Earth Abides

Absolutely beautiful.

I'd read some years ago that Earth Abides was Stephen King's inspiration for The Stand. Considering the novel follows the collapse of civilization after a virus kills 99% of the American population, inspiration might be an understatement.

I found it to be profoundly moving. I may be in the minority, I've read some very harsh reviews of it. The book was written in 1947 and it shows, both in misogynistic tendencies and one racist episode. Let's call that the Dumbo Outlier and be done with it. The scope of Earth Abides is broad, and there's little in the way of cohesive plot. Less a novel than a memoir of man observing the death and rebirth of society.