The Violence
A Novel
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4.2 • 45 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
How far would you go to be free? Three generations of women forge a new path through an America torn by a mysterious wave of violence in this “chilling [and] dizzyingly effective” (The New York Times Book Review) novel of revenge, liberation, and triumph.
“A compulsively readable fusion of domestic thriller and modern horror.”—Kameron Hurley, author of The Light Brigade
“A novel that defines this era.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
FINALIST FOR THE ITW THRILLER AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times
They call it The Violence: a strange epidemic that causes the infected to experience sudden bursts of animalistic rage, with no provocation and no memory of their crimes. While it tears the nation apart, one woman sees something unlikely in the chaos—an opportunity.
Chelsea Martin has been a prisoner in her own home for too long. Her controlling husband has manipulated her for years, cutting her off from all support. Her narcissistic mother is no help, and her teen daughter is realizing she might be falling into the same trap when her once adoring boyfriend shows a dark side.
But when the Violence erupts, Chelsea creates a plan to liberate herself and her daughters once and for all.
What follows is a shocking and thrilling journey as three generations of women navigate a world in which they are finally empowered to fight back. Somewhere along the journey from her magazine-ready Tampa home to the professional wrestling ring, Chelsea becomes her own liberator, an avatar of revenge and hope, and a new heroine for a new world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A very different pandemic sweeps the world in this un-put-downable near-future thriller from Dawson (the Blud series). Coming just on the heels of Covid-19, the Violence is aptly named for its main symptom: sudden acts of astonishing aggression called "storms" that always leave someone dead. Those infected have no memory of their outbursts, and the attacks have no clear trigger. The world navigates this horrible plague with quarantine protocols and hotlines, as the wealthy flock to colder environments, where the Violence hasn't yet reached, and shell out for the $30,000 vaccine. Meanwhile, Chelsea Martin sees in the Violence a way out from under the thumb of her abusive husband, David, for both herself and her two daughters. She reports David to a hotline for suspected Violence sufferers, but even after he's locked away, Chelsea's hounded by his horrible friends. Then Chelsea is separated from her girls under suspicion of being infected herself. Now, she'll do anything to reunite with her family. Dawson doesn't hold back in her graphic depictions of domestic abuse, but the violence never feels gratuitous, clarifying the high stakes of this smart, fast-paced thrill ride. Fans of dystopian sci-fi stories will devour this.
Customer Reviews
Great characters
Cool concept and good descriptions of an uncomfortably familiar kind of dystopia. Most of the characters went on difficult journeys, literally and figuratively. I especially loved Patricia, and seeing how she changed.
A new virus
Patricia, Chelsea, Ella and Brooklyn are family, very dysfunctional but still family. Patricia (formerly Patty) is the Matriarch. She was born into a middle class family, got pregnant at 17 and was thrown out. She learned to survive, and even thrive, being cold, distant and totally self involved. Her most recent husband is a philandering Judge who is very rich. He has just informed her that he is divorcing her and reclaiming everything she has of value, including her home. Chelsea is her daughter. She married young and Ella and Brooklyn are her daughters. She has allowed herself to remain in an abusive marriage because she had little or no feelings of self worth and did not know what else to do. Ella, at 17, is a senior in high school and has a boyfriend who is abusing her. It is set slightly in the future. Covid is no longer the danger it has been, but a new virus called The Violence has taken its place. This novel tells the tale of each one’s reaction to it and survival. I will not go any further into the plot because of spoilers but will tell any potential reader it is remarkably unusual and worth the read. Thanks to Net Galley and Random House for an ARC for an honest review.
Wow
Thank You for this book Ms. Dawson. I saw small bits of myself in it and will never ever mansplain anything to anyone again.