February has officially sealed Maine in ice and seasonal depression. Even though the sun stays out later and later, the winter feels eternal at this point. Nobody goes outside except for the masochistic skiers, and the walk from your class to your dorm is physically painful. This is the perfect time of the year to curl up in bed with a good book, and there is no genre more suited to late winter than the post-apocalyptic story. Here is a list of books you can check out from Ladd that capture the atmosphere of the month in all its desolation and optimism.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy actually won the Pulitzer Prize when it came out, and it is certainly the most famous of all his novels. The Road is about a father and a son (both unnamed) who are walking south through a bleak, apocalyptic landscape to reach the coast. The world of the novel has been totally ravaged: nothing grows, the snow falls like ash, and the climate is brutally cold. The only people they have are each other. This novel, written with spare, accessible prose, is a beautiful and tragic testament to love, loyalty, and survival in the face of total despair.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin is also a story about two people trekking through an icy landscape, but this time we’re not on Earth. Our main character is the ambassador to the planet of Gethen, “Winter,” where people have no fixed gender and instead become male or female during a monthly sexual cycle. The ambassador becomes particularly close with a politician named Estevan, and their relationship is the heart of the novel. This sci-fi classic is famous for raising questions about gender identities and cultural sexuality, all against a backdrop of bleak, endless winter.
The Parable of the Sower might not be cold— it’s set in a futuristic California that has been ravaged by fires and drought— but the themes of survival, connection, and optimism ring true. This novel by Octavia E. Butler tells the story of a teenage girl named Lauren who must lead a ragtag band of followers north, to escape the devastating climate conditions and social desperation that threaten their lives back home. This novel, which is famous for its commentary on religion, is both thematically dense and a fast-paced, exciting read.
The Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice tells the story of a small Anishinaabe community that is cut off from the rest of the world one February when their power abruptly goes out. In order to survive the winter, the community must come together and embrace their traditional ways of life. Unfortunately, their very survival may be threatened by a newcomer to the town, who has different ideas of how things should be run. This post-apocalyptic thriller is a beautiful exploration of decolonization, survival, and reliance.
