Plagued, With Guilt

Dr. Ben Appelstein and his team of students unwittingly unleash an ancient plague on the modern world, derailing their promising lives and threatening to extinguish life as we know it. Against a backdrop of war and disease, four friends fight through transformative journeys both personal and monumental: Rich, a brilliant gay athlete struggling for esteem; Wendy, a querulous coed caught between two men and an uncertain future; Halfus, a quiet hero with a tragic past; and Ernie, a fun-loving charmer with aspirations of grandeur. Bound together and pulled apart, they struggle to save all they hold dear from impending doom. PWG is the critically-acclaimed, character-driven epic novel about the best and worst of humankind. Q&A with the Author: A: I wanted to write something on the grandest scale I could think of-the existence of the human species as we know it. At the same time, I've always liked stories about regular people who rise up from their everyday trials to face extraordinary challenges. I felt that I couldn't just jump right into "humanity is on the brink." I thought it would be more meaningful to see how individual lives would be impacted by a terrifying pandemic, which required showing those regular, everyday lives before events overtake them and turn everything upside-down. A: In a way, the book tells two stories. The main one, of course, is how a new pandemic affects both the principal characters and society at large. The second is a connection between fiction and real world issues of today such as mental illness and international relations. The novel is meant to be entertaining, but also provide some insight into the world that the reader may not have thought about. So I just scratch the surface on a number of topics as they become relevant to what is happening in the narrative. I know that not every reader will love every one of these, but it is hoped that each reader will be interested enough in one or two them to look into them further. (Partial Spoilers) A: I can see how it could be confusing, but hopefully it is not overused in the book. Having difficulty with language as an early sign of the disease was used as a realistic symptom that could result from an affliction that rewires the brain and as a tip to an observant reader that a character is beginning to be affected. A: No, the intent was to compare the infected to animals. More specifically, to predatory animals. In fact, there are many subtle and not-so-subtle references to human beings as animals throughout the book, even without the plague. Our limited ability to control our carnal and violent impulses is a recurring theme. The disease as a mental illness only exacerbates this condition. A: Who can predict the future?