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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Good but not great-- I never felt like the characters were real or like I ever got to spend enough time with them.
Thank you PutnamBooks for gifting me a finished copy of The Fervor by Alma Katsu. My opinions are my own.
I can't get over how much I love The Fervor. During the middle of WWII in the US, Meiko and her daughter Aiko are forced to live in internment camps despite Aiko being born in America and has a white father who's a pilot for the military. There's a lot of racism and animosity towards Japanese Americans as tensions run high and the war rages on. And mysterious illness that seems to have originated from balloons found throughout the western side of the US and the appearance of a Japanese woman in a kimono with tiny spiders that appear. Told in various POV whose lives intertwine with each other one way or another, it delves into the characters reasoning for their beliefs, why they think the way they do and what drives them to such feelings and actions.
I've always been fascinated by Asian mythology and urban legends as I find them wonderful and terrifying. Alma beautifully writes a story that ties history with occult, but also parallels what we are seeing today in America, which is a rise in Asian hate crime due to influential people, like politicians, blaming China for COVID, and therefore, in some people's minds, all Asians are to blame. The senseless attacks and murders on innocent people for just living their lives for just being an Asian in America in the 1940 vs today is not so different. It's an unfortunate thing I can resonate with as an Asian American. This creepy, haunting, and spectacular book is one I highly recommend.
I can't get over how much I love The Fervor. During the middle of WWII in the US, Meiko and her daughter Aiko are forced to live in internment camps despite Aiko being born in America and has a white father who's a pilot for the military. There's a lot of racism and animosity towards Japanese Americans as tensions run high and the war rages on. And mysterious illness that seems to have originated from balloons found throughout the western side of the US and the appearance of a Japanese woman in a kimono with tiny spiders that appear. Told in various POV whose lives intertwine with each other one way or another, it delves into the characters reasoning for their beliefs, why they think the way they do and what drives them to such feelings and actions.
I've always been fascinated by Asian mythology and urban legends as I find them wonderful and terrifying. Alma beautifully writes a story that ties history with occult, but also parallels what we are seeing today in America, which is a rise in Asian hate crime due to influential people, like politicians, blaming China for COVID, and therefore, in some people's minds, all Asians are to blame. The senseless attacks and murders on innocent people for just living their lives for just being an Asian in America in the 1940 vs today is not so different. It's an unfortunate thing I can resonate with as an Asian American. This creepy, haunting, and spectacular book is one I highly recommend.
4.5 stars
A very slow burn story told in the time of Japanese internment camps in the US, mirroring persecution of the non-white then with everything happening in America (and other places in the world) now. Worth reading for those parallels alone. But also great characters and great spooky elements throughout. It really came together in the end.
Meiko’s assertion that white supremacists would learn from a minor skirmish with the FBI and be better prepared next time was bone-chilling.
A very slow burn story told in the time of Japanese internment camps in the US, mirroring persecution of the non-white then with everything happening in America (and other places in the world) now. Worth reading for those parallels alone. But also great characters and great spooky elements throughout. It really came together in the end.
Meiko’s assertion that white supremacists would learn from a minor skirmish with the FBI and be better prepared next time was bone-chilling.
The acclaimed author of the celebrated literary horror novels The Hunger and The Deep turns her psychological and supernatural eye on the horrors of the Japanese American internment camps in World War II.
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I couldn’t put this book down! The Fervor is a well-written blend of actual history combined with dark, creepy, disturbing Japanese folklore and mythology.
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The Fervor follows several characters whose lives have intertwined before and during the WWII Japanese internment camps in the US. This is a time period that should never be forgotten, and also one we don’t read about enough. This book also feels very timely right now with the rise of Asian racism a discrimination in the US.
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I thought that the author did a wonderful job with this book - very vivid storytelling and seriously creepy. (Those spiders!!) Definitely don’t miss out on this one.
Thank you to @storygramtours for including me on this tour! And thanks to @glasstownent for sending me a copy of the book!
⠀
I couldn’t put this book down! The Fervor is a well-written blend of actual history combined with dark, creepy, disturbing Japanese folklore and mythology.
⠀
The Fervor follows several characters whose lives have intertwined before and during the WWII Japanese internment camps in the US. This is a time period that should never be forgotten, and also one we don’t read about enough. This book also feels very timely right now with the rise of Asian racism a discrimination in the US.
⠀
I thought that the author did a wonderful job with this book - very vivid storytelling and seriously creepy. (Those spiders!!) Definitely don’t miss out on this one.
Thank you to @storygramtours for including me on this tour! And thanks to @glasstownent for sending me a copy of the book!
I love all the good intentions in this story but it fell short for me.
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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
Loved the Hunger but just can't get into this one. The characters don't feel fully flushed out or interesting and not much is happening.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just slow and overlong even at its reasonable length. Both exposition and consciousness narration were extremely lacking and really subpar near the end. It felt both preachy without a well-executed message and inconsistent and repetitive in its character design. Big, big miss for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No