Severance

Routine is important to Candace Chen, a millennial drone who lives alone in a Manhattan office tower. Thus, she is hardly aware when a biblical-scale pandemic engulfs New York. Shen Fever then spreads. Families run away. Businesses stop working. The tube cars grind to a stop. Soon after, she is by herself and unfrightened as she takes pictures of the creepy, deserted city under the pseudonym NY Ghost for her blog.

But Candace's independent success won't last forever. A gang of survivors appears, headed by Bob, the power-hungry IT geek. They're heading to a location known as the Facility, where Bob assures them they'll have everything they need to rebuild civilization. But Candace has a secret that she knows Bob would take advantage of. Is she going to run away from her rescuers?

Ling Ma's Severance is a peculiar coming-of-age story and satire that pokes fun at the customs, routines, and lost possibilities of modern life.