The Reapers are the Angels

I picked up this book almost for the express purpose of washing The Forest of Hands and Teeth out of my mind. Same principle - young girl in a zombie-infested world, fighting to survive - but a vastly different story. And man did it accomplish the task.

Actually, The Reapers are the Angels ran counter to a lot zombie stories that I've been exposed to lately. Last night, as I watched The Walking Dead and characters snapped at eachother over nearly getting killed during a run for medical supplies, I could hear Temple in my head, saying something like “It's just the way the world is now, ain't nobody's fault.” I couldn't help but imagine Temple as Rick and Lori's unborn child, grown up alone in a harsh world like Lori predicted, but still meeting good people and seeing beautiful things. Her complacency, her complete adaptation to her world is fascinating in its simplicity and gorgeously portrayed. Temple is friendly and noble at times, but also brutal and occasionally scary, though mostly to herself. I think she's bad ass and has got nothing to be ashamed of, but that's easy to say when its just your post-apocalyptic fantasy rather than your life.

This book is mostly episodic - Temple wanders, meets people, and gets herself in and out of dangerous and sometimes just odd situations. The central storyline though is that of a man, Moses Todd, who is hellbent on executing her for killing his brother, Abraham (yes, those are really their names). Their relationship is bizarre - there's little animosity between them, only a sense of duty, locked in a duel of fates all due to Abraham's stupidity in thinking he could have his way with Temple. As the chase continues they both seem to recognize they may be the only people in the world capable of understanding eachother, but still neither of them lets up. Meanwhile, Temple picks up a mentally handicapped mute and attempts to take him back home, and along the way comes across zombie-eating hunters, hillbillies-turned-mutant junkies, and even kind of falls for a handsome, brooding guy and dresses up in taffeta gowns with his grandmother.

Temple is just incredibly real, so the book doesn't try to go any further than that, but it also doesn't lock itself into a kill-or-be-killed dystopia. Its about not just survival but staying a whole person and staying sane, enjoying the tiny moments of wonder in a world of darkness.