Whether Violent or Natural

Product Information

In an underground bunker on a remote island two survivors are hiding from the horror on the mainland. Crevan and Kit are living the proverbial paradise-like life in their Eden when the serpent arrives in the form of an unknown woman washed up by the waves. Although barely alive she causes the first serious rift between them: One wants her to live, the other wants her to die. The author has used the unreliable witness trope to drive the plot. For me there's nothing wrong with using tried and tested methods to explore human nature and the darkness therein, the nature of reality and how suffering can break us and spread to those close to us. In this book, it worked a little sometimes and lapsed into dull cliché other times; generally bogged down by the language. On balance lukewarm. bones of an interesting story - dystopian chaos future where a superbug has left a woman and a man to their own on an island. enter (on the tides) a floating mystery body. Sly, sharp, and utterly captivating, Whether Violent or Natural tumbles headlong toward its surprising – yet inevitable – end. Calder’s voice is one I won’t soon forget.” – Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls

At times I felt information was dropped like stone, or maybe an avalanche. Here, the guise of narration in the MC's voice grew too thin. I’m the first to rate and review this book. It’s always optimal when the book was great and one gets to sing its praises and attract it some much deserved attention, but sometimes it’s just… In this world plagued by mutating bacteria, prevention of contamination is all consuming. The remaining survivors must do what they can to survive infection, including avoiding any other humans. When a woman washes ashore, barely alive, the real story begins. Kit and Crevan are always on the same wavelength so when Crevan wishes to save the woman and Kit disagrees, tension ramps up, events escalate and buried secrets surface. Is this idyllic existence all it seems or is the truth too much to bear? Contrary to what I’ve seen from other reviewers, I really enjoyed the main character’s narration in this dystopia-survival novel. It’s not a style for all readers, but you’ll appreciate it if - like me - you enjoy feeling like you’re in the protagonist’s head viewing the events through their lens. Since Kit is an unreliable narrator, their observations are tainted by their palpable but unknown past trauma. With “Whether Violent or Natural,” author Natasha Calder has given us a dystopian novel about the end of humanity. While I admired some of her expressive, even lyric prose, I also thought the book burdened by a number of problems and inconsistencies. All in all, it’s not the best dystopian novel I’ve ever read.Whether Violent or Natural" is a dystopian novel with a rather interesting premise: antibiotic resistance is purging the world of humans. But then again, there isn’t that much of a plot, not really. The plot to narration ratio leaves a lot to be desired. Tantalizing prose carries what is essentially a cautionary tale about unintended consequences; Calder is worth watching. I also thought Ms. Calder’s choice to have Kit narrate the story was problematic. Kit is not at all likable. She’s highly narcissistic, dishonest, manipulative, and even murderous. It’s difficult to become involved in a story told by someone so dislikeable and undeserving of sympathy.

There’s a twist at the end, kind of a two-part twist, and I won’t spoil anything but I didn’t care for it because I felt like half of it was not foreshadowed well enough. It just kind of felt like it came out of nowhere. That being said, I did enjoy the book overall. Kit and Crevan are living on an island while bacterial infections rage on the mainland in this dystopian novel. One day, they find a half-drowned woman in the sea, and Crevan chooses to save her. The novel is told from Kti’s perspective, and she slowly reveals the secrets of her traumatic past and how she is coping with them in the present. This is a book about trauma, and Kit's inner monologues make up the majority of the novel. They are written in lyrical prose with lots of wordplay. Because so much of the story is told through Kit's eyes, with few brief moments of dialogue, the prose was overwhelming at times. This was definitely not a novel I could finish in one sitting. I needed breaks from Kit’s wandering, unsound inner monologues. I was also slightly annoyed that a lot of the story’s mysteries were resolved in info-dumpy sections. I thought the story could have been more compelling if as readers we got some of the details about the distopian world and Kit's past from more natural character interactions, or that Crevan could have let more information slip. While this narrative wasn't my favorite, I was intrigued by the prose style and look forward to seeing more work by this author.

A complete antibiotic resistance has decimated the planet, resulting in the loss of almost all human life. Kit and Crevan are the exceptions – two people with an ambivalent relationship who have eked out an existence in an underground bunker of a dilapidated castle on a remote island. When a woman washes up on shore, still alive but unconscious, their fragile reality is challenged with grave consequences. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the lyrical nature of the prose throughout this book and it is the reason that I continued reading even though I wasn't otherwise 100% sold on the book. I am a big fan of stream-of-consciousness writing and the fuzzy/daydream-like feeling that comes along with it. If you also enjoy this writing style, it might be worth a read!

Some may take issue with Kit’s narrative voice – a combination of precocity and naivety – and the opaque chapter titles. She is a flawed but compelling character, her repetitive, dense language deliberately evasive. An unnerving, sinister, and brilliant dystopian novel about the choices we make at the end of the world, posing the question: Who can you trust when there’s almost no one left? The new arrival will implode Kit and Crevan's world with dire and fatal consequences, churning up the waters of the past and unearthing secrets they have kept from each other and from themselves. Who is really in control – and what are they both capable of doing to protect their haven? Whether Violent or Natural hits you like a shot of the very good stuff – which it is. I downed it in one. It went down very smoothly. There is – in all the right ways – a faint top-note of Iain Banks’s The Wasp Factory, but it’s very much its own dark-hearted, complex, and accomplished thing, with an engaging narrator as snarled in the seductive tangle of her own words as she is hemmed in by the overgrown vegetation that covers the small island on which she is trapped.” – C. A. Fletcher, author of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World My biggest issue with the book is that I felt so let down by the ending and the ostensible twist. Kit and Crevan’s relationship was also too mired in weird power dynamics (she calls him Daddy and at some point in the book, he beats her in an effort to “train” her to defend herself but it turns out he’s her MINDER? What?!) so that when they eventually were separated, I was glad for it.Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. I really wanted to like this book. Hell, I really tried to like this book! Friends, I did not like this book. I had problems, they were many, and I can't find a ton of redeeming bits, though it wasn't all bad so I will try? The concept of antibiotic resistance is certainly timely and relevant and plausible, and I like that it was presented as such a dire situation. Because it would be, of course. I don't really get the connection with plastic, but whatever, that was the least of my concerns. One evening a woman washes ashore, nearly drowned. Crevan wants to keep her alive, but Kit isn't so sure.

Intelligent and refreshing … The prose is intoxicating – dark, heady, lyrical.” – The Daily Telegraph A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. When a woman washes ashore—near drowned but clinging to life—the question of her fate threatens the fragile balance of Kit and Crevan’s isolated world. While Crevan wants to keep her alive, Kit isn’t so sure. And there’s more to wrestle with: Kit and Crevan each have secrets—secrets they have been keeping both from each other and from themselves. As the crisis brought about by the drowned woman’s appearance consumes them, the fictions of their shared existence crumble, and the truth begins to emerge. Experimental fiction . . . Calder tells a unique tale that will appeal to many cli-fi fans.” – Library Journal the main character is so distasteful and despicable (and cringe might i add) that i want to spend the least amount of time with her as possible. this is the first and hopefully last time i will see a character use 'daddy' to refer to their partner.

Reviews

Lets just say, I should have trusted the people and moved on with my life. Whether Violent or Natural was the most pointless addition to my life, ever. Barely an addition at all, possibly even a subtraction.