The Rending and the Nest by Kaethe Schwehn
Bloomsbury USA; 2/20/18
eBook review copy; 304 pages
hardcover ISBN-13: 9781632869722
The Rending and the Nest by Kaethe Schwehn is a recommended addition to the post-apocalyptic genre.
"It wasn’t fire or ice. Wasn’t a virus or global warming or a
meteor. Wasn’t an atomic bomb or a tsunami or a
sulfurous-smelling ape. It was a Rending, a split. Ninety-five
percent of the earth’s population and the vast majority of the
animals, food, and goods—gone. We were left with each other and
the Piles. Later, the Babies. And we were left without an
explanation."
Mira lives in a society/town named Zion that was made from the remnants,
the scraps, of what was left after the Rendering. Four years after the
end of the world as she knew it, Mira now sorts through the piles -
literally piles of things left behind - searching for useful items. When
Mira's friend Lana announces her pregnancy, it is a time of hope, but
when Lana gives birth to an object, and other women follow suit, Mira
decides to make nests for these Babies. This helps the mothers by giving
the objects a safe resting place and simultaneously allowing them to
release their attachment to the objects. When an outsider
called Michael appears in Zion, he changes the dynamics of the
community and lures Lana away.
The Rending and the Nest almost begs for a reread, perhaps with a
reader's guide, since there is more going on under the surface, or
there could be more going on under the surface, than a quick read
reveals. "Rending" itself is an odd word choice. It can mean to tear
violently, divide, pull apart, split, or to distress with painful
feelings, but it is also pointed out in the book that the name shares a
connection with the rending, or tearing, of the curtain in the temple at
the moment Jesus died. The tearing symbolized, in part (and I'm not a
Biblical scholar), that God had moved out of that physical dwelling and
was through with that temple and its religious system. Perhaps this
rending signifies a finality with the earth and what it was before, thus
the people gone and the piles of stuff left scattered about. (And,
okay, I may be stretching here looking for some significance, so we'll
set this aside.)
What I can say is that the world created by Schwehn is interesting, but
enigmatic. We never know what happened or why. And what we do know is
puzzling at times. Certainly loved ones are missed. The community of
Zion gives people some sense of purpose and belonging, but there is
always this conundrum in the background, seeking the ultimate answer
when none is given.
It is also beautifully written, for all its inscrutability. The plot,
which is slow at first, picks up the pace after a third of the way
through. The characters are basically well-developed, but broken in some
way. The characters reflect the prismatic nature of humans, good and
bad, challenging and comforting, open and closed-off. I liked parts of
the novel ravenously, and other parts not-as-much. And, while reading, I
kept getting this nagging feeling that I was missing something, that
some clue or hint, or monumental reveal was just beyond my grasp.
So, I liked The Rending and the Nest, but I didn't love it. On
the other hand I kept thinking I needed that reading guide to uncover
what I was missing, because I was sure I was missing something. The
novel felt like a puzzle to me and I was missing one vital piece... I
need to reread this one someday
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
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