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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
San Francisco has been slowly sinking for years. The population has adjusted with rooftop markets, bridges connecting high-rises, etc., but the population has also been dwindling as people move to safer places. Bo is one of those who have stayed. Her cousin is coming for her soon, but she can't bring herself to want to leave, not since the disappearance of her mother a couple years ago in a great flood. When a note comes from a resident on another floor, a woman named Mia in her 100s, needing caretaking, Bo takes it as a sign to stay even longer and misses the boat.
There was so much of this I liked, the exploration of home and place, the ancestry and family, the sliver of Chinese-American history in the Bay Area, and Bo's return to her creation of artwork after a long struggle. Something about spending time with this supercentenarian brings Bo back to life and gives her a purpose she could no longer see. Bo is inspired to capture the past, to make something of Mia's memories, and eventually to honor her own memories as well. There are some survivalist elements to this book, but it was not your typical cli-fi title.
I felt like it could have been a bit shorter and I didn't love the storyline between Bo and Eddie, although I did see its purpose. Overall, I think this was well-written, quite touching in several moments, and I really appreciated the ending/20%. I'm glad I stuck with it to get there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon books for the digital review copy of this title.
There was so much of this I liked, the exploration of home and place, the ancestry and family, the sliver of Chinese-American history in the Bay Area, and Bo's return to her creation of artwork after a long struggle. Something about spending time with this supercentenarian brings Bo back to life and gives her a purpose she could no longer see. Bo is inspired to capture the past, to make something of Mia's memories, and eventually to honor her own memories as well. There are some survivalist elements to this book, but it was not your typical cli-fi title.
I felt like it could have been a bit shorter and I didn't love the storyline between Bo and Eddie, although I did see its purpose. Overall, I think this was well-written, quite touching in several moments, and I really appreciated the ending/20%. I'm glad I stuck with it to get there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon books for the digital review copy of this title.
dark
emotional
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
a really interesting take on a neear-future, climate-change-ruined san francisco with glimpses of intriguing worldbuilding. sadly, it was mostly a miss for me. some powerful depictions of loss, grief, death, aging, but overall it needed something more. more plot points, more romance, more explorations of the worldbuilding. i don't know. just didn't hit.
slow-paced
TL;DR:
There is definitely an audience for this book who will LOVE it, but it was not really the book for me. Far too slow-paced and repetitive, and the main character was frustrating as all get out. Bit of a slog.
Re-Readability:
Nope not something I will ever want to read again.
Writing:
The writing was solid enough overall -- some lovely, poignant lines regarding just... humanity... grief... processing things... etc.
It did read as a bit airy/disconnected and maybe... pretentious? Just not to my taste, really.
Characters:
Bo kind of drove me crazy. Most of the book she had no agency in her own life -- things were just happening to her and she was letting them happen. The whole thing with her cousin coming to get her and her bailing last minute.... ?! And then later with the birthday party?! And then later with her cousin AGAIN?!?! I kind of started to hate her a little bit toward the end, not gonna lie. She was wildly frustrating for me.
Plot:
For me, the plot of this book was a bit lacking. And meandering. I can see what the author was going for and I can see why there are people out there rating it 4 or 5 stars -- there's definitely an audience for it, but I am not that audience.
There is definitely an audience for this book who will LOVE it, but it was not really the book for me. Far too slow-paced and repetitive, and the main character was frustrating as all get out. Bit of a slog.
Re-Readability:
Nope not something I will ever want to read again.
Writing:
The writing was solid enough overall -- some lovely, poignant lines regarding just... humanity... grief... processing things... etc.
It did read as a bit airy/disconnected and maybe... pretentious? Just not to my taste, really.
Characters:
Bo kind of drove me crazy. Most of the book she had no agency in her own life -- things were just happening to her and she was letting them happen. The whole thing with her cousin coming to get her and her bailing last minute.... ?! And then later with the birthday party?! And then later with her cousin AGAIN?!?! I kind of started to hate her a little bit toward the end, not gonna lie. She was wildly frustrating for me.
Plot:
For me, the plot of this book was a bit lacking. And meandering. I can see what the author was going for and I can see why there are people out there rating it 4 or 5 stars -- there's definitely an audience for it, but I am not that audience.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
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
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
I know there are a lot of dystopian books out there right now, and I know that may make for some eye rolls, but Susanna Kwan’s novel Awake in the Floating City is not your typical dystopian novel, and I think it’s better because of that.
Years of rain have made for a submerged city, but one that still has residents that decided to stay and are living life as best as they can. (This isn't one of those books that focuses on how that's possible or how it's done.) Bo is one of those residents. An artist whose mother had been carried away in a storm, leaving her alone and unaware if her mother is still alive. Bo is planning an escape, has the date picked out, and is getting ready to go. Things change when a note is slid under her door by Mia, an elderly woman who lives in her building and wants to hire Bo to be her caretaker.
I can best describe the relationship between the two as rough to begin with. Stories are shared, lives mix and in some ways, Mia fills in as the mother that Bo no longer has, and Bo is often treated as a daughter. There’s a particular scene involving the cleaning of a pan that just felt SO very real to me in how it plays out. You’ll have to read it and see..
As the two share their memories, Bo comes to a realization about the lost history that will occur once the city is gone, and is inspired to create art again and makes one epic piece, which I can’t give away here, but it is detailed so wonderfully in Kwans writing.
This book is beautifully written and feels like a love letter to home healthcare provider, especially family taking care of family. Created family, our histories, and our legacies. It really hit home with me on many pages.
Years of rain have made for a submerged city, but one that still has residents that decided to stay and are living life as best as they can. (This isn't one of those books that focuses on how that's possible or how it's done.) Bo is one of those residents. An artist whose mother had been carried away in a storm, leaving her alone and unaware if her mother is still alive. Bo is planning an escape, has the date picked out, and is getting ready to go. Things change when a note is slid under her door by Mia, an elderly woman who lives in her building and wants to hire Bo to be her caretaker.
I can best describe the relationship between the two as rough to begin with. Stories are shared, lives mix and in some ways, Mia fills in as the mother that Bo no longer has, and Bo is often treated as a daughter. There’s a particular scene involving the cleaning of a pan that just felt SO very real to me in how it plays out. You’ll have to read it and see..
As the two share their memories, Bo comes to a realization about the lost history that will occur once the city is gone, and is inspired to create art again and makes one epic piece, which I can’t give away here, but it is detailed so wonderfully in Kwans writing.
This book is beautifully written and feels like a love letter to home healthcare provider, especially family taking care of family. Created family, our histories, and our legacies. It really hit home with me on many pages.
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Dementia, Abandonment
Bo is a visual artist, but since the loss of her mother, she's been frozen in place, unable to work or make real connections with her world.
And what a world!--a drowned San Francisco, where people live in high rise buildings as the water continues to rise, where rooftop markets are accessible by bridges between buildings, and where the dwindling population makes use of home mushroom plantations for protein.
Finally ready to give into her brother's pleas to escape the doomed city, Bo is distracted by Mia, an elderly (130+ years elderly!) neighbor who hires her as caretaker. A difficult old woman, Mia is alone; her family emigrated decades ago, though they check in via video call frequently.
What follows is Bo's discovery of her visual artistic inspiration as she witnesses Mia reach the end of her life.
This is not a fast, plot-driven read, but instead offers a dreamy, beautifully fleshed-out examination of one woman's evolution and the art that gives her life purpose. Which makes it not a book for every reader, still Kwan's writing is supple and vivid. This astonishing and gorgeous vision of an ecological disaster, contrasting with Bo's changes make this a novel that haunts and lingers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.
And what a world!--a drowned San Francisco, where people live in high rise buildings as the water continues to rise, where rooftop markets are accessible by bridges between buildings, and where the dwindling population makes use of home mushroom plantations for protein.
Finally ready to give into her brother's pleas to escape the doomed city, Bo is distracted by Mia, an elderly (130+ years elderly!) neighbor who hires her as caretaker. A difficult old woman, Mia is alone; her family emigrated decades ago, though they check in via video call frequently.
What follows is Bo's discovery of her visual artistic inspiration as she witnesses Mia reach the end of her life.
This is not a fast, plot-driven read, but instead offers a dreamy, beautifully fleshed-out examination of one woman's evolution and the art that gives her life purpose. Which makes it not a book for every reader, still Kwan's writing is supple and vivid. This astonishing and gorgeous vision of an ecological disaster, contrasting with Bo's changes make this a novel that haunts and lingers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the eARC in exchange for my unfettered opinion.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character