a post apocalyptic novel that follows candace, a woman who is living an uneventful life in new york, basically just doing her job and daily tasks. she's so detached she initially doesn't do much when an epidemic of the shen fever spreads and everyone escapes the city. the shen fever doesn't affect her still, so she stays and takes pictures of new york, posting them online. after leaving, she meets bob and his group of survivors, who want to restart life elsewhere. 
this was an absolutely amazing read, because it wasn't your typical apocalypse novel. that's great for me since i really don't like zombie apocalypse books or such. i liked how candace, as the main character, was detached and behaved sort of unusually, she wasn't as panicked as others. i also thought the nature of the shen fever and how it manifests was super interesting, because it's nothing like the dramatic viruses you typically encounter in apocalyptic media. 
i think the character work is perfect. you might argue that candace is the only very deeply developed character, but i honestly thought it worked because i didn't desire more from any side characters. jonathan and bob were more developed than others, and i think it was just enough. jonathan was there to be candace's boyfriend and talk about his anti-capitalistic beliefs. bob was there for me to absolutely hate him and feel sickened by his actions! lovely. i also enjoyed how candace's family was incorporated into the story, along with her culture and experiences when going back to china. 
candace as the main character might annoy some people, because she doesn't take as much action as you might expect her to and it takes her time to actually do the things she plans to. but i thought her personality fit the tone of the novel as a whole, and honestly, if she was any different, i wouldn't like severance as much. the atmosphere is amazing and i wouldn't want anything to disturb it. ling ma has an amazing writing style, the descriptions truly did make me feel ill and claustrophobic sometimes. along with that, the alternating chapters really worked for me.
i think the symbolism is great. the references to capitalism, how people become corporate drones in society, the commentary on how america exploits foreign labour. i liked how, at times, it wasn't as easy to tell the difference between the fevered individuals and the 'healthy' ones, to the point where

near the end i couldn't tell if candace herself was getting fevered or not. i do like that she got a somewhat happy ending, though it also would've been cool if she did get fevered herself.

the ending fits the rest of the book. it might be a bit on the vague side, but i honestly can't imagine it any other way.

(well, i could, but that's only the alternative with a fevered candace. i don't exactly prefer it though .. )

anyway, wonderful novel, i loved it a lot ♡