Reviews

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

erikajdea's review against another edition

challenging sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

christilee_'s review

5.0

I have gone to read some of the 1-2 star reviews to check if I missed something, as I always do with every book I read and thoroughly enjoyed. But for the first time I cannot see why people dislike the book, I believe that if you gave this a low star rating you did not understand it. WHICH I WOULD NEVER SAY ABOUT ANY BOOK, because everyone is different and we like different things and that is my favourite thing about being a person.

This book is profoundly sad and an extremely beautiful view at humanity and grief. Just thinking about this book and talking about it to other people, I cry. It is so beautiful in its sadness. I will be looking at people, life and death so differently from now on. I have so much to say and feel so many things post reading this book, but I do not have the ability to put it into anything that will do this book justice.

corrina_milito's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

anjelicabell's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

stockholm_17's review

adventurous emotional informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

booksandbikes17's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very unusual book....I hated the first couple of chapters (the rollercoaster one was completely implausible), but I'm glad I persevered with it. The chapters are separately stories, some of which are loosely linked - ie. someone mentioned peripherally in a previous chapter will suddenly make a more prominent appearance in another chapter, and it takes a little while to recall who was who. It spans a huge breadth of time....I think 6,000 years, but is actually a very short book. I would recommend it, and I like how it ends....just push through the silliness of some of the first chapters.

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

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.