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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I was enchanted by this until about halfway through. It's a slow burn but I think I lost patience with it. I did love the relationship with Bo and Mia and the general idea of "is it possible to live too long?" There is also the idea of found family, where one belongs and I got frustrated with Bo as I saw her as a flip-flopper who could not make up her own mind. Eh. Station Eleven vibes- literary dystopian.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It genuinely astounds me how people who write climate fantasy can make the dystopian aesthetic feel so boring, and yet here I am, 2 for 2 on authors who have wasted all the potential of their fascinating hook (The second being The Unmapping by Denise Robbins). HOWEVER, with that being said, I could definitely understand what Susanna Kwan was aiming for within this story; a dystopian flood story that focuses more on the community we build and the company we choose to keep during disasters, and though I didn't 100% enjoy this story, I still felt like the author executed fairly well on her character premise.
Mia is undoubtedly the backbone of the story; her sparsely sprinkled stories about the history of the Bay Area brought the story to life, and it's clear that this book is, in part, a love letter to the Bay Area.
The relationship the main character Bo creates with Mia is rocky and complex; it's littered with ideas of filial piety and obligation, and I feel those ideas were executed well, especially as Bo's indecision about departing from the city becomes imminent.
In the 21st century, and especially in Western cultures, I feel like Asian diasporic stories are so heavily centered about hyper individualism/independence as a means of assimilation under White supremacist values. This story tackles the idea of that in a blunt, in-your-face way. Mia is brash and mean in her old age, yet this doesn't deter Bo from offering care to Mia; instead Bo is dedicated to slowly breaking away the many layers of Mia's life, committing to listening to her stories and her ramblings, and helping her with her end of life care. This, to me, was the heart of the story, and a major component of why I chose to continue to stick it through to the end. The author examines what it means to care for and build community, despite how undesirable the conditions may be, and this thesis is executed fairly immaculately within the characters.
Conversely, I do feel like the concept of the Floating City had so much wasted potential within the story. I appreciate stories that throw readers into worlds headlong and expect readers to piece together ideas as they dive more into the story, but I feel like with this story, the Floating City had little to no world-building. I wanted to know more about the city itself and the mass departures from the floating city and historical tidbits on how the flooding has drastically upended life; I understand this is a character-driven story, but there were definitely means of exploring the fantastical elements of this story without giving up a character-first story.
I also felt like Bo's relationship with the man in her life, who's name I promptly forgot after finishing the story because he felt so utterly unimportant in the grand scheme of the story, was a frivolously extraneous element that could have been a lesser focal point in the story. I liked the erotic scenes in Bo's story, I think it's important to understand the role sex plays in dystopian settings, but his whole storyline felt like an unnecessary diversion from Bo's character arc.
I also felt like Bo's relationship with the man in her life, who's name I promptly forgot after finishing the story because he felt so utterly unimportant in the grand scheme of the story, was a frivolously extraneous element that could have been a lesser focal point in the story. I liked the erotic scenes in Bo's story, I think it's important to understand the role sex plays in dystopian settings, but his whole storyline felt like an unnecessary diversion from Bo's character arc.
All in all, there are certainly redeemable elements within this story; the ideas of filial piety are intrinsically tied to Asian culture, and I loved how the author played around with that idea in this story. As a debut, portions of this story could have been edited more tightly, but overall I definitely think this author has potential, and I would be curious to see what they write next.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked this book enough to almost make it halfway through, but it's not holding my attention enough right now to finish it. I love the narrator of the audiobook, but I'm having a hard time listening to the ramblings of an old woman over 100 years old who's a little bitter about everything. I wanted more of the climate disaster narrative than someone reflecting back on their life. Someone who's more into the literary fiction aspect of climate fiction will enjoy this.
I'm bored. I don't mind a slow book but I need something to happen.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A memory cannot be drowned
In the wake of a seven year span of torrential and nearly non-stop rains, San Francisco like many other low lying areas has been almost completely submerged. Where there once were streets there are now rivers, and all but the tallest buildings are under water. Most of the residents of the Bay Area have been swept away by the water, fled for what they hoped were safer places or moved to higher ground. One such resident of the city is Bo, whose apartment is located on an upper floor of a tall building. She is an artist, but since the day that her mother disappeared during a storm surge (for which she feels at least partly responsible) she has not been able to summon her artistic muse. She lives alone, lonely, her only social contact when she ventures to her building's roof which has become a market for food and other necessities as well as a needed social outlet for those who feel cut off from the rest of the world. Bo has extended family members who were part of the large migration out of the city; many ended up in Canada and are in regular communication with her. They want her to leave her precarious life in San Francisco and join them where it is, they say, safe. Bo doesn't share the same urgent desire to leave (in fact, she hopes if she waits long enough her mother will reappear), and is only too aware of the dangers that lie on the trail from where she is to where they are. One of her cousins issues an ultimatum; he is coming for her on a boat on a certain date and she must be packed and ready to go. Even as Bo gathers her essential belongings a note is slipped under her door. Mia, a 130 year old resident of the building, is asking for her help a few days a week in return for pay; Bo had acted in a similar role for one of Mia's neighbors, and it was noted. She can't decide what she really wants to do, but ends up staying where she feels someone needs her. Their relationship starts out stilted but over time develops into a deep friendship, despite the vast difference in their ages and life experiences. Mia tells Bo the story of her life, shedding a light on aspects of San Francisco history and its treatment of Asian Americans as the tales unfold. It is Mia and her life that will provide inspiration to Bo's art at last.
Despite its setting in the near future after global warming has wrought havoc with temperatures and sea levels, this is not a taut sci-fi thriller; it is instead a story about people, relationships, loss, hope and the power to go on in the face of disaster. Character trumps action in author Susanna Kwan's debut novel, and in particular the characters of Bo and Mia are beautifully rendered and possess great emotional depth. It is also a paean to San Francisco, drawn in its changed yet still beautiful state. Weaving together themes of memory, grief, relationships, loss and change, the author paints a surprisingly hopeful portrait of people who even amidst devastation can show one another compassion and encourage one another to hold on to hope for better days. Mia's personal stories are connected to real historical events, which brings a sense of realism to the stories as they unfold. This isn't a perfect novel, but it is one in which prose is nearly poetic and encourages reflection on the strength of the human spirit. In a world which has recently gone through a pandemic, the emotional toll on forced isolation will resonate with many. Readers of Jemimah Wei, Téa Obreht and Rachel Khong should definitely take a peek within this novel's covers, as should those who enjoy immersing themselves in a leisurely-paced, well-crafted story. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor/Pantheon Books for allowing me access to this poignant tale in exchange for my honest review.
In the wake of a seven year span of torrential and nearly non-stop rains, San Francisco like many other low lying areas has been almost completely submerged. Where there once were streets there are now rivers, and all but the tallest buildings are under water. Most of the residents of the Bay Area have been swept away by the water, fled for what they hoped were safer places or moved to higher ground. One such resident of the city is Bo, whose apartment is located on an upper floor of a tall building. She is an artist, but since the day that her mother disappeared during a storm surge (for which she feels at least partly responsible) she has not been able to summon her artistic muse. She lives alone, lonely, her only social contact when she ventures to her building's roof which has become a market for food and other necessities as well as a needed social outlet for those who feel cut off from the rest of the world. Bo has extended family members who were part of the large migration out of the city; many ended up in Canada and are in regular communication with her. They want her to leave her precarious life in San Francisco and join them where it is, they say, safe. Bo doesn't share the same urgent desire to leave (in fact, she hopes if she waits long enough her mother will reappear), and is only too aware of the dangers that lie on the trail from where she is to where they are. One of her cousins issues an ultimatum; he is coming for her on a boat on a certain date and she must be packed and ready to go. Even as Bo gathers her essential belongings a note is slipped under her door. Mia, a 130 year old resident of the building, is asking for her help a few days a week in return for pay; Bo had acted in a similar role for one of Mia's neighbors, and it was noted. She can't decide what she really wants to do, but ends up staying where she feels someone needs her. Their relationship starts out stilted but over time develops into a deep friendship, despite the vast difference in their ages and life experiences. Mia tells Bo the story of her life, shedding a light on aspects of San Francisco history and its treatment of Asian Americans as the tales unfold. It is Mia and her life that will provide inspiration to Bo's art at last.
Despite its setting in the near future after global warming has wrought havoc with temperatures and sea levels, this is not a taut sci-fi thriller; it is instead a story about people, relationships, loss, hope and the power to go on in the face of disaster. Character trumps action in author Susanna Kwan's debut novel, and in particular the characters of Bo and Mia are beautifully rendered and possess great emotional depth. It is also a paean to San Francisco, drawn in its changed yet still beautiful state. Weaving together themes of memory, grief, relationships, loss and change, the author paints a surprisingly hopeful portrait of people who even amidst devastation can show one another compassion and encourage one another to hold on to hope for better days. Mia's personal stories are connected to real historical events, which brings a sense of realism to the stories as they unfold. This isn't a perfect novel, but it is one in which prose is nearly poetic and encourages reflection on the strength of the human spirit. In a world which has recently gone through a pandemic, the emotional toll on forced isolation will resonate with many. Readers of Jemimah Wei, Téa Obreht and Rachel Khong should definitely take a peek within this novel's covers, as should those who enjoy immersing themselves in a leisurely-paced, well-crafted story. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor/Pantheon Books for allowing me access to this poignant tale in exchange for my honest review.