State of Paradise

Van den Berg’s (The Third Hotel) short, speculative-fiction novel with elements of science fiction and horror is set in an alternate post-pandemic, natural-disaster-filled Florida, where residents have turned to VR technology to cope with the crises of their world. The novel’s narrator, who returned to Florida after the pandemic, contends with a missing sister and a mother who are backsliding into a cult, all while managing her own trauma, including a belly button that continues to grow. The book has a compelling plot and solid worldbuilding— listeners can almost feel the Florida humidity seeping into their skin. Though the novel is brief, it handles multiple plot threads, time and world changes, and a genre shift halfway through, so that listeners must work to keep track of what’s happening. Megan Tusing skillfully narrates the audiobook with a good Southern accent, though she only uses it for minor characters. For the narrator character, Tusing successfully captures a thirtysomething woman who’s observing the strange occurrences around her with a big “well, OK then” energy.