60 pages • 2 hours read
Naomi AldermanThe Future
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “The Essential Problem”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “North California, November: Action Now! Ecological Convention: Lenk”
Content Warning: The novel and this guide contain depictions of death by suicide and substance misuse.
Lenk Sketlish is the CEO of a social media enterprise named Fantail. He is taking a meditation class to help manage his angry outbursts. However, the teacher’s nose keeps whistling as she guides the class, distracting from his relaxation. His ability to meditate is also hampered by his own belief that if he lives only in the present, then he will miss the next big opportunity. After founding and running Fantail, Lenk knows that living in the moment will not do; one must push and strive for the future. Now that the world is coming to an end, Lenk wonders what might actually be next.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “Zimri”
Zimri Nommick is the CEO of a purchasing and distribution company, also deeply invested in technology, called Anvil. He is attending an environmental conference with his wife, Selah. He missed the news that the world is ending because he and Selah were having sex—a rare event; Zimri has already drawn up divorce papers. He is interested in amassing more success and more sexual conquests, but the news that the apocalypse commenced leaves him no time; Selah will have to be the one to come to the bunker with him.
