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gotabookforeverysituation's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide, Grief, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Racism, Medical trauma, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death
emmalouisereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The beginning of this book forces you to confront the concept of mortality.
It is incredibly, and profoundly, depressing.
It’s written as a series of short stories, all based in the same reality. I prefer this style to the usual disconnected short story collections and I enjoyed seeing characters from previous stories pop up in later chapters.
The book went in a direction in the end that I didn’t like so much. I won’t elaborate as it would be spoilers, and I do think that it is a personal preference.
Please read the trigger warnings
It is incredibly, and profoundly, depressing.
It’s written as a series of short stories, all based in the same reality. I prefer this style to the usual disconnected short story collections and I enjoyed seeing characters from previous stories pop up in later chapters.
The book went in a direction in the end that I didn’t like so much. I won’t elaborate as it would be spoilers, and I do think that it is a personal preference.
Please read the trigger warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Animal death, Terminal illness, and Suicide
If child death is going to upset you in a way that’s damaging to your mental health, do not read this bookjustsmileandnod's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Animal death
viireads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Stalking, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Cancer
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Animal death, War, Murder, and Death
savvylit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Told through a series of interconnected vignettes, How High We Go in the Dark is about the power of human connection in the face of deadly and unprecedented circumstances. An incredibly contagious virus has swept the globe and communities everywhere are irreparably fractured. A predatory funeral industry arises to give people strange and creative ways to honor their dead. Scientists work to not only address the virus but to make intergalactic plans for the future of humanity. Essentially, the scope of this novel is enormous. And yet, Nagamatsu navigates it all seamlessly. The characters in this book are distinct, genuine, and flawed. Each of their journeys and each of their approaches feels true to life and joyously human. There are plenty of dystopian novels out there - and pandemic-oriented ones at that. However, How High We Go in the Dark stands on its own as one of the most imaginative and hopeful dystopian novels that I've ever experienced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, Medical content, Animal death, Suicide, Death, and Grief
bethboo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was recommended to me, similar to Cloud Cuckoo Land. I don't know how true that is, since I have never read CCL. This book didn't have a main character. It was a collection of stories from different peoples points of view. Each narrative had certain details that ran through them all or references to past stories. Each one had something to do with human nature in the face of a death focused world. It was interesting and it felt like there was some weight to it because of the pandemic.
It had a few stories that were just plain weird. Not dark or edgy or different. Just fucking weird, that made me make a face and wish that their narrative would end ASAP. Those kind of took the magic out of the book for me. Like the pig one or the copycat Eternals moment at the end.
I really enjoyed the story of the guy who worked at the amusement park and fell in love with the mom. I enjoyed the painter's story. The one with the guy working at the print house was sad.
My stars are given for my level of enjoyment, not the inherent worth of the book. So, while the book was very well written with a cast of characters trying to piece their humanity, culture, and image of death together was a wonderful subplot, I found myself bored at moments and a little unattached to certain characters. I'm glad I read it, but it will not be a reread option for me.
It had a few stories that were just plain weird. Not dark or edgy or different. Just fucking weird, that made me make a face and wish that their narrative would end ASAP. Those kind of took the magic out of the book for me. Like the pig one or the copycat Eternals moment at the end.
I really enjoyed the story of the guy who worked at the amusement park and fell in love with the mom. I enjoyed the painter's story. The one with the guy working at the print house was sad.
My stars are given for my level of enjoyment, not the inherent worth of the book. So, while the book was very well written with a cast of characters trying to piece their humanity, culture, and image of death together was a wonderful subplot, I found myself bored at moments and a little unattached to certain characters. I'm glad I read it, but it will not be a reread option for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Child death, Suicide, Death, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a book as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. I tend to stay away from science fiction, as it's not really my cup of tea, but I realize I have a soft spot for speculative fiction -- stories that somewhat mirror but exist outside our present universe. HOW HIGH is a brilliant addition to the genre, taking place over the next hundred years (if it reads eerie or sad or both, it's because what Nagamatsu imagines is not far from the realm of possibility). I challenge anyone to read it and not feel moved. Death and love, we learn, are confounding and messy and necessary in equal measure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide
danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Beautiful, emotional, sometimes funny, Kafka-esque, and existential. This book is about love, death, the need for human connection; about the failures of capitalism and hope that humanity will find a way to chart a better future. This is one of those books that will have me thinking for a long time.
To call it a novel I think is somewhat of a misnomer. It’s kind of a strange love child between a novel and a short story collection. But the stories are all interwoven and take place against the backdrop of a singular uniting event. This structure also drives home one of the themes of the book, which is the ways in which we form human connection, sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes the narrator from a previous chapter will pop up as a side character in another person’s chapter and we get updates on their life, which was also always welcome.
To call it a novel I think is somewhat of a misnomer. It’s kind of a strange love child between a novel and a short story collection. But the stories are all interwoven and take place against the backdrop of a singular uniting event. This structure also drives home one of the themes of the book, which is the ways in which we form human connection, sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes the narrator from a previous chapter will pop up as a side character in another person’s chapter and we get updates on their life, which was also always welcome.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Death, Animal death, Suicide, and Terminal illness
oaxara's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
mandkips's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicide and Animal death