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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
This one is less a book than a 550-page MadLibs exercise in cramming all the possible "hot topics" in one work. The remarkable thing is that not one compelling or dynamic character resulted from that effort, and there isn't even a very interesting or coherent story. Did the (non-traditional gender identity) person manage to fix (climate change/religious zealotry/demagogues) and also find (their family/love)? Who knows? The author replaced plot and timeline with a thesaurus-full of African-inspired names and phrases and hoped we wouldn't notice. Don't bother, guys. I wish I had DNF this book at 15% when I wanted to, like the wiser reviewers in this section were able. It does not get better.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
A challenging read -- lots to admire in the storytelling, but I know I missed a lot, despite slowing down my reading in order to fully appreciate it. Definitely worth a read, but don't expect to "get it" all in a first read-through.
DNF 50%
I've been seeing this novel around for a while, and the cover and synopsis really intrigued me. It was really dense for me to get through in paperback, but I have a lot of respect for the world being inspired by climate change. I think I'll try it again on audiobook sometime.
I've been seeing this novel around for a while, and the cover and synopsis really intrigued me. It was really dense for me to get through in paperback, but I have a lot of respect for the world being inspired by climate change. I think I'll try it again on audiobook sometime.
I have DNFd this book which really isn’t something I do. I’ve been trying to read for weeks and got about 1/3 in and decided I need to call it. Fascinating core idea of a story but I found the pacing odd and felt a lot of disconnect from characters. Hard to really sink into
This book was disconcerting at the start, but became something I couldn't turn away from once I became accustomed to the narrative voices and Hairston's writing style. It immediately drew me in with the poetic voice Hairston employs to bring us into complex experiences of other-than-human sensory worlds, interweaving past, present and futures and other non-linear modes of thinking/being. It was also powerful to read a story so solidly in a different worlding than traditional European/American science fiction (i.e. Tolkien, Asimov, Jordan, etc...) or even those which describe alternatives that are nonetheless still built directly as critiques of those worldings (i.e. LeGuin and some Butler.)
Transitions between spaces and moments in time were sudden, often requiring backtracking to figure out what was happening, but I got used to needing to pay more attention between paragraphs and chapters. I didn't love it in the beginning, but came to deeply admire the world of multispecies kinship, non-linear time and deep queerness Hairston created in an epic story of how we can address socio-environmental crisis. Much love for this world and this author.
Transitions between spaces and moments in time were sudden, often requiring backtracking to figure out what was happening, but I got used to needing to pay more attention between paragraphs and chapters. I didn't love it in the beginning, but came to deeply admire the world of multispecies kinship, non-linear time and deep queerness Hairston created in an epic story of how we can address socio-environmental crisis. Much love for this world and this author.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced