Earth Abides by George R Stewart
Ish finds himself one of just a few survivors after a mysterious virus pretty much wipes out humanity. He travels across America looking for survivors but ends up back at his family home on his own. Over time he does find a few survivors and a small community is founded.
They have to deal with the slow loss of utilities as they fall down but more survivors arrive and the community grows.
Children are born as they face more hardships but generally the community thrives under these new conditions.
This book has dated badly in places, a lot of things are very much stuck in the late forties but the main thrust of the story, the survival and the building of a new lifestyle shine through strongly. Although this book starts of as a disaster novel, it ends up with a surprising amount of hope for the future
