself. This is a very small part of the world as she has little contact with the outside world and has withdrawen into herself. she is living on her own until the arrival of another woman "ping" and then sighting a plane leads her to wonder what the rest of the world is doing. As the story unfolds her understanding of the world situation expands letting our understanding also to grow.Although it is not essential to the story we never do get to know what went wrong and this irks me, makepeace does not care, she does not ask why and so the question is never answered. though I have to admit at least this way I am not sneering at the denise the author has chosen as to why it is not possible or likely.this book had me hooked from beginning to end and I would suggest it as a good read to practially anyone.

[julie10reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kept me reading on two levels: the adventure of a post-apocalyptic tale;the deceptively simple, deeply skilful prose of the protagonist. Here is my memorable quote:"The beginning of the world and my birth seemed like the same event. For me, the world began with water dripping off wet sheets in the sunlight. I was the creator, blinking my eyes to make night and day. And I was Noah, arranging my chipped hardwood animals in the dust of the arctic summer. I taught my family language, and I was the first human to set foot in the wilderness at the bottom of our vegetable patch."

[clurb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the first half of this book. The protagonist, Makepeace, is complex and likeable and Theroux's account of Makepeace's solitary existence was deeply interesting. Unfortunately, the second half of the book didn't hold my interest as well as the first and I found the plot to be less interesting than Theroux's individual characters.

[klarusu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A bleak novel set in a dystopian future in the 'Far North' where society has broken down and become a no-man's land of have nots, this book is narrated by the protagonist as they try and survive in the isolated, harsh world that exists in these pages. I'm loathed to say too much because there are moments in this whose impact relies on the fact that the reader is not over-informed about the plot. It's a really well written book and owes much to the same literary canon that gave rise to Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'. If you read and enjoyed (although that may not be the best word ... maybe 'appreciated' 'The Road', then this should certainly engage you). Whilst it is a bleak world that this novel is set in, I felt less 'bruised' on reaching the end than I did with 'The Road' but similar questions were raised in my mind. I would certainly recommend this, it's a fast and engaging read and Theroux has brought the characters alive through his words. It raises question about society, about religion, about the breakdown of our world and it's eventual conclusion but all this is contained in what I found to be a real page-turner.

[cygnus555 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very enjoyable jaunt through a future landscape that I never thought I would wander. Very enjoyable reading overall. I loved the character, was intrigued by the pace and unfolding of the story, captivated by the turns. It was on pace for a solid 4 star rating. I didn't care for the latter third of the story; it didn't keep the same interest level for me (promising start, fade toward the end)... but still - overall I recommend it for a good "end of days" with a hopeful twist story.

[chrystal_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Post apocalyptic novel told from a womans point of view. I enjoyed this book and found it thought provoking- different from Cormac's The Road, less heartwrenching. The main character- Makepeace- takes a while to get to know but it is worth it.

[mckall08 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Interesting post-apocalyptic epic set in the "far north" as the title suggests. Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", in that there's plenty of traveling in search of what has happened. The plot moves along but without much of a reward. The character development never gets deep enough to engender much sympathy for the characters. The writing style would be more sutiable for a travelogue.

[twink_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stunning. Stark. Riveting. Powerful. Plausible.Oh, I could come up with many more adjectives to describe this new release from Harper Collins Canada.Far North by British author Marcel Theroux captured me from the first page, threw me for a loop on page 23 and held on to me 'til the last page. I'm still thinking about it.Far North takes place up near the Arctic Circle in Siberia. Years before, when many were tired of the way the world was headed, they chose to build a new lives and new cities in this frontier. Makepeace was born here to Quaker parents and knows no other world. But Makepeace is the last one standing. The city has emptied, with others killed by violence and disease or making a desperate run to survive. The details are left to us to imagine to a great degree, but the implication is that civilization has collapsed. The logistics of the collapse are secondary in this story. It is more about the people.Makepeace was the local sheriff and still patrols the city on horseback, saving books, cleaning guns and marking time."There were times when I wondered if I had done the right thing staying behind when everyone else had left or died."When a plane flies over and crashes nearby, Makepeace is stunned. Could there be others alive? Could technology have been saved? The Sheriff decides to strike out and look beyond the confines of the dead city of Evangeline for the rest of humanity.What Makepeace finds may be worse than than being alone - fortified villages, suspicion, slavery and a world trying to understand the old technology. And The Zone.Makepeace is a compelling character and narrator, offering up a unique and thoughtful perspective on whatever presents itself. Rolling with the punches, considering, contemplating, enduring. It is the unveiling of Makepeaces's stoic character and past that had me quickly turning pages. Theroux quietly inserts many surprises that catch you unawares and completely change the direction your thinking was headed. I love being unable to predict a novel.Although this is set in the future, I don't know how far ahead we could say. The scenario presented is all too possible. A five star read for me.Read an excerpt of Far North.Fans of Matheson's I am Legend, McCarthy's The Road and even King's The Stand will enjoy this book.

[billpilgrim_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I almost gave up on this book very early on. It was not catching my interest, and I had other things here I could read that I thought would be more engaging. But, I decided to stick with it and it grew on me. The author creates a post-apocalyptic world. People had moved to areas in Siberia to escape from society, and its frivolities. Then, they are overcome with refugees from the world who are fleeing from war and environmental degradation. Eventually, they destroy themselves. But, this is all in the past. We see a solitary woman who is living alone in a former city established by the settlers in the Far North. She appears to be the sole survivor, at first. She finds some comfort for awhile with an escapee from slavery. Just as she is about to kill herself, she sees an airplane and has hope for something better. She sets out in search of it. Definitely a bad move. She ends up suffering incredibly, both from the elements and from other people she finds on her journey. One odd thing about this book, is that is contains many more typos than any other book that I have read recently, and by a long shot – missing words and extra words, that kind of thing.