A review by appalonia
The Pesthouse by Jim Crace

4.0

Interesting story, and the writing was excellent. The story begins in an unfamiliar America that seems to have regressed to a pre-industrialized age. Two brothers head east toward the ocean, where there are ships that take people to Europe, supposedly where living conditions are much better. At the beginning of this book they arrive in Ferrytown, which serves as a crossroads for people heading to the ships. The younger brother Franklin has injured himself, and it is decided he will stay on the hill outside the town while older brother Jackson heads to town to obtain supplies and arrange passage across the river. In the morning when Jackson has not returned, Franklin heads to town to search for him, only to find all the people and animals in it have mysteriously died in the night. Presuming his brother dead, Franklin befriends the only other survivor of the town, a woman who was banished to a sick house high over the town to either recover from her illness or die. The two decide to travel to the ships together, and so begins their adventure. Although this story was dark, it was not depressing and had a hopeful ending. And there was something intriguing about reading a story where you had no idea what was around the next bend of the road.