Book Club Recommendations: It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over

Anne De Marcken’s slim, melancholy novel opens on our heroine losing her arm, as her dead-but-not-dead body deteriorates. She’s existing in a hotel where other undead have congregated, where they discuss their new state of being and the nature of their insatiable hunger. They remember little of their lives—even details like their own names escape them. 

It’s rare to read a zombie story from the first-person perspective of the undead, and our protagonist is exceptionally eloquent as she seeks clues about her own past, deciding to travel west, across a post-apocalyptic landscape, in search of memories of her lost love. Her only real companion is a dead crow, wrapped up and placed carefully inside her rib cage. For all its pensiveness, there are moments of levity that keep this book out of the “depressing to read” category. 

The story is relatable to anyone who has suffered a loss, as our main character grasps at elusive memories of her old existence and comes to terms with her new reality. When we were discussing It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over during our book club meeting, one member had a lightbulb moment—that the story serves as a powerful allegory for addiction. The theme fits perfectly given the undeads’ ever-present hunger and their position as outsiders relative to “alive” people. (This is what I love about book club—the discoveries we make during conversations with others.)

It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over will hit you in the feels, and make you reflect on your own path. If you became a zombie tomorrow, what would you miss about your life? What memories would stick with you no matter what? Who would you travel across a desolate landscape for?

Questions for Your Book Club Discussion

Here are some questions to fuel your discussion of It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over:

• What do you believe the crow symbolizes?

• The protagonist moves through the world with a fragmented memory. How does the novel explore ideas of identity and memory?

• The book has a quiet, melancholic atmosphere. How did the tone shape your reading experience? Did it distance you or draw you in?

• Even in a sparse, almost post-human landscape, moments of connection occur. What does the book suggest about the need for connection?

• How does the portrayal of the body contribute to the book’s themes?

Ready to read? It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over is here! Or explore our full collection of horror reads.