The People's Apocalypse (Good Life) by Ariel Gore

The People's Apocalypse (Good Life) Reviews

• 
  Leslie

  I picked up this book because I'm a huge Ariel Gore fan. This is a mostly engaging read that lagged in some places; since it's an anthology, that's to be expected. This book contains some really interesting ideas and beliefs that I'd love to explore further; however, the reality is I am a busy person who enjoys making lists of things I'd like to research, explore, know, etc. and I have very little follow-through. I got the most out of the last two sections of the book: "Demons" and "Saviors": apt, considering I'm obsessed with both.
  
  3.5 stars
• 
  Lauren

  I loved it. It's interesting how the hippie-hipster-crunchy culture that I'm a part of is so close in ideology to the hell-and-brimstone religious stuff we swore we left behind. This collection sucked me in.
• 
  Lauren

  This book is as highly varied as it sounds from the description, and it's as hard to sum up in a short review as it was difficult for me to put down! I was just eternally curious what the next short story or informational article, what have you, would be.
  
  The People's Apocalypse is divided into 7 section: Revelations, Plans, Signs, Visions, Cataclysms, Demons and Saviors and my favorite entries include the very practical "Preparedness 101," "You'll Need a Solar Oven," and "You Might Need Urban Goats," the heart-rending "Tsunami Warning," the inspirational "To Hell With Chicken Little," "Happy Endings," and "Revolution," the meditative and sad "The End Times Project" and "After the Very First Quiet Morning," and the musings on different possible outcomes of one event of "Biochemical Weapon Zombie Dog Dream: A Political Allegory."
  
  Some of these pieces are quite explicitly political as well, with analyses ranging from environmentalist, radical people of color, class politics, religious politics and politics of place. Some pieces weave these elements in more subtly. But again, the strength is, I believe, in the variety of points of view, content and style.
  
  One glaring critique for me: the indeed erotic "Erotalyptica" was also unfortunately very heteronormative and obliviously racist (relegating Mayan peoples to the past, as if they do not still exist). Were I an editor I would have certainly pointed the latter out and probably the former too, given the story's premise. Frankly, some queer relationships in the stories in general would have made the book even stronger, they just would have made particular sense included here.
  
  All said and done I think this is a unique and totally worthwhile read.
• 
  Dena Guzman

  I do have a poem in this book. Please know I am forgetting that to review the rest of the book. It's a really engaging anthology of any number of meditations on the apocalypse from all walks of life. It's a how-to and a reflection; a meditation on what could be and a dirty-fingernailed mediation with what is. I have been afraid of/obsessed with this topic my entire life. There is little that isn't approached here, be it through nonfiction, fiction, recipes or poetry. This book is tightly, beautifully curated and ordered so that it's as easy to fall into as a bender, only when you put it down, you have no headache - only the clarity that whiskey or a brisk walk in the woods as the leaves turn red and turn gold can bring. I am going to go ahead and say it would be a crying shame to let a chance to read this book go. I love it.