Postscript

By: Cory McCarthy

Published by Penguin Group, 2026-02-17

From Stonewall Honoree Cory McCarthy, joyful, affectionate, read-in-one-sitting novel about letting go of the things we can’t change and holding on to the passion of our instincts. On the far side of a swift and unknowable apocalypse, a few sapiens are surviving off the last scraps of humanity. No longer recognizable as Cape Cod, the dunes of their archipelago are empty apart from regrets and ruins—until West blows in like a storm. West is a prophet of instinct, the last amateur anthropologist, ever aware of being present in life. He can’t help but move through Ani’s rage, Karen’s anxiety, and Emil’s immense longing with curiosity and care. West’s unbridled love and grief challenge the survivors to defy extinction with the most beautifully human thing imaginable: a family. He may even impress Death. ★ “Simultaneously tragic, existentially terrifying, heartwarming, and sensual."—Kirkus, starred review