It might be the first day of spring, but flu season lingers on. Before it (happily) disappears for the year, I've got a book that will make you rethink the ramifications of a week filled with Kleenex, hot tea and thermometers.
The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen is historical fiction set against the deadly 1918 flu epidemic. When a small town decides to quarrantine itself against the ravages of the outside world, men take shifts guarding the single road into town. The action really kicks in when a cold, starving lone soldier begs to be granted access.
It is a sociological thriller about mob mentality, the instinct to fight for your life no matter what, and the moral dilemma of holding someone else's life in your hands. This is a great choice for your book club, because discussion possibilities are numerous. It is thought provoking, entertaining, and chilling.
