Our book this week was The Last Town on Earth, by Thomas Mullen. It is the story of the small town of Commonwealth, located in the Pacific Northwest, during World War I. Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself against the deadly influenza striking down vast numbers of citizens in surrounding communities. Guards are posted at the road leading in and out of town, and the encounter that occurs puts the entire town, and its values, at risk.
The group found the book to be very interesting, and also timely, with the current outbreak of the H1N1 virus throughout our country. Some of the ladies remembered stories of this very flu epidemic, which took place in 1918. They had been told of the devastation and the toll it took on families. They had heard of their own family members who became sick with the flu themselves, and also cared for others who were also ill. It is interesting to note that far more Americans died of the flu than died in World War I, which happened concurrently.
I give thanks to Diana Welch, who suggested this book to me. We stay in touch through Facebook, and she is in a book club in Denver where she lives with her husband and sweet baby Kellen. The book was quite fascinating, our group would highly recommend it.
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