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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Post-apocalyptic violence: armed camps, attacks, and death throughout; characters killed in visceral detail
Language
Some
Moderate language; dark context throughout
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief adult romantic intimacy; not explicit
Substance Use
Barely any
Minimal substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The terror of forgetting who you love, identity without memory, sacrifice as the only remaining act of love
What this book is about
One day, a man in India loses his shadow. Then more people do — and those who lose their shadows begin to forget. Not just facts, but people, places, whole selves. As the pandemic of forgetting spreads, the world collapses. Ory has been hiding with his wife Max, protecting her from anyone who knows she's shadowless. When Max disappears to protect him, Ory goes searching across a broken America. Peng Shepherd's debut is a lyrical post-apocalyptic novel about memory, identity, and the love that survives forgetting.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
post-apocalyptic violence throughout
psychological weight of memory loss
sustained dark tone
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