IAC Book Club: LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE by Sarah Davis-Goff

IAC Book Club is a casual gathering of literature enthusiasts who meet in our gallery for lively banter and thoughtful discussion. This season we read a first novel—and a 20th: Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff, set in a post-apocalyptic Ireland, and the highly anticipated Girl by Edna O'Brien.

Led by Rachael Gilkey, director of programming and education, the club is open to everyone—whether or not you've finished the book.

*Please note December 9 is a new date for this IAC Book Club. The original date was December 2.

LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE

“Written in sparse, affecting prose, and reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, this is a fiercely feminist, highly imaginative novel.”―The Guardian

“One hopes that this confident debut will mark the beginning of a long bibliography.”―Booklist, starred review

Orpen has only met two people in her fifteen years on Earth: her Mam, and Mam’s partner, Maeve. Living in isolation on a small island off the coast of Ireland, she spends her days training to ward off a threat she’s never met. Remember your just-in-cases. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.

As Orpen grows, so does her curiosity about the world beyond the safe circle of her family. She daydreams about rowing to the mainland, and the prospect of finding other survivors. The only thing holding her back are warnings about the flesh-eating menace that has overtaken the country: the skrake.

When disaster strikes, that dream becomes reality under circumstances Orpen never saw coming. Alone, pushing an unconscious Maeve in a wheelbarrow, she decides her last hope is abandoning the safety of the island and journeying across the country to reach the legendary banshees, the rumored all-female fighting force that battles the skrake. As Orpen races across the open road, she quickly begins to realize that the skrake aren’t the only danger lurking between the abandoned buildings and overgrown forests.

With the unrelenting pace of Mad Max: Fury Road and the spare lyricism of Sara Baume, Davis-Goff’s Last Ones Left Alive is a brilliant exploration of what makes us human.

Support for this program is also provided by the Charles Lawrence Keith & Clara Miller Foundation and The Irish Institute.