Ling Ma’s book is entirely pink to tell us something about the title: Severance. A “pink slip,” they are simply called in the U.S., is when you get that piece of paper tell you that you have been terminated — severed from the company. The back of the book lacks a synopsis. Instead, it says, “IS IT THE END OF THE WORLD OR JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE?” with dozens of blurbs and lists of the prizes Ma almost won for her book. I was hoping for something about a virus or zombies, something that spreads, and perhaps people who just keep going to work regardless because they don’t want to get fired, or something darkly comedic like that. Instead, I got the starts of several books.
Severance takes place in two time periods, after the apocalypse and before. Note that this book was published in 2019, but it reads like it was written after COVID. A fungus has caused the deterioration of almost everyone, causing them to be zombie-like but neither violent nor contagious. The main character, Candace has been found in a taxi cab, sleeping, so a group of rogue survivors take her with them. They have lots of rules and rituals that are made up, led by an IT guy named Bob, which is not your typical post-pandemic hero.
Bob is an interesting character; he tells others what to do with veiled threats of shooting them and philosophical lectures about letting go. Bob says, “I bring up the internet because I’d like us to think about exactly what the internet is. It’s dead, but what exactly have we lost? . .. The internet is the flattening of time. It is the place where the past and the present exist on one single plane. But proportionally, because the present calcifies into the past, even now, even as we speak, perhaps it is more accurate to say that the internet almost wholly consists of the past. It is the place we go to commune with the past.” Bob has some big ideas about the future, which take on a whole new iteration when it becomes obvious that Candace is pregnant.
However, much of the book is spent in the past where Candance sounds like the kind of Millennial that makes me cringe. She wants to create art and get paid for it, but she doesn’t improve her skills, talking about about her photography rather than doing it because she’s “not good enough.” She has some “corporate” job that she doesn’t mind, but it’s not what makes her happy. I have a hard time wrapping my head around why people think their job is supposed to bring them great joy. You can have a meaningful job, do good in your community, make a difference, yes — but you also need a life outside that job that brings you joy.
Candace has some kind of relationship… maybe dating but not serious?… with a man who describes his time working in corporate America only to have the higher ups slowly fire the older folks who make good wages because they’ve been with the company so long. The executives continue to add work on the younger, newer employees without giving them raises or hiring replacements. This is another frustrating aspect of the relationship between work and Millennials. On the other hand, Ling Ma says so little about work culture throughout the book. I’m only citing maybe two pages total.
The author had a lot about immigration without giving that narrative direction, which seemed to culminate in Candace realize that if her family did not leave China for the U.S., she would likely be working in a sweatshop. And while IT Bob was painted the villain, he was never given the space to be a strong leader with reason. In fact, when he tells the group not to leave on their own to go exploring, they sneak off. All I could think of was COVID times when people were told to stay put, so half of America went gallivanting in public instead. Some people were so mad at the governor of Michigan for saying “wear masks” and “shelter in place” that they held rallies at the capitol, and there was even a plot to kidnap her.
Overall, Severance didn’t know what it wanted to say about the big topics it engages — work culture, immigration, reaction to a pandemic, dating as a Millennial — and it didn’t have the space to do justice to any of them. I can see why Severance was often longlisted for prizes but not winning them.
Grab the Lapels 
I’ve been getting ads for this lately – I think because I really enjoyed the Adam Scott show of the same name, so read some articles about it, and the various advertising algorithms got mixed up. It sounds like an interesting premise so it’s a shame it doesn’t quite live up to it!
Incidentally, you’re so right about the importance of having a life outside work that you enjoy. I feel very grateful to have a job that I genuinely like and find meaningful, but I’m also strict about only doing it 8-4 (except in exceptional circumstances) – even if it costs me a chance for a promotion or a raise. I was actually at a funeral the other day and we were talking about this at the wake. I’m not especially close to my extended family, but it turns out that this is something we seem to have in common. I wonder if it’s because within living memory nobody in Mum’s family would have had much say over what they did for a living – everyone just worked on a local farm or went into service – so we don’t have the same expectations of a job being a source of fulfilment?
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This is a brilliant comment. I love this idea that people working for themselves set the standard of work-life balance, almost without conceptualizing it that way. I actually was thinking this morning about creating a homework schedule and sticking to it. That way, I’m not spending all waking hours feeling like I should be doing something, because that will drive me nutty. Your comment has bolstered my feelings about creating a schedule and sticking to it. Something very sad: when I was in grad school and then teaching, I spent almost ALL of my time at home working on things, to the point that Nick avoided me because he didn’t want to interrupt me. And then, after I quit teaching, I felt like he was ignoring me, but he’d gotten so used to respecting my space that we’d drifted apart a bit. That is no longer the case, and I’m hyper vigilant about it.
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I think working and studying at the same time is really hard – I am always telling my students to make time for their friendships and family relationships (lots of them have partners and/or kids), and let their marks slide a bit if they need to. Some of them find that much easier than others, though, I know.
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I absolutely lost track of Nick for many years. I won’t do it again. Thank, once more, for your comment. It meant a lot to me.
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I’m glad it was helpful! (I am positively evangelical about setting boundaries around work – my colleagues all joke about it but I am quite happy to be known as “the person who won’t work outside work hours”).
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In the U.S., if someone said that about you, it’s implied they’re thinking poorly about you. And that makes me sad.
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Oh, this doesn’t sound great. A bit of a mash up of a horror novel (good) and a rootless millennial novel (not good!). Thanks for explaining the pink slip – would never have got that reference.
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Hey, Laura, you’re welcome! Yes, the pink slip is common in the U.S. I will say the rootless millennial novel drives me bonkers. It makes us look bad, in my opinion. Part of the problem is the economy not encouraging jobs that allow people to work their way up, but when a story has characters that meander from jobs because they really want to focus on their hobby, we all look ridiculous.
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One I can safely miss, ha ha. As for the job = happiness theory, it’s something we’ve been brainwashed about culturally for the last 30 years or so, I think. I blame Oprah, lol! My father’s generation certainly didn’t have the expectation that a job should bring you happiness. It was a means to an end – to pay your bills and provide for your family. I mean it’s great if you like your job and get meaning from it (I do) but I also value my home life much more than my job life.
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This discussion has been enlightening. I love how everyone is bringing up their parents and how that generation knew work was for working and not enjoying. I mean, you need work satisfaction and maybe even to be fulfilled in some way so that you’re not miserable, but it’s not a hobby you get paid for, either.
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Here’s an aside – I just sent you a recommendation on Goodreads and I hope it went through. I’ve never done that before on Goodreads. Anyway, it’s a YA horror book my coworker is reading and really enjoying. She loves horror and it’s about teenagers at a fat camp so I thought it might be something you’d be interested in!
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OMG, LAILA, I JUST SAW YOUR RECOMMENDATION!!!!
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There’s also one about vampires called Go Hunt Me!
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This sounds like a rather disappointing book, but it sounds like it tries, so that’s something. As for work making you happy, what Laila said. People are brainwashed by the capitalist system to think that work is the be all end all of existence. We always ask what kind of work people do, we are taught to identify with our jobs, and if we are unhappy it’s all our fault for not leaning in or whatever. There’s a whole industry out there of self-help books like What Color is Your Parachute? to help you find the job that will make you happy and to which you can sacrifice your life and not feel sad that you never lived.
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I actually started asking people I just met “What do you enjoy?” instead of “What do you do?” and it always throws them off. AND it takes them a hot minute to answer. I do want a fulfilling job so that I’m not miserable, but it’s not my source of happiness. So, if I want to work in a non-profit, that might be a great fit for me, but it wouldn’t be my “everything.”
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Haha I love it! Also, way to keep people on their toes! We have a new research librarian in my library and he’s only 32 and was telling me the other day that he won’t ever retire, not because of savings or social collapse, etc, but because he can’t imagine not working–what will I do? he asked. Oh the poor boy. I of course chirped that I hope to retire ASAP because I have so many things to do and started listing them off and he was gobsmacked and didn’t quite know how to respond. 😀
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Biscuit (my mom) is the same way as that young man! What will she do with herself? I think part of it might be that when people grow up poor, the idea of enjoying yourself, hobbies, and not having an income you earn are all terrifying factors. They’ve been industrious to survive.
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Oh that’s interesting you say that because my coworker has commented in passing about his family not always having much money. Yet another coworker who grew up poor with a single mom has no desire to work for the rest of her life. And neither of my parents grew up particularly well-off and they both scrimped and saved and retired early. So maybe it’s a matter of self-identity and what you think the purpose of work is?
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I think so, definitely. It’s always the people who seem to have a lot of money who are eager to retire early (in my experience). They have lots of luxury things to do because they’ve had the time to nurture those experiences while working and want to devote themselves to the more enjoyable activities full time.
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I love you writing about the failings of the ‘younger generation’. My kids were Gen X and I never thought of them as particularly different, well, except for their choices in music. And you’re younger again.
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True. I was in 8th grade (age 14) the first time I used a computer. I didn’t get a smartphone until I was over 30. It makes a big difference, weirdly.
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I’d have missed the pink slip reference too (you get your P45 here which is a printed form). It sounds like a real muddle, or several books in one, what a shame! Have they written anything else?
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Looks like 4 books total, with the newest from 2021.
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I’m disappointed this didn’t talk more about work culture, because I really enjoy those discussions, which don’t often happen in fiction. I love going to my office beause I enjoy talking to my teammates, celebrating milestones together, hell I even love a good staff meeting 🙂
You bring up a good point around people expecting their job to bring them joy, and at its heart, this is such a middle class perspective/expectation . Does the person driving a taxi expect this job to bring them joy, or are they just paying the bills? Does working as a janitor bring people joy? Why don’t those people get to find a job that brings them joy? Because they didn’t go to post-secondary? It’s not that we can’t aspire to find a job that makes us happy, but sadly, at the end of the day, there aren’t that many fulfilling jobs to go around, so who gets the short end of the stick? Usually those who are marginalized in our community to begin with.
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I just stumbled upon your comment, and I agree and disagree with you there! There’s certain jobs that we look down on that people enjoying doing anyway. I know taxi drivers and drivers in general that absolutely love what they do, but that doesn’t mean jobs don’t have their downsides. I love my job too, and it brings me joy, but there’s downsides as well because everything that is a duty is not always joyful.
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If you look on Reddit, there is a surprising increase of little kids who loooooove garbage truck drivers. Perhaps parents are teaching children more positive mindsets, including respect, for all types of jobs, and it’s showing! There is a woman in my community on Facebook who put out a call to all truckers. If they want to swing by for “Joey’s 3rd Trucker Birthday Party,” they can form a parade to go by the party. It’s been in the works for weeks, and I love seeing the updates.
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This is a good point – there are definitely parts of my job that I hate, but I always figure that if I look forward to going into work, or seeing my coworkers, or get excited about doing something there, it’s a good place for me to stick around 😉
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You are a totally foreign creature to me for all the reasons you listed regarding your love of work! Some I see depictions in the news of people who do love to work as janitors or cab drivers because it’s a job that allows them to work with people in a way they enjoy. I think that’s the hardest part: finding jobs that fit someone’s personality without being a hobby turned into a money maker.
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yes good point. But yah, I’m weird like that, I love a nice little office.
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I’m gonna start calling you Water Cooler Anne.
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I gladly accept that nickname
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LOL
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Great review Melanie, and I loved your description “lists of the prizes Ma almost won for her book”. That made me smile. And then you came back to it at the end. Very neatly done.
Re work and joy. Yes, I agree, re “supposed to”. Some people “can” find joy, but achieving what you suggest is the realistic goal, and is how I feel about my career. I love the point l’ve heard which is that no one ever says on their deathbed “I wish I worked more.”
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I wish I worked more (no I’m not on my deathbed).
I like Annelogan’s comment because ‘you can get joy from work’ is exactly what I thought, and she’s right, what a privileged, middle class sentiment that is.
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Haha Bill, you would be the exception re that wish.
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Heh, Bill are you sure you wish you worked more, or would you be on your deathbed wishing you’d had more money? There is a difference.
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I wish I worked more because I love being out in the bush, and it is far more meaningful to be out there as a worker than it is as a tourist.
I have never worked for money, worked with money as my principal objective. You meet people who do stuff for money and they have the souls of gnats.
I will on my deathbed wish that I had more money, because Milly and the kids could use it. But they’re not money focused either and they’ll get by.
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Ahhh, I see what you mean. I never thought of you as a money-hungry person, but perhaps someone who wished he had a little bit more padding in case of emergencies or hard times (or Milly or the kids, as you mention). I hadn’t thought about how much you love being out in the bush. Is it awful if I tell you that that love doesn’t really come through in your journal posts? Perhaps that is unintentional, as much of your journal post is informational (who you worked for, where you went, what you were hauling). Maybe something to consider, because I would be eager to hear more about what you love about the bush and how it’s different being a worker in the location instead of a tourist.
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And I don’t think that joy and hobbies are the same thing. I mean, sitting with Nick brings me joy. Watching horror movies brings me joy. Listening to podcasts bring me joy. I’m unlikely to swing any of those into a career, even freelance, so why drift aimlessly for decades trying to do that?
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Good point!
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[…] the little I cared for Ling Ma’s Severance, it generated a great conversation around the purpose and function of work. Can hobbies be work? Is […]
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Love this review. I read this one but found it so frustrating that I’m not even sure if I finished it. Candace just never took action or responsibility! I do think our generation struggles with this idea that work should bring us happiness. I have struggled with guilt before that I’m not constantly seeking more from my job life. Ambition and striving are held up as the ultimate goal but I mostly enjoy my job, it pays for our groceries, and I can leave it behind and enjoy time with my family. My ultimate happiness is not based on what I get paid to do.
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Ah ha, and there is where panic usually sets in for many people. They think about their happiness and that they have food and a home, and then they believe they sound privileged (they are), which they allow to eat them up, and the anxiety makes them take a job they don’t REALLY need, which sacrifices family time, and on and on and on. I’ve realized that the most important part about privilege is to recognize it and not put other people down if they can’t match what I’m doing.
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Is this the same as the Adam Scott series, which I love? Have I read this book?
After checking my GR review, I see that it is NOT the Adam Scott series and I only liked the post-apoc chapters. I felt that psycho-Bob’s backstory would’ve been a way more interesting book.
“I was hoping for something about a virus or zombies, something that spreads, and perhaps people who just keep going to work regardless because they don’t want to get fired…” Hahahaha I would totally be one of the ones who keeps going to work regardless. I was one of the few who went all the way downtown on the subway to clock in on time on 9/11, only to be told a hijacked plane might be headed to L.A. so I needed to turn around and go back home.
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No way! My husband was living in L.A. during 9/11, and his mom’s family, who live in Michigan, were calling to say all kinds of crazy, scary stuff. I can’t remember what they said (and he’s sleeping right now), but they were in full panic mode.
Remember in Shaun of the Dead when all the zombies make great retail employees? 🤣
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P.S. To join in on the conversation, I love my job and I also love my life outside of work so I consider myself quite lucky. I work with people who hate one or the other, if not both. 😦
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That’s great that you have a balance! I think people need a job they feel good about doing for mental health reasons, but it’s important to do stuff outside of work. I’m very, VERY suspicious of work “friends.”
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