A stunning debut novel that takes you on a harrowing journey across a brilliantly imagined landscape of a ravaged America.
“Gutsy . . . a reminder of art’s power to tell us about reality. The Revivalists isn’t a story about the apocalypse but an odyssey through the America we currently inhabit, as thrilling (I read it in two dazed sittings) as it is thoughtful about race and class, need and want, and the power of parental love.”—Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind
Bill and Penelope are the lucky ones. Not only do they survive the Shark Flu emerging from the melting Icelandic permafrost to sweep like a scythe across the world, but they begin to rebuild a life in the wreckage of the old. A garden to feed themselves planted, a mattress in front of the living room fireplace for warmth. Even Bill’s psychology practice endures the collapse of the social order, the handful of remaining clients bartering cans of food for their sessions. But when their daughter’s voice over the radio in the kitchen announces that she’s joined a cult three thousand miles away in Bishop, California, they embark on a perilous trek across the hollowed-out remains of America to save her.
Their journey is an unforgettable odyssey through communities scattered across the continent. But for all the ways that the world has changed, the hopes and fears of this little family remain the same as they have always been. In The Revivalists, Christopher M. Hood creates a haunting, moving, darkly funny, and ultimately hopeful portrait of a world and a marriage tested by extraordinary circumstances.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
A graduate of UC Irvine’s MFA program, Christopher M. Hood is the director of the Creative Writing Program at the Dalton School. He has published short fiction and essays in various literary journals. The Revivalists is his first novel. He lives in the New York area with his wife and daughter.