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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
A bit slow at the start but ended up picking up. I really appreciated how this book handled social issues. I loved the afterword too. It was a seamless mix of horror with historical fiction. I don’t feel that I often get insights into the atrocities that Japanese people living in this time had to go through. And the afterword did an amazing job briefly speaking about how COVID helped surge people’s racism too. COVID became an outlet for a lot of people’s hatred and anger.
I’m excited to read more from this author.
I’m excited to read more from this author.
All of my reviews can be found at https://damppebbles.com/
Alma Katsu is the author behind one of my favourite reads of 2021. The incredibly dark and atmospheric The Hunger which reimagines the journey the Donner Party took from Illinois to California in 1846. The author takes historical events, gives them a supernatural twist and presents them in a highly compelling way. I loved what Katsu did with The Hunger. So much so that I immediately purchased the author’s next book, The Deep (which I plan to read very, very soon). So when the opportunity to read The Fervor presented itself I, of course, leapt at the chance to immerse myself in this author’s world once again.
Meiko Briggs was sent by her parents from Japan to America as a young woman where she met her husband, pilot Jamie Briggs. Now America is at war with Japan and life for those with Japanese heritage, which includes Meiko and Jamie’s young daughter, Aido, has changed significantly. Whilst Jamie is off overseas fighting for his country, his wife and daughter have been moved to an internment camp where everyday life is tough. When a mystery illness starts to spread throughout the camp and internees become violent before some die a painful death, Meiko knows there is something sinister going on. Particularly when victims report seeing entities that remind her of Japanese folklore tales from her childhood. Meiko knows she and Aiko are in danger but exactly who (or what) poses the biggest threat to their lives…?
The Fervor is a well-written tale full of intrigue and suspense which I enjoyed. There is a lot for the reader to get their teeth into as the story is told from four different points of view; Meiko, her daughter Aiko, preacher Archie Mitchell, and Fran Gurstwold, a news reporter who is out to make her name with a big story. There is an ever-present sense of threat throughout the book which I thought was handled incredibly well by the author. It doesn’t really matter where the reader looks, there’s danger at every turn! But who or what poses the biggest threat? I have my theory and it doesn’t bode well for humankind. It was shocking to read how Japanese people were treated at the internment camps of the 1940s. How misinformation and fear drove people to act in the most despicable of ways. How the white supremacy groups preyed on the insecurities of average people to amass armies ready to hurt, maim and kill without a moment’s thought. The author builds an uncomfortable picture for her readers and rightly so. It should be uncomfortable; it should make us think. But most of it, we must learn from the atrocities of the past and make sure they never happen again.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Fervor is a well-written, unsettling novel full of suspense which I found uncomfortable reading at times but hard to put down. Despite being set in the 1940s during WWII it felt a very current story with overarching themes of racism and an unknown prevalent virus with no cure, at the heart of the novel. There’s no shying away from the cold, hard truth here. Katsu is a skilled writer who brings her characters and their stories to life. The lead characters were interesting and engaging throughout. I enjoyed the way in which the author tied everything together in the end, bringing the separate strands of the plot to a believable and tense conclusion. All in all, I found The Fervor to be a compelling novel with a beautifully crafted sense of threat running throughout the pages. Recommended.
Alma Katsu is the author behind one of my favourite reads of 2021. The incredibly dark and atmospheric The Hunger which reimagines the journey the Donner Party took from Illinois to California in 1846. The author takes historical events, gives them a supernatural twist and presents them in a highly compelling way. I loved what Katsu did with The Hunger. So much so that I immediately purchased the author’s next book, The Deep (which I plan to read very, very soon). So when the opportunity to read The Fervor presented itself I, of course, leapt at the chance to immerse myself in this author’s world once again.
Meiko Briggs was sent by her parents from Japan to America as a young woman where she met her husband, pilot Jamie Briggs. Now America is at war with Japan and life for those with Japanese heritage, which includes Meiko and Jamie’s young daughter, Aido, has changed significantly. Whilst Jamie is off overseas fighting for his country, his wife and daughter have been moved to an internment camp where everyday life is tough. When a mystery illness starts to spread throughout the camp and internees become violent before some die a painful death, Meiko knows there is something sinister going on. Particularly when victims report seeing entities that remind her of Japanese folklore tales from her childhood. Meiko knows she and Aiko are in danger but exactly who (or what) poses the biggest threat to their lives…?
The Fervor is a well-written tale full of intrigue and suspense which I enjoyed. There is a lot for the reader to get their teeth into as the story is told from four different points of view; Meiko, her daughter Aiko, preacher Archie Mitchell, and Fran Gurstwold, a news reporter who is out to make her name with a big story. There is an ever-present sense of threat throughout the book which I thought was handled incredibly well by the author. It doesn’t really matter where the reader looks, there’s danger at every turn! But who or what poses the biggest threat? I have my theory and it doesn’t bode well for humankind. It was shocking to read how Japanese people were treated at the internment camps of the 1940s. How misinformation and fear drove people to act in the most despicable of ways. How the white supremacy groups preyed on the insecurities of average people to amass armies ready to hurt, maim and kill without a moment’s thought. The author builds an uncomfortable picture for her readers and rightly so. It should be uncomfortable; it should make us think. But most of it, we must learn from the atrocities of the past and make sure they never happen again.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Fervor is a well-written, unsettling novel full of suspense which I found uncomfortable reading at times but hard to put down. Despite being set in the 1940s during WWII it felt a very current story with overarching themes of racism and an unknown prevalent virus with no cure, at the heart of the novel. There’s no shying away from the cold, hard truth here. Katsu is a skilled writer who brings her characters and their stories to life. The lead characters were interesting and engaging throughout. I enjoyed the way in which the author tied everything together in the end, bringing the separate strands of the plot to a believable and tense conclusion. All in all, I found The Fervor to be a compelling novel with a beautifully crafted sense of threat running throughout the pages. Recommended.
3.25 ⭐️
I won't go into detail since my irl bookclub besties are on here. I don't want to spoil our discussion.
This was good, just not great.
I appreciate the message and the author's experiences. It was overall an enjoyable read.
I won't go into detail since my irl bookclub besties are on here. I don't want to spoil our discussion.
This was good, just not great.
I appreciate the message and the author's experiences. It was overall an enjoyable read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Haven’t read a thriller (or proper fiction) in a while so this was a lovely read to ease into the fictional world again. Man, the book was suspenseful until the very end and the idea of spiders crawling about everywhere as an omen of death was terrifying. I could occasionally feel my skin prickling when I read about them.
I kinda wished it had ended with a bit more of a bang, but the message that Katsu was trying to convey is certainly meaningful. Overall not too bad a read!
I kinda wished it had ended with a bit more of a bang, but the message that Katsu was trying to convey is certainly meaningful.
Spoiler
She drew parallels with the real world to highlight the rise of anti-Asian racism and hate crimes during the pandemic—an issue that still remains in the States and many other places 3 years after COVID-19 was first detected.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Telling the story of a Japanese woman and her half American daughter dragged off to the concentration camps in America during World War 2, it had too many storylines and too weird a plot for it to hang together for me. It tried to do too much and never quite succeeded for me.
There was also a story line of a newspaper writer who felt she was onto a story, a preacher who got involved in some "anti-Jap" crazies, balloons filled with magical spiders and a government plot to kill off the Japanese in the internment camps. Add in a little Japanese mythology and demons, some domestic heartbreak and you have a mish mash of stories that had me skimming the last 50 pages or so, as I didn't care about any of the characters. And I had such high hopes in the beginning... 2.5 stars rounded up to 3
There was also a story line of a newspaper writer who felt she was onto a story, a preacher who got involved in some "anti-Jap" crazies, balloons filled with magical spiders and a government plot to kill off the Japanese in the internment camps. Add in a little Japanese mythology and demons, some domestic heartbreak and you have a mish mash of stories that had me skimming the last 50 pages or so, as I didn't care about any of the characters. And I had such high hopes in the beginning... 2.5 stars rounded up to 3
This book does an excellent job eliciting a sense of sadness on how Japanese Americans were treated during WWII. I can tell Katsu did her research and, sadly, it parrots what a lot of racists say today in the name of nationalism. I also enjoyed the details about the Japanese fire balloons. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all I can appreciate.
There's a scene where a pregnant woman and five other children die from one of these balloons. This immediately becomes recognizable if anybody remembers the Radiolab episode "Fu-Go" that came out in 2015. However, Katsu wove these victims—Elsie in particular—into her story and didn't even change their names for the sake of the story. I found that a bit odd.
Specifically, It felt weird that she decided to paint Elsie as undoubtedly racist. Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to educate people on attitudes towards minorities, especially in history, but it feels like there's a lack of etiquette to real war victims—no matter the "side". Dead people can't defend their name.
In terms of horror, I found it lackluster and underwhelming. I never felt a sense of dread that kept me wanting to turn the page. Ultimately, it was a struggle to finish. This is my first time reading Katsu and I keep hearing great things about The Deep and The Hunger so maybe I'll give those a try. I'm sorry The Fervor wasn't my cup of tea.
There's a scene where a pregnant woman and five other children die from one of these balloons. This immediately becomes recognizable if anybody remembers the Radiolab episode "Fu-Go" that came out in 2015. However, Katsu wove these victims—Elsie in particular—into her story and didn't even change their names for the sake of the story. I found that a bit odd.
Specifically, It felt weird that she decided to paint Elsie as undoubtedly racist. Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to educate people on attitudes towards minorities, especially in history, but it feels like there's a lack of etiquette to real war victims—no matter the "side". Dead people can't defend their name.
In terms of horror, I found it lackluster and underwhelming. I never felt a sense of dread that kept me wanting to turn the page. Ultimately, it was a struggle to finish. This is my first time reading Katsu and I keep hearing great things about The Deep and The Hunger so maybe I'll give those a try. I'm sorry The Fervor wasn't my cup of tea.
An incredible novel. Katsu is so good at building dread throughout her stories. She also builds deep and believable characters in this book. Also this book is important in that it talks about an event that many would like us to forget. I loved the ending and was left with hope for the characters. Also watch out for the spiders!