Last Town on Earth, The

Literature & Fiction

Thomas Mullen

Contemporary

Fourth Estate

Set against the dual backdrop of World War I and the devastating 1918 influenza epidemic, `The Last Town On Earth' is a brilliantly drawn tale of morality and patriotism in a time of upheaval. Deep in the woods of Washington lies the mill town of Commonwealth, a new community founded on progressive ideals, and a refuge for workers who have fled the labor violence in the surrounding towns. When rumours spread of a mysterious illness that is killing people at an alarming rate, the people of the uninfected Commonwealth vote to block all roads into town and post armed guards to prevent any outsiders from entering. One day two guards are confronted with a moral dilemma. A starving and apparently ill soldier attempts to enter the town, begging them for food and shelter. Should the guards admit him, possibly putting their families at risk? Or should they place their lives above his and let him die in the woods? The choice they make - and the reaction it inspires in their town and beyond - sets into motion a series of events that threaten to tear Commonwealth apart. A sweeping cinematic novel, `The Last Town on Earth' powerfully grapples with the tensions of individual safety and social responsibility, of moral obligation and duty in the face of forces larger than oneself.

Shock and Resuscitation

McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division

The Rumor Game (paperback)

Little, Brown Book Group, London

During World War I, the influenza pandemic ultimately killed more people around the world than the war itself. The Last Town on Earth takes as its launching point a striking historical footnote: some uninfected towns were so terrified of the surrounding flu that they closed their entrances, posted signs warning strangers not to enter, and even stationed armed guards to make sure no outsiders brought infection into their communities. Mullen incisively imagines this situation, employing it as the basis for the moral drama spurring his story forward. One night, an infected soldier approaches the newly founded town of Commonwealth, which was created as a refuge for its mill worker residents, begging for food and shelter. Should the guards on duty admit a stranger to their town (someone who has been fighting a war on their behalf), thereby putting their families and loved ones at risk of infection? Or should they place their lives above his and leave him to freeze to death in the dark woods?

The Last Town on Earth

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Books by Thomas Mullen