Reviews with content warning for Cursing - The Past Is Red

This book isn't quite five-stars, but it's near enough to not really matter.

This is an incredibly short novel, clocking in at about 150 pages, which follows the story of Tetley, from when she was a girl to when she grows to be a woman.

Long after the iceburgs have melted and the level of the sea has risen to the point where no more land exists, people continue living on. Tetley lives on Garbagetown, a floating city of garbage (and, in fact, this floating Texas-sized mound of garbage floating around the ocean actually does exist). Tetley is also the most hated woman of Garbagetown, having done something in the past where everyone in Garbagetown is permitted to instruct her however they want, with her thanks.

More than something with a solid plot, this is a look at Tetley's life, and a view into a version of the world that isn't too hard to imagine coming to fruition at some point in the near future.

It took me a moment to get into this book, but once I did I tore through it. Tetley looks at the world with a Candide-like optimism, and yet I would argue she sees the world more clearly than most of the others who live on Garbagetown. Valente has an excellent way of writing where she'll feed you some information that only leads to more questions, and the will feed you the answers piecemeal, so an image of the whole begins to form, like a paint-by-numbers.

There were several parts that I'd consider POV slips, comparisons and analogies that I don't actually believe Tetley would have made, but this book is emotional and thought-provoking, and I loved it a lot.

Content Warnings

thenovelmaura's review

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dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I'm actually shocked this one is a novella because my main critique is that it should have been shorter! I think I would have preferred reading the short story version since it would have conveyed the main concepts in a more succinct format. Overall, I loved how deeply this book made me think about human consumption and the fact that we're painfully close to living in Garbagetown ourselves. Tetley was the best kind of narrator for a journey through this bleak, ruthless world: a relentlessly optimistic girl who truly loves the post-apocalyptic trash heap that she lived on. The deeply depressing themes and setting are offset by hilarious details like how the people in Garbagetown get their names.

Again, I wish the storyline hadn't been drawn out quite so long, and the twist ending wasn't very satisfying, for some reason I can't put my finger on. (A side note for audiobook fans: the narrator's voice was quite grating and it took me a long time to get used to her affected cockney accent, although I understand why they chose to go that route with the narration.) This was a recommendation from a dear friend, and while I didn't love it as much as she did, I agree that it was an intriguing, worthwhile read!

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triley's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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maryellen's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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