Living in a Bunker

In Susanne Winnacker's THE OTHER LIFE, Sherry and her entire family have been living in a bunker for over three years when they finally have to venture out due to lack of food and supplies.  Despite its offering of refuge from the zombie-like Weepers, Sherry finds the bunker claustrophobic and blossoms once back in the world, finding community and even a love interest against the backdrop of total societal collapse.

But if Sherry thought three years was bad, then she definitely wouldn't envy Adam Webber - the main character of the 1999 movie BLAST FROM THE PAST who was born and raised 35 years in a fallout shelter before finally emerging in modern day Los Angeles.

Where Sherry was itching to get out of her bunker, the father and son of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD wish they could stay longer in the fully stocked bunker they come across in their wanderings. It offers a short refuge from the terrible hunger and violence of their post-apocalyptic world, but the father worries that it leaves them too exposed.

Sherry might not have relished being trapped underground with her family for so long, but at least her family was not a danger to her like Eli's father in S.A. Bodeen's novel THE COMPOUND.  After 6 years in a bunker, Eli begins to suspect that they were brought to "safety" under false pretenses.

Maybe you'd like to try living in a bunker for awhile? Well, there are some out there in real life.  Check out this BBC video featuring a man who converted a former US missile silo into a home.

REMINDER: you can read the first chapter of THE OTHER LIFE here, and once you're hooked, you can also already buy your own copy! Also, Susanne will be giving away a signed copy of THE OTHER LIFE at the end of the week. To enter, just comment on any our posts during the week. The contest is open internationally.