In the vein of The Book of M comes a "dynamic, fast-paced debut"
(Publishers Weekly) and character-driven literary apocalyptic novel
that explores life, love, and loss in a post-truth society.
In the aftermath of a deadly outbreak--reminiscent of the 1962 event of
mass hysteria that was the Tangayika Laughter Epidemic--a city at the
tip of Africa is losing its mind, with residents experiencing
hallucinations and paranoia. Is it simply another episode of mass
hysteria, or something more sinister? In a quarantined city in which the
inexplicable has already occurred, rumors, superstitions, and conspiracy
theories abound.
During these strange days, Faith works as a fulltime corpse collector
and a freelance "truthologist," putting together desperate pieces of
information to solve problems. But after Faith agrees to help an
orphaned girl find her abducted baby brother, she beings to wonder
whether the boy is even real. Meanwhile, a young man named Sans who
trades in illicit goods is so distracted by a glimpse of his dream woman
that he lets a bag of money he owes his gang partners go
missing--leaving him desperately searching for both and son questioning
his own sanity.
Over the course of a single week, the paths of Faith, Sans, and a cast
of other hustlers--including a data dealer, a drug addict, a sin eater,
and a hyena man--will cross and intertwine as they move about the city
looking for lost souls, uncertain absolution, and answers that may not
exist. The Down Days is a "fascinating story" (HelloGiggles) that
demonstrates "one of the most accurate depictions of the strange
realities of life during a pandemic" (The A.V. Club) that you won't
want to put down.
