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libraryofseouls's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This almost made no sense to me but do I still love it? Absolutely. It’s so sad and how some stories connected in the end made me really appreciate the craftsmanship of the story. Also highly recommend the audiobook
lizziebeex3's review against another edition
5.0
I was feeling like this was a 4 star book until the last chapter. This isn’t an overly exciting read, more so one that you enjoy in the quieter moments to walk through the halls of other lives, peeking in at moments but continuing your journey without staying long. The connections between the stories are noticeable but subtle; I was wondering when I would find the point of it all other than to suffer with the characters in their tragic lives. I didn’t find it hard to keep faith, though, as it felt like something was coming to tie it all together, and it tied together beautifully.
If you want a book as a companion on a rainy day where you are ok with sitting in a place of gentle sadness, with glimmers of hope, arriving at a destination where you can look back with a sense of perseverance, this may be for you. As written in these pages, “sometimes it’s hard to keep the facts straight after so long, to remember all that has happened (though the emotions remain like stains).” You might not remember this book like your favorites, but it will remain with you. This was a wonderful gateway back into reading for me. Hopefully I will revisit it someday to experience it through a different lens, knowing how it comes together, able to appreciate the subjects in a new way.
Probably 4.5 stars if that was an option, but oh well.
Possible triggers - death, virus
If you want a book as a companion on a rainy day where you are ok with sitting in a place of gentle sadness, with glimmers of hope, arriving at a destination where you can look back with a sense of perseverance, this may be for you. As written in these pages, “sometimes it’s hard to keep the facts straight after so long, to remember all that has happened (though the emotions remain like stains).” You might not remember this book like your favorites, but it will remain with you. This was a wonderful gateway back into reading for me. Hopefully I will revisit it someday to experience it through a different lens, knowing how it comes together, able to appreciate the subjects in a new way.
Probably 4.5 stars if that was an option, but oh well.
Possible triggers - death, virus
suebug's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rshay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
I liked this, but I think I would have liked it more if I read it in print. I think I missed some of the connections between the stories listening in audio, but a solid read.
mllejoyeuxnoel's review
3.0
The most beautifully-written book I’ve ever loathed. Reverentially morbid, brimming with these wildly grotesque memorials that are often not a little bit pathetic, this novel posits a world where, when faced with a deadly, ubiquitous plague, humanity collectively builds a life that is all about death. I think some of these chapters were supposed to deliver little nuggets of hope, but the overall theme seemed to be that even when things are generally, objectively looking up, a bleak and fatalistic outlook for every relationship in one’s life is a rational inevitability. Not to mention the fantasy/sci-fi aspects of the book that were by far more confusing than illuminating. Some of them literally had me put down the book for a moment to ask my cats, “What the fuck is this now?” When it comes to either of those elements, it can’t all be show; the very nature of the imaginary elements of those genres demand at least a little telling. A bunch of it was connected in the final chapter, and perhaps if I reread the whole book it would come together for me in a different way, but fuck that - this thing was way too depressing in a way that didn’t even have a cathartic payoff.
It gets three stars because of its gorgeous prose. But honestly? Unless you’re trying to work through some devastating, life-altering grief (as I suspect its author was) or you’re an emo teenager whose idea of a good time is locking the door to your room and staring morosely at the ceiling while blasting Linkin Park, I don’t recommend this one.
It gets three stars because of its gorgeous prose. But honestly? Unless you’re trying to work through some devastating, life-altering grief (as I suspect its author was) or you’re an emo teenager whose idea of a good time is locking the door to your room and staring morosely at the ceiling while blasting Linkin Park, I don’t recommend this one.
victoriafrost1991's review
5.0
I highly enjoyed the novel; I'm not normally interested in a dystopian, science fiction book. It was very on the nose with our current pandemic and how people change along with every virus mutation. It was a sad, yet, very well written novel showing interesting and different perspectives of people.
Will look more into the authors written work
Will look more into the authors written work
yak_attak's review against another edition
3.0
How High We Go in the Dark was a book that I was *sure* for so much of it that I would end up liking quite a bit. It presents as a series of interconnected short stories, that build and weave together, telling stories surrounding an incredibly deadly outbreak of an ancient virus, the social changes that it influences, and how humanity continues and lives on through and becomes more than its grief and pain. The stories are decently written, told in a nice straightforward style, and a couple of them in particular are fairly heart wrenching.
The thing that really dragged on me is, unfortunately, how samey they ended up being.
Nagamatsu is working with a lot of good stuff. He's particularly focused on damaged or estranged families, grief, loss and coming to terms with death, on immigrant asian experiences, and lastly some simple but sci-fi technological ideas to base things around - a robot dog that records your loved one's voice, a black hole generator, a roller coaster that kills you.... It's a wonderful mix of great themes that lead to a number of great stories and poignant moments, it's just that... it's kinda always the same theme done the same way. If you read one or two of the stories, I don't know that any of the others are going to surprise you.
I think the themes hit their apex early with 'Elegy Hotel', a story about an estranged son who works at a death hotel, who's being asked by his brother to care for his dying mother. Partially I think things are at their most straightforward here, and there's no sci-fi twist to really get in the way. Nothing wrong with those stories, but this is the core of things. 'Pig Son' is the other big standout, and I quite liked the generation ship story nearer to the end as well.
But more and more it felt like reading repeats. The same ideas, the same tone, the same outcome - these are beautiful things to deal with, but I'm not sure Nagamatsu *does* enough with it over the course of the stories. We weave together stories and characters meet each other, but it doesn't matter because they all seem homogenous, bland.
This is likely a me thing, I think if you read the first few stories and love them and weep (very likely) you'll love the rest of the book. Most seem to. And don't get me wrong, I think on the whole these are great stories, I just wanted more from this - a book that's poignant and moving on the surface, but that I'll walk away from and forget about pretty darn quick.
The thing that really dragged on me is, unfortunately, how samey they ended up being.
Nagamatsu is working with a lot of good stuff. He's particularly focused on damaged or estranged families, grief, loss and coming to terms with death, on immigrant asian experiences, and lastly some simple but sci-fi technological ideas to base things around - a robot dog that records your loved one's voice, a black hole generator, a roller coaster that kills you.... It's a wonderful mix of great themes that lead to a number of great stories and poignant moments, it's just that... it's kinda always the same theme done the same way. If you read one or two of the stories, I don't know that any of the others are going to surprise you.
I think the themes hit their apex early with 'Elegy Hotel', a story about an estranged son who works at a death hotel, who's being asked by his brother to care for his dying mother. Partially I think things are at their most straightforward here, and there's no sci-fi twist to really get in the way. Nothing wrong with those stories, but this is the core of things. 'Pig Son' is the other big standout, and I quite liked the generation ship story nearer to the end as well.
But more and more it felt like reading repeats. The same ideas, the same tone, the same outcome - these are beautiful things to deal with, but I'm not sure Nagamatsu *does* enough with it over the course of the stories. We weave together stories and characters meet each other, but it doesn't matter because they all seem homogenous, bland.
This is likely a me thing, I think if you read the first few stories and love them and weep (very likely) you'll love the rest of the book. Most seem to. And don't get me wrong, I think on the whole these are great stories, I just wanted more from this - a book that's poignant and moving on the surface, but that I'll walk away from and forget about pretty darn quick.
itosukie's review against another edition
3.0
last few chapters were kinda a drag but the first chapters and the very last one was amazing…
qteabeans's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was a beautifully written mosaic novel that had some amazingly sad passages. Contemplative. Thoughtful. It might have the saddest short story I've ever read. Much of the plot centers on a pandemic and then the aftermath of that pandemic. An atmospheric book.