First published 2005
Calvin Cohn works alone at the ocean floor when thermonuclear war destroys civilization above. The paleontologist surfaces to find himself the sole human survivor of what he calls the Devastation. God has sent a second flood to cleanse the earth. Cohn washes ashore on an island with Buz, an experimental chimpanzee who can speak. Other primates soon join them: baboons, more chimps, five apes, and one gorilla. The rabbi's son believes he represents a "marginal error" in God's plan for extinction. He dedicates himself to creating a new society among the animals. Cohn hopes his efforts might restore God's love for creation. He faces the unknown as he builds this strange community. The novel follows his attempts to establish order and meaning in a world where humans have failed and animals inherit the earth.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, apocalyptic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Ocean, Island
Period: Thermonuclear War
240 pages · Kindle Edition · Farrar, Straus and Giroux