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archaicrobin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
This is my first book by Alma Katsu, and while I felt The Fervor was a bit repetitive and dragged on at times, I still enjoyed what the author was trying to accomplish. Meiko and her daughter Aiko are being held at a Japanese internment camp in Minidoka Idaho while her husband is off fighting the war as a pilot. Things are horrific at the camp but everyone there does their best to be what they call “good Japanese” in hopes of laying low and being spared the cruelty that the racist white peoples are capable of.
Despite being amicable, Meiko and Aiko are soon torn apart as a strange illness rampages through the camp, and it is soon revealed that this outbreak is not an accident. Katsu does an excellent job of tying in history and fantasy, while still managing to comment on the dangers of nationalism and white supremacy. It’s devastating to see what Meiko and Aiko are forced to deal with simply because they are Japanese, and even more devastating to know that this kind of racism is still around. That people today are following disgusting rhetoric like this in todays age. If you don’t understand why terms like “kung fu flu” and other derogatory terms for Covid spread by the disease that is Trump are problematic and disgusting, then pick up this book and you’ll see why.
While I do wish this was more supernatural and had more Yokai or Japanese lore, I do love that Katsu wrote a book that’s not only historical, but interesting, and provides a marginalized perspective.
I look forward to reading more by Alma Katsu in the future
Despite being amicable, Meiko and Aiko are soon torn apart as a strange illness rampages through the camp, and it is soon revealed that this outbreak is not an accident. Katsu does an excellent job of tying in history and fantasy, while still managing to comment on the dangers of nationalism and white supremacy. It’s devastating to see what Meiko and Aiko are forced to deal with simply because they are Japanese, and even more devastating to know that this kind of racism is still around. That people today are following disgusting rhetoric like this in todays age. If you don’t understand why terms like “kung fu flu” and other derogatory terms for Covid spread by the disease that is Trump are problematic and disgusting, then pick up this book and you’ll see why.
While I do wish this was more supernatural and had more Yokai or Japanese lore, I do love that Katsu wrote a book that’s not only historical, but interesting, and provides a marginalized perspective.
I look forward to reading more by Alma Katsu in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and War