60 pages 2 hours read

Naomi Alderman

The Future

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Part 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 4: “The Possibilities of Iteration or, Try, Try Again or, Keep Going, You’ll Get There in the End. Well. Either That, or The End Will Get You”

Part 4, Interlude 1 Summary: “Extract From Name The Day Survivalist Forum”

OneCorn/Martha posts on a Bible study sub-board about the story of Lot in Genesis. She warns users that the content will contain references to rape and incest. After being evicted from Sodom, Lot and his daughters live in a cave; they are left with almost nothing. Without any eligible men from whom to choose, Lot’s daughters decide to ply their father with wine until he is intoxicated then engage in intercourse with him. OneCorn implies that Lot knowingly engages in incest after the first night. Instead of living by the golden rule, these last survivors of a destroyed civilization instead live by the rule of retribution. OneCorn compares this to the contemporary age where internet discourse increasingly invites, and sanctions, dissension and degradation. There is a lively discussion among other users at the end of OneCorn’s lecture. ArturoMegadog mentions that he is doing better after his suicide attempt, especially now that he has a project to keep him occupied.

Part 4, Chapter 1 Summary: “Twenty-Eight Squeeze Packs of Peanut and Almond Butter, Zhen”

After fleeing Singapore, Zhen decides to hunker down in Madrid for a while. She takes inventory of her supplies and eats the fresh food first. After 20 days, she leaves the hotel, deciding it is safe to travel.

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By Naomi Alderman