In the vein of The Book of M comes a âdynamic, fast-paced debutâ (Publishers Weekly) and character-driven literary apocalyptic novel that explores life, love, and loss in a post-truth society.
In the aftermath of a deadly outbreakâreminiscent of the 1962 event of mass hysteria that was the Tangayika Laughter Epidemicâa city at the tip of Africa is losing its mind, with residents experiencing hallucinations and paranoia. Is it simply another episode of mass hysteria, or something more sinister? In a quarantined city in which the inexplicable has already occurred, rumors, superstitions, and conspiracy theories abound.
During these strange days, Faith works as a fulltime corpse collector and a freelance âtruthologist,â putting together desperate pieces of information to solve problems. But after Faith agrees to help an orphaned girl find her abducted baby brother, she beings to wonder whether the boy is even real. Meanwhile, a young man named Sans who trades in illicit goods is so distracted by a glimpse of his dream woman that he lets a bag of money he owes his gang partners go missingâleaving him desperately searching for both and son questioning his own sanity.
Over the course of a single week, the paths of Faith, Sans, and a cast of other hustlersâincluding a data dealer, a drug addict, a sin eater, and a hyena manâwill cross and intertwine as they move about the city looking for lost souls, uncertain absolution, and answers that may not exist. The Down Days is a âfascinating storyâ (HelloGiggles) that demonstrates âone of the most accurate depictions of the strange realities of life during a pandemicâ (The A.V. Club) that you wonât want to put down.